Review: Two Weeks With the M4 iPad Pro

[MacRumors]

It's been just over two weeks since the M4 iPad Pro launched, which means it's time for a longer term review of the updated OLED display, AI-focused processor, super thin design, and new accessories that include the Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard.

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The design of the new iPad Pro is probably the best overall 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 to date, and a tablet of this size and thickness continues to be impressive. Two weeks on, there's no hint of a "bendgate" thanks to the reinforced rib that Apple included under the hood. There's an argument to be made that some people would have preferred a bigger battery to a slimmer design, of course.

Apple moved the front camera to the landscape side of the iPad Pro, and it's a small but notable change. If you use your iPad with a keyboard in landscape orientation but have had to awkwardly turn it to 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 display has no competition. It is by far the best display that Apple has introduced in an iPad, and you won't find a better tablet display available from competing products, either. Apple used tandem OLED technology (basically stacking two OLED displays on top of each other), and the brightness and contrast are unparalleled. Movies look amazing, the iPad does well in bright lighting, and the HDR makes images pop.

Compared to the prior-generation iPad Pro with mini-LED display, the OLED display is better, but not so much so that it's worth upgrading for that alone. Coming from an LCD, though, the difference is much more notable.

The last iPad Pro with an M2 chip is incredibly fast, and the M4 is even quicker, based on benchmarks. You're not going to find much that's going to max out the M4 processor in day to day usage, but you'll 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 it was 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 nixed 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 needs any kind of rear camera is up in the air, and mmWave 5G speeds are still fairly limited in availability. Sub 6GHz 5G remains, 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 couple new tricks. You can squeeze to bring up menus so you don't need to go hunting for settings to do things like change line thickness or color, and there's a barrel roll feature that basically does things like vary line thickness when tilting the Apple Pencil so it behaves more like a real writing or drawing tool. Find My might be the most useful addition so you can track down the Apple Pencil if it goes missing, and Haptic Feedback is also nice to have.

The Magic Keyboard is way more Mac like thanks to that larger glass trackpad and the aluminum palm rest. The trackpad is more pleasant 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 it's probably the best tablet on the market. The major downside is the price, with the 11-inch model starting at $999 and the 13-inch model starting at $1299. Those are Mac prices, and while the iPad's hardware is worth it, it's a lot to pay for the limitations that you're stuck with when using iPadOS. There are workflows out there that work with a tablet, but many people aren't going to be able to replace a Mac with an iPad.

You also have to shell out for the 1TB+ iPad Pro if you want maximum performance, as the 1TB and 2TB models have an extra CPU core (10 cores vs. 9 cores) and 16GB RAM instead of 8GB.

Article Link: Review: Two Weeks With the M4 iPad Pro

 

[PowerMac5500]

Deleted

 

[W£S]

I think I've held or touched just about every Apple product made since the late 1990s... I got hands on with the new M4 iPad Pros at my local apple store a few days ago. Stunningly thin. Without seeing it in person you might think "whatever". I have an M2 Pro... picking this up, without even turning it on, was enough to make me want to upgrade. I'm not going to because there is no reason beyond the svelte aesthetics, I barley make use of the capabilities of the M2 iPad Pro, and I'd just put a case on it anyway...

Stunningly thin for sure.

It is indeed attractive but the iPadOS is the weakness link. Without the ability to run many macOS app, I can’t convince myself to pay for an iPad Pro that is more expensive than MacBook Air/Pro

 

[AlexESP]

“Those are Mac prices, and while the iPad's hardware is worth it, it's a lot to pay for the limitations that you're stuck with when using iPadOS.”

Of course, it’s subjective, but if I’m willing to buy an iPad Pro, it’s because of iPadOS. I wouldn’t buy an iPad with macOS (which would be too limited from my point of view) at any price point.

 

[PowerMac5500]

Deleted

 

[reyesmac]

Just put an apple silicon inside the keyboard case and make it run as a Mac when docked already. IF they integrate both OS enough you should be able to pick up on the Mac where you left off on the iPad as it would sync when you doc it and have open whatever docs you had open on either end. Of course Apple would charge $800 for a headless laptop thats slower than a MacBook Air but they wouldn't have it any other way. At least the thing would have more usefulness than an iPad.

 

[Wando64]

I am puzzled by Apple's choice to drop the Smart Folio Keyboard for this generation of iPad.
I mean, the new keyboard is great if you want to use it as a MacBook, but to me the Smart Folio Keyboard represented the perfect half way solution for those that use and carry the iPad mainly as a tablet, but still want to use a physical keyboard when required.
That, and the crazy prices, make me hesitate.

