AVX, which is already used in Geekbench 6. So this is just ARM chips catching up with x86 in SIMD acceleration through CPU instructions.
Previously, Apple used CoreML for these tasks which could use either the AMX, NPU, or GPU. GB6 did not use CoreML for CPU tests. Now, the AMX has been moved to SME CPU instruction sets, making it far easier for programs to utilize it through the CPU.
So in my opinion, this is just Apple/ARM catching up to AVX where previously, they had a disadvantage. The scores between x86 and ARM in GB6.3 are still valid.
If people think M4's scores are only/too high because of SME, what do people think about Geekbench already having optimizations for for AVX but not Apple's AMX processor previously?
Even so, regardless of what people here think about SME, the M4 beats the 14900KS in 14/16 ST tests.
https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/compare/6059033?baseline=6050769
And for those who somehow want to discredit M4 based on low IPC improvement over M3, who cares if perf/watt is drastically better? A design can optimize for more IPC or higher clock speeds. In this case, M4's design seems to emphasize higher clocks. Now if power also went up drastically, then we have some issues. But that's unlikely given how thin the iPad Pro is.
This is a 10-15w max SoC vs a 500w max CPU. For some perspective, the entire M4 iPad Pro is thinner than Intel's 14900KS package.