iPad Pro 6 months of using 11” M4 iPad Pro; the biggest disappointment

[erasr]

…is the speakers.

Out of all its features, I’d say that the speakers are the biggest disappointment. They are really quite poor, too muffled in comparison to other Apple devices.

Noting this for people who are interested in getting an iPad Pro. Everything else is fantastic, in my opinion.

 

[snipr125]

They have focussed on more richer, detailed sound (instrumental seperation) in iPP M4 speakers this time, rather than the more more bassy speakers in previous models.

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

They have focussed on more richer, detailed sound (instrumental seperation) in iPP M4 speakers this time, rather than the more more bassy speakers in previous models.

Comments like this are also the same folks that believe Dolby Atmos on a product with two speakers sound amazing. Y'all it's an iPad, with incredible thinness and the speakers are not intentionally rich, detailed, or provide any separation due to the limitations of the chassis. Do they sound better than other tablets, yup, but if you think Apple is focusing on those things for an iPad specifically then you're wrong. I also agree with OP, the new versions are not as good as last gens and reverberate the iPad far more than prior ones.

 

[snipr125]

Comments like this are also the same folks that believe Dolby Atmos on a product with two speakers sound amazing. Y'all it's an iPad, with incredible thinness and the speakers are not intentionally rich, detailed, or provide any separation due to the limitations of the chassis. Do they sound better than other tablets, yup, but if you think Apple is focusing on those things for an iPad specifically then you're wrong. I also agree with OP, the new versions are not as good as last gens and reverberate the iPad far more than prior ones.

Sheepish Lord, its just my observations that's all. I completely understand that with a chassis this thin, the speakers are going to be limited in their bandwidth because of Physics, but a lot of people have complained about them compared to the previous gen, i'm just saying that they cant reproduce the same bass and punch, so they went with more detail which is what you can get when there is less bass as bass always muddies the low/mid range of speakers.

 

[joloriquelme]

No Wi-Fi 7 in the iPad Pro M4 is a totally show-stopper for buy an expensive device that can last at least 4 or 5 years.

There are already Wi-Fi 7 antennas in my office. The iPhone 16 already have (even the base model), and there's plenty of Wi-Fi 7 Windows notebooks out there.

 

[d5aqoëp]

No Wi-Fi 7 in the iPad Pro M4 is a totally show-stopper for buy an expensive device that can last at least 4 or 5 years.

There are already Wi-Fi 7 antennas in my office. The iPhone 16 already have (even the base model), and there's plenty of Wi-Fi 7 Windows notebooks out there.

They purposely held back Wifi7 on M4 iPad Pro models because next year they need something to show for!

 

[thelead]

The speakers on the 11" m4 pro are trash. It was one of the reasons I returned it and went back to the larger pro. The 13" speakers are a slight downgrade from the 12.9" m1 but they're still decent IMO.

 

[alecgold]

No Wi-Fi 7 in the iPad Pro M4 is a totally show-stopper for buy an expensive device that can last at least 4 or 5 years.

There are already Wi-Fi 7 antennas in my office. The iPhone 16 already have (even the base model), and there's plenty of Wi-Fi 7 Windows notebooks out there.

Uhum, M4 processor? OLED display? Matte screen? New MKB? New Pencil Pro?
Those together make for a solid upgrade.
And when are you going to max out WiFi 6e Peak rates at 10Gbps? Your internet connection isn’t faster and even if it was the services you use max out waaaay before 10Gbps. Sounds like you are looking for a complaint

 

[joloriquelme]

Uhum, M4 processor? OLED display? Matte screen? New MKB? New Pencil Pro?
Those together make for a solid upgrade.
And when are you going to max out WiFi 6e Peak rates at 10Gbps? Your internet connection isn’t faster and even if it was the services you use max out waaaay before 10Gbps. Sounds like you are looking for a complaint

Next year will have all you mentioned in the M5, plus Wi-Fi 7 and more memory.

Then, I will spend my money on a device that will not have key wireless technology outdated.

