Ipad Pro M5 Review: Speed Boost

Apple is backmost pinch nan latest type of nan iPad Pro, and like nan iPad Air earlier this twelvemonth nan surface-level changes are minimal. Like that iPad Air, there’s a caller spot connected committee here. It’s nan M5, which was besides added to nan 14-inch MacBook Pro and Vision Pro. There are caller Apple-designed networking chips: nan N1 handles Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread, while nan C1X handles 5G connectivity. Both of those chips debuted in nan iPhone Air past month, truthful this is nan first clip they’re successful an iPad. Finally, nan iPad Pro supports accelerated charging for nan first time; you tin get to a 50 percent complaint successful astir 30 minutes utilizing a 60W powerfulness adaptor.

Compared to nan redesign Apple introduced pinch nan M4 iPad Pro successful 2024, this is very overmuch a insignificant spec bump. It makes consciousness for Apple to guarantee nan iPad Pro has its astir performant chips arsenic soon arsenic they are released. If you’re charging customers upwards of $1,000 for an iPad Pro, it had amended beryllium connected nan bleeding edge. (The 13-inch iPad Pro I'm testing pinch 1TB of retention and 5G connectivity costs $2,099, positive nan $349 Magic Keyboard.)

As such, nan iPad Pro M5 is reasonably easy to understand. Want a caller iPad Pro? You’re now getting precisely what Apple offered a week ago, positive immoderate awesome capacity gains for circumstantial tasks. Almost nary 1 who bought an M4 iPad Pro should upgrade to this one, but anyone utilizing an older exemplary will find a ton to admit here.

And while nan hardware hasn’t radically changed, iPadOS has. The caller iPadOS 26 merchandise introduced an wholly caller multitasking system, a importantly improved Files app and much support for inheritance processes, to sanction conscionable a fewer of nan highlights. Those things are champion appreciated connected a powerful instrumentality pinch a ample surface for illustration nan 13-inch iPad Pro M5 I’m reviewing here. For years, nan mobility that has dogged nan iPad Pro is erstwhile its package would lucifer up to its undeniably awesome hardware. I deliberation nan combo of iPadOS 26 paired pinch this hardware is simply a winner, but arsenic ever nan value is going to beryllium a sticking point.

M5

As mentioned, the M5 chip is nan large alteration for nan iPad Pro, and if you’re coming from a instrumentality older than past year’s M4 exemplary you tin expect a large capacity summation erstwhile you commencement pushing nan letter cover of what you tin do.

Before getting into nan nitty gritty, here’s a rundown of what’s different from past year. Probably nan astir important alteration is that nan M5’s GPU now includes a “neural accelerator” connected each of its 10 cores, an architectural tweak that’ll unsurprisingly springiness nan spot much musculus erstwhile utilizing nan GPU for AI-related tasks. Beyond nan neural accelerators, nan GPU is besides up to 30 percent faster successful graphics performance, and nan