Since the last time Apple delayed the update for iPhone to cover the iPad secrets when it has not been revealed yet, this time Apple confirmed and clarified the long confusion about the hardware it used to run the iPad. According to Apple, the iPad uses the same family of graphics chip as the iPhone and iPod Touch. Apple’s latest iPad SDK Beta 3 documentation confirms this.
Using OpenGL ES on iPad is identical to using OpenGL ES on other iPhone OS devices. An iPad is a PowerVR SGX device and supports the same basic capabilities as other SGX devices. However, because the processor, memory architecture, and screen dimensions are different for iPad, you should always test your code on an iPad device before shipping to ensure performance meets your requirements.
Imagination Technologies is the creator of PowerVR SGX chips that has been used for iPhones and iPods. Apple is a licensee and major investor of that company as well. Accordingly the new A4 chip running the iPad is a combination of ARM processor and PowerVR SGX GPU in a single chip.