 

[alecgold]

Next year will have all you mentioned in the M5, plus Wi-Fi 7 and more memory.

Then, I will spend my money on a device that will not have key wireless technology outdated.

there will always be a new, better, faster, brighter toy on the horizon… and seeing the update timeline of iPads it might take more then a year, might be 2026 or even 2027.

 

[splifingate]

Just got my M4 11" iPP up, and running . . . audio is pretty fantastic.

Pretty astounding output from such a small device

 

[Abazigal]

…is the speakers.

Out of all its features, I’d say that the speakers are the biggest disappointment. They are really quite poor, too muffled in comparison to other Apple devices.

Noting this for people who are interested in getting an iPad Pro. Everything else is fantastic, in my opinion.

I don’t disagree with you here. The drop in sound volume is pretty noticeable.

 

[xxFoxtail]

I can't believe it's been out for 6 months already.

 

[Aka757]

I can't believe it's been out for 6 months already.

That’s because it hasn’t, it was released May 15th so not even 5 full months lol

 

[xxFoxtail]

That’s because it hasn’t, it was released May 15th so not even 5 full months lol

Thanks, I thought something seemed off about that.

 

[ctjack]

Error post.

 

[Digitalguy]

The speakers on the 11" m4 pro are trash. It was one of the reasons I returned it and went back to the larger pro. The 13" speakers are a slight downgrade from the 12.9" m1 but they're still decent IMO.

I have the M4 13 and the 12.9 M1 and until recently also the 2018 12.9.
At max volume the M4 is virtually as full and loud as the M1, which is amazing given how thin it is. And it's a clear upgrade from the 2018 12.9. Definitely louder and fuller.
I haven't tried the 11" M4.

 

[jabbr]

I think they tuned the 11" for a bit better bass extension vs overall volume level

 

[dazey]

I was expecting the cameras. Having an M2, I really appreciate the ultrawide. I don't want to use my phone (I try and keep phone as personal pics and ipad as business) and the ultrawide is hugely useful to me. If the M4 had the ultrawide I would have already upgraded. I would even settle for loosing the regular in place of the ultrawide

 

[Pezimak]

…is the speakers.

Out of all its features, I’d say that the speakers are the biggest disappointment. They are really quite poor, too muffled in comparison to other Apple devices.

Noting this for people who are interested in getting an iPad Pro. Everything else is fantastic, in my opinion.

I think if all you have to complain about are the speakers then they did a pretty damn good job with the new iPads.

 

[Fraserpatty]

I was expecting the cameras. Having an M2, I really appreciate the ultrawide. I don't want to use my phone (I try and keep phone as personal pics and ipad as business) and the ultrawide is hugely useful to me. If the M4 had the ultrawide I would have already upgraded. I would even settle for loosing the regular in place of the ultrawide

Yes, I’m happy with my ultra wide also. Sometimes I like to take a picture of the whole room full of grandkids, and as I mentioned once before I used it to take a picture of my house.

I don’t really listen to music on the iPad, and YouTube videos and podcasts are all I really need the sound for so that would not have been a big deal for me. But I like my M2.

So the double stack OLED really did solve the burn in problem and no one has had problems with it for five months? That’s great.
all in all, I’m happy to stick with my M2 for a good while.

 

[h2ofun]

I was expecting the cameras. Having an M2, I really appreciate the ultrawide. I don't want to use my phone (I try and keep phone as personal pics and ipad as business) and the ultrawide is hugely useful to me. If the M4 had the ultrawide I would have already upgraded. I would even settle for loosing the regular in place of the ultrawide

Yep, not having the ultrawide is a huge negative, IMO! I was using it on my older ipad and had not idea the new one was missing it. If I had known, not sure if I were have purchased.

 

[alecgold]

Yep, not having the ultrawide is a huge negative, IMO! I was using it on my older ipad and had not idea the new one was missing it. If I had known, not sure if I were have purchased.

What do you use it for?

 

[h2ofun]

When I am live streaming a volleyball game, I can only get so far back in the gym. I used the ultrawide on my old Ipad for these needs, but I did not know the M4 took it away