 

[seek3r]

Just put an apple silicon inside the keyboard case and make it run as a Mac when docked already. IF they integrate both OS enough you should be able to pick up on the Mac where you left off on the iPad as it would sync when you doc it and have open whatever docs you had open on either end. Of course Apple would charge $800 for a headless laptop thats slower than a MacBook Air but they wouldn't have it any other way. At least the thing would have more usefulness than an iPad.

it already has "an apple silicon" inside the ipad, the limitation on running macos isnt that....

 

[NVDA]

I think I've held or touched just about every Apple product made since the late 1990s... I got hands on with the new M4 iPad Pros at my local apple store a few days ago. Stunningly thin. Without seeing it in person you might think "whatever". I have an M2 Pro... picking this up, without even turning it on, was enough to make me want to upgrade. I'm not going to because there is no reason beyond the svelte aesthetics, I barley make use of the capabilities of the M2 iPad Pro, and I'd just put a case on it anyway...

Stunningly thin for sure.

I bought it and it is indeed "whatever". Have compared it to my 2018 iPad Pro and it's barely any lighter or thinner. The 2018 does everything just as well. M4 is definitely getting returned.

 

[Populus]

I haven’t found the info on Apple’s site so I’ll ask here: Does anyone know there the 4 studio-quality microphones are located on this new model?

Let’s remember that we’re going down from a 5 microphone array to a 4 mic array, and from what I’ve heard, the new iPad Pro sounds quite better. So I’m wondering if they achieved this by relocating them.

 

[julesme]

[Juli discussing the 13” M4]: ”…some people would have preferred a bigger battery to a slimmer design, of course.”

Once nice feature of the 11” M4 iPad Pro: It has both a slimmer design and a slightly bigger battery vs the M2 model.

 

[klasma]

I haven’t found the info on Apple’s site so I’ll ask here: Does anyone know there the 4 studio-quality microphones are located on this new model?

You can find the info in here: https://developer.apple.com/accessories/Accessory-Design-Guidelines.pdf

There’s one next to each of the front and rear cameras, one on the short edge opposite the USB port (previously there were two mics there), and one on the long edge opposite the side where the volume buttons are.

 

[Apple_Robert]

The big thing that caught my attention with the video is that Dan essentially admitted he is not an iPad person. Why have someone who is a Mac person doing an iPad review? In my opinion, the review should have been done by someone who primarily uses an iPad for most tasks. And in doing so, go more into detail about using the iPad to accomplish different file management tasks, documents, spreadsheets, and other things a typical primary user might encounter on a day to day basis.

 

[FineWoven]

[Juli discussing the 13” M4]: ”…some people would have preferred a bigger battery to a slimmer design, of course.”

Once nice feature of the 11” M4 iPad Pro: It has both a slimmer design and a slightly bigger battery vs the M2 model.

And oddly enough, if you seek out the few battery testing videos comparing each size model that are out there on YouTube, the 11" is neck and neck with the 13" for total uptime on a single charge, if not slightly edging it out in some cases.

 

[jmgregory1]

I upgraded from an M1 12.9” iPP and got exactly what I was hoping for - an all-day battery iPad Pro, in a lighter form-factor with a matte screen. Where I used to just barely get through an 8 hour day using it on and off (unplugged), I can get a full day of use, plus a night of entertainment use on it and still have ~30% battery remaining to start the next day. That was just never before possible. I don’t care if it’s overpowered for what iPadOS allows or provides, I can use it for general work AND play and no longer need to be near an outlet so I could charge it after 6-8 hours of use. It’s one of the best Apple products I’ve ever owned and I’ve owned a lot of them going back to the early ‘90’s.

 

[Populus]

You can find the info in here: https://developer.apple.com/accessories/Accessory-Design-Guidelines.pdf

There’s one next to each of the front and rear cameras, one on the short edge opposite the USB port (previously there were two mics there), and one on the long edge opposite the side where the volume buttons are.

Wow! Many thanks! Thanks to that document, I just learned that the new M4 iPad Pro not only has one Ambient Light Sensor (like my M2 iPP) but THREE!!! One where the front camera & FaceID used to be on the previous models, another one where the front camera & FaceID are now, and a third one on the rear camera island.

One annoying issue I have with my M2 iPad Pro, is that if I block the Ambient Light Sensor (where FaceID is), the screen gets a lot dimmer. And when I move to the side and the light reaches the sensor again, the screen gets suddenly brighter again.

 

[WU27f1xcCs]

I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but I have a 12.9” Pro from 2017, I’ve used it everyday since getting it 7 years ago. I still can’t find a reason to upgrade this year, even though I want a reason to. The reason is the software limits the tremendous hardware. I don’t want a laptop I want a tablet…

 

[klasma]

Wow! Many thanks! Thanks to that document, I just learned that the new M4 iPad Pro not only has one Ambient Light Sensor (like my M2 iPP) but THREE!!! One where the front camera & FaceID used to be on the previous models, another one where the front camera & FaceID are now, and a third one on the rear camera island.

