It’s been just over two weeks since the launch of the M4 iPad Pro, which means it’s time for a longer-term review of its updated OLED display, AI-focused processor, super-thin design, and new accessories, including the Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard.
The design of the new iPad Pro is probably its best feature, and the drop in weight and thickness makes a difference whether you’re traveling or just using the iPad around the house. At 5.1mm, the 13-inch iPad Pro is Apple’s thinnest device yet, and a tablet of this size and thickness remains impressive. Two weeks later, there is no bendgate thanks to the reinforced rib that Apple has added under the hood. There’s of course an argument that some people would have preferred a bigger battery over a slimmer design.
Apple has moved the front camera to the landscape side of the iPad Pro, and it’s a small but notable change. If you’re using your iPad with a keyboard in landscape orientation, but have had to awkwardly put it in portrait mode for a FaceTime call, this is a tweak you’ll appreciate. It’s much more natural than treating the iPad like a giant iPhone.
The iPad Pro’s OLED screen has no competition. It’s by far the best screen Apple has introduced in an iPad, and you won’t find a better tablet screen on competing products either. Apple used tandem OLED technology (essentially two OLED screens stacked on top of each other) and the brightness and contrast are second to none. Movies look great, the iPad does well in bright light and the HDR makes images pop.
Compared to the previous generation iPad Pro with mini-LED display, the OLED display is better, but not so much that it alone makes it worth upgrading. However, when it comes from an LCD, the difference is much more noticeable.
The latest iPad Pro with an M2 chip is incredibly fast, and the M4 is even faster, benchmarks show. You won’t find much that will max out the M4 processor in everyday use, but you will see bigger numbers on benchmarking tests comparing the M4 iPad Pro to the M2 iPad Pro. Editing videos and creating songs in Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro is super fast with the M4, but also super fast with the M2. Maybe the M4 chip will shine when iPadOS 18 is updated with a slew of new AI features, but for now it’s overkill.
Apple has removed both the Ultra Wide camera and mmWave 5G in this version of the iPad Pro, and most people probably won’t miss these features. Whether a 13-inch tablet will need a rear camera remains to be seen, and mmWave 5G speeds are still quite limited in availability. Sub 6GHz 5G is here to stay, and that’s plenty fast enough for downloads, watching streaming content, and playing games.
As for accessories, the Apple Pencil Pro is basically the same as the Apple Pencil 2, but with a few new tricks. You can pinch to reveal menus so you don’t have to fumble around for settings to do things like change line width or color, and there’s a barrel scroll feature that basically does things like vary line width when you use the Apple Pencil tilts so it behaves more like a real writing or drawing tool. Find My is perhaps the most useful addition, allowing you to find the Apple Pencil if it gets lost, and haptic feedback is nice to have too.
The Magic Keyboard looks a lot more like a Mac thanks to the larger glass trackpad and aluminum palm rest. The trackpad is nicer to use than before, and the function keys are also a big plus for controlling media, changing screen brightness and more without having to dig into the Settings app or Control Center.
Unsurprisingly, the iPad Pro is without a doubt Apple’s best iPad, and probably the best tablet on the market. The biggest drawback is the price: the 11-inch model starts at $999 and the 13-inch model starts at $1299. Those are Mac prices, and while the iPad’s hardware is worth it, it’s a lot to pay for the limitations you are stuck with when using iPadOS. There are workflows that work with a tablet, but many people won’t be able to replace a Mac with an iPad.
You should also opt for the 1TB+ iPad Pro if you want maximum performance, as the 1TB and 2TB models have an extra CPU core (10 cores versus 9 cores) and 16GB of RAM instead of 8GB.