Developers apparently cannot leverage the full capabilities of the 2021 Apple iPad Pro models powered by the M1 SoC. The new iPads come in 8 GB and 16 GB RAM options, but developers can leverage a maximum of only up to 5 GB limiting the potential of their apps even though the iPadOS itself can access the entire unified memory. It is possible that the upcoming iPadOS 15 may overcome this limitation.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Fancy-the-2021-M1-iPad-Pro-with-8-GB-or-16-GB-RAM-Current-iPadOS-limits-potential-by-allowing-just-5-GB-memory-for-third-party-apps.541367.0.html
...Ok wow, that's pretty stupid.
So they went from 6 GB max and 4.5 GB to one app, to 8/16 GB and 5 GB to one app.
Yeah, they should probably increase that limit in the next iOS, but it's still an instant improvement for anybody with lots of apps and tabs open.
It is currently limited due to the OS once that gets updated during the wwdc21 we will see a significant improvement from the previous gen and a hec a lot of difference between the 8gb and 16gb variant
its likely a which came first... if you release the OS first... with no hardware that can take advantage of its newness.... then the OS launch not only loses its thunder but it tips your hand about upcoming hardware release. By releasing the hardware first... they actually create demand and anticipation for the new OS so developers will cheer at the conference... hopefully. If they don't deliver on the OS side in June... it will be annoying.
I do hate that developers have to pretty much 'buy in the dark' right now... don't know how much 16gb is going to make a difference... and its a lot of cash for something that may or may not help.