It’s a very useful document. Updates are only published after release day for new devices, but then it’ll give a lot of information not found anywhere else.

 

[FineWoven]

I bought it and it is indeed "whatever". Have compared it to my 2018 iPad Pro and it's barely any lighter or thinner. The 2018 does everything just as well. M4 is definitely getting returned.

I'm guessing you own the 11" size of your current 2018 model and went with that size again for this newest one? Because if so then yeah I agree the difference in weight/thickness isn't exactly earth shattering... However, I have been rocking the 12.9" M1 myself for a little under 3 years now and when I went into my local Apple Store last week to check out the new version, holy smokes... I could definitely notice a major improvement thanks to those dramatic physical reductions.

 

[Belisama]

Apple would like to sell a lot of these very expensive iPads Pro.
Yesterday I went to an Apple Store and made a side-by-side comparison of new iPad Pro 13" vs new iPad Air 13".
I cannot differentiate their respective displays. To me, both displays are amazing and my eyes aren't good enough to perceive the added value of OLED. They both use the new Pencil Pro.
I don't deny that the Pro is technically better, but as far as I'm concerned, I cannot justify the extra $$$.

 

[dasjati]

Maybe the M4 chip will shine when iPadOS 18 is updated with a slew of new AI features, but for now, it's overkill.

I will never understand the argument that a current chip is "overkill" in an iPad, but for some reason not in an iPhone or a base model Mac. There's more to it than just "maxing out" a chip. It also means I will have a snappy, useful device for longer. Why does nobody complain that there's nothing that "maxes out" the chip in an iPhone? Would you rather have an older chip for the same money? I don't get it.

Unfortunately, this whole "review" is mostly just repeating the spec sheet with some snarky comments thrown in and very few actual bits of useful information. I only read the text. Won't spend time on the video. Seeing someone else's comments the "reviewer" is not even an iPad user. Makes zero sense and also explains why the reviews is light on actual content and full of fluff.

Maybe next time let someone review a device who has actually used it and has some concrete insights into what it can and can't do.

I could have written this "review" without even owning the device …

 

[stinksroundhere]

100%... I was going to add that I would upgrade in a heartbeat if "macOS pops up when you plug in an external monitor"... Done, sold, lets go! The power is clearly there. Storage is not an issue.

Sure sure, and then someone tries to run an LLM with Ollama or someone else loads a monster scene into Blender and then their iPad turns to toast, the screen damages from the heat, the device becomes too hot to hold.

And then the Genius Bar says WTF did you do those things, no we are not going to refund you.

And that's why there isn't macOS on it. It's a tablet, not a Mac. It's supposed to be used directly in the hands and remain a cool running device that you can't damage with a super intensive desktop app that isn't supposed to be used on a tablet.

 

[rchaser]

I do my work on Macs, but this generalization has never been true and will never be true. Just because an iPad doesn't work for your use case (or mine), doesn't mean it won't work for anyone. It might even work for most people!

Of course iPadOS needs improvements. There are insightful articles about that elsewhere. But there are lots of people who can do "serious work" on an iPad.

What is the serious work and why do it on an iPad over a Mac?

I’m confident that 90+% of people are stretching reality when they say they “do” or “will do” serious work on an iPad.

People who do work when looking between a Mac or an iPad are not choosing the iPad. The “serious work crowd” are just using that line to justify their overpriced purchase. It’s fake.

There is no problem with the iPad or its price…just the people who say they are doing more serious work on the device than they actually are. It’s just nerd talk. It’s fake.

 

[Chambers McMac]

I think I've held or touched just about every Apple product made since the late 1990s... I got hands on with the new M4 iPad Pros at my local apple store a few days ago. Stunningly thin. Without seeing it in person you might think "whatever". I have an M2 Pro... picking this up, without even turning it on, was enough to make me want to upgrade. I'm not going to because there is no reason beyond the svelte aesthetics, I barley make use of the capabilities of the M2 iPad Pro, and I'd just put a case on it anyway...

Stunningly thin for sure.

I agree. If you mix live audio, this iPad would be fantastic. I have an old iPad Pro for that and it’s so heavy I have to find a table or something to lean against after a while.

 

[mysticmanix]

Without reading it: let me guess, the higher res screen is nicer, the spec bump is faster, the speakers are slightly upgraded, but the software still sucks and is exactly the same as the 2018 ipad pro. Great for people who draw?