Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iPad M1 iPad Pro 5 years on

thelion7 said:
100% RAM is the biggest factor for Apple devices as their A and M chips are beats for CPU/GPU.

That’s why for years apple were always behind android for RAM because prior to Apple Intelligence and Liquid Glass, the OS just didn’t need as much RAM.
Click to expand...
it is unbelievable how poorly optimized (or rather, unoptimized) ios26 is. refraction+extreme blur/transparency+HDR UI+ unoptimized LLM/ml on device
 
  • Like
Reactions: BluefinTuna
still using my M1 iPad Pro, for creative work. still have not seen a good reason to upgrade to a new iPad Pro. as the M series chips are so damn good. on occasion I have a stutter, but 99% of the time a quick google I find that It's the developer of the app fault and not apples. Honestly I think Apple should get tougher on Developers with updates and performance of their apps
 
Ctrlos said:
Just a check in really with anyone else still running the M1 iPad Pro since its 2021 release?

Mine has been a faithful companion over the last 5 years, my work computer away from work. I know many people don’t see the iPad as a workhorse yet mine gets shoehorned into all sorts of tasks from LiDAR scanning locations to editing videos of experiments. Being able to record in 4K on the 0.5x camera, edit and share all from the one device reduces so much friction.
Click to expand...
I did end up upgrading from the 11” M1 iPad Pro later last year to the 13” M4 iPad Pro. But my M1 served me very well for the 4 years I used it. And it was still running strong when I upgraded, the primary reasons I decided to upgrade was the larger Tandem-OLED display, in addition to the more powerful chip for my 3D workflow, Apple Pencil Pro, and the aluminum Magic Keyboard Case. But that M1 iPad held up to a lot. It was my primary computer for the time I used it. It entirely replaced my MacBook, and I even went a couple years without a Mac at all. I did end up getting an M1 Mac Mini just for fun (I still don’t really need a Mac for my workflow, but enjoy tinkering with it occasionally still), but the M1 iPad was what I used for everything.

I am very happy that I upgraded though. The M1 was an awesome machine, and I really enjoyed it, but the 13” display is a better fit for my use-case, and the M4 is a noticeable step up for 3D work. And that OLED display is just amazing. 🙂👍🏻

But yeah, M1 is still a solid option for most things in my opinion. 👍🏻
 
  • Like
Reactions: I7guy and Devyn89
My M1 iPad was a workhorse till last week, I just upgraded to nano 1TB m4 13 inch iPad Pro with cellular for $1049 thanks to Costco. My M1 is passed on to the family to replace the 2018 iPad Pro. I expect m1 to last 4-5 years more easily.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kal Madda
thelion7 said:
100% RAM is the biggest factor for Apple devices as their A and M chips are beats for CPU/GPU.

That’s why for years apple were always behind android for RAM because prior to Apple Intelligence and Liquid Glass, the OS just didn’t need as much RAM.
Click to expand...
While I totally agree on the first sentence the issue with RAM in iPads has been there well before Apple Intelligence. And precisely because Apple has been stingy with RAM. But there have 2 kinds of issues, slowdowns and reloads.
Slowdowns started to become evident with IOS 9 with 1GB RAM iPads (all except the air 2) and 512GB ones became unusable. But slowdowns stopped being an issue until very recently, probably because the faster chips made memory compression less of an issue.
However another issues has been affecting iPads for years, reloads (except that not everyone notice them and Apple has not cared about this).
Reloads became an issue on 2GB devices since iOS 11 and things got progressively worse with iPadOS.
Then the issue moved to 3GB and 4GB devices with iPadOS 14 and 15.
Hardware wise, the first iPad pro jumped to 4GB RAM in 2015 but that remained the ceiling until 2020 with 6GB (unless you bought the 1TB 2018 pro in the meantime). With M1 there was a jump to 8GB already at the following generation in 2021 and even a 16GB option. 8GB ended the reload issues... until Apple Intellingence.
With iPadOS 18 even 8GB devices started to reload.

Reloads are not slowdowns and some people don't even realize they are due to RAM or even notice them depending on how they use the iPad, but if you take reloads into account RAM has been an issue for years and even more so than on Android. I have been using Android devices and iPads for over a decade. And while iOS does compress better than Android and some apps require less RAM (there have been tests about this), 8GB RAM on Android are still far better than 4 on iPadOS, not even close unfortunately.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Homme, BluefinTuna, Shifts and 2 others
Kevinm1 said:
If it wasn’t for an issue on the USB C (not 100% reliable for data and charging), I would have kept my 12.9 M1.
But now that I’ve upgraded to the M5, I must admit that I appreciate, more than I thought, the lighter weight, the new Magic Keyboard (had the Logitech Combo on the M1) and the OLED screen.
Click to expand...
Let me be the pedantic person to tell you: it’s has something much more interesting than an OLED screen, it’s called Tandem LED and basically takes two of the light emitting panels of the screen and puts them slightly offset behind each other. It’s like the best thing between OLED and Mini LED right now.
 
My M1 ipad (air) is certainly feeling less snappy compared to my iphone, mac m4 max and other devices so i upgraded to m5. the snappy is back.

I noticed M1 started getting a bit long in the tooth with ipadOS 18 tbh
 
  • Like
Reactions: foggygray and Kal Madda
Digitalguy said:
Slowdowns started to become evident with IOS 9 with 1GB RAM iPads (all except the air 2) and 512GB ones became unusable. But slowdowns stopped being an issue until very recently, probably because the faster chips made memory compression less of an issue.
Click to expand...

I believe you meant OG Air (A7/1GB). The iPad 4 (A6/1GB) was mostly fine until its last iOS 10 update.

It was mostly just the A5-based iPads that crashed and burned on iOS 9.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kal Madda
rui no onna said:
I believe you meant OG Air (A7/1GB). The iPad 4 (A6/1GB) was mostly fine until its last iOS 10 update.

It was mostly just the A5-based iPads that crashed and burned on iOS 9.
Click to expand...
Right, I never had the iPad 4, I had the air 1 (sold) and mini 2 (still have it). I also have the iPad 2, which is totally unusable.
In terms of 2GB devices I have the mini 4 and 9.7 pro, I sold the air 2. And I still have all the devices in my signature.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rui no onna
I still use my 12.9" M1 daily. I'm an illustrator. Procreate drawing app is my go-to. Hoping to keep it around until a possible 16" Pro model is a reality. If such a machine existed, I believe it would be a great option for artists who currently use Wacom Cintiq drawing tablets.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BluefinTuna and Kal Madda
AMantheGreat82 said:
Have you replaced the battery or anything? I have an M2 iPad and battery life is my only issue. It only lasts an hour or two of just moderate use. Otherwise, it's still amazing at almost every task. Thanks!
Click to expand...
I have the M1 and get pretty good battery time. And I've even had the habit of letting it almost always run to close to 0% before charging, so the health is only about 80%. But it still seems to beat yours.

Seems like you had bad luck. 😞
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kal Madda
I’m still using my 256gb WiFi/cellular with a Magic Keyboard. It rarely comes off the MK and I charge it primarily through it. iPad and Mk are still in great shape but the battery is showing its age. I’ve never felt like it can replace a MacBook, so I mostly use it for email, browsing and the occasional movie. I’m not sure what M series I’ll replace it with but as long as it still works I won’t replace it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Devyn89 and Kal Madda
thimplicity said:
iPad Pro 11 2018 getting veeeeeery slow with ios26. Will upgrade to M5 soon
Click to expand...

That's A12X/4GB RAM unless you have the 1TB model. I have similar experience with the A13/3GB iPad 9.

I have a 12.9" A12Z/6GB RAM and that one runs fairly decently on 26. Reloads quite a lot though.

Personally, I kept my 4GB RAM devices on iOS 18 or earlier. I'm also keeping my M1 iPP on 18.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BluefinTuna
rui no onna said:
That's A12X/4GB RAM unless you have the 1TB model. I have similar experience with the A13/3GB iPad 9.

I have a 12.9" A12Z/6GB RAM and that one runs fairly decently on 26. Reloads quite a lot though.

Personally, I kept my 4GB RAM devices on iOS 18 or earlier. I'm also keeping my M1 iPP on 18.
Click to expand...
I did not expect it to be that bad
 
  • Like
Reactions: BluefinTuna
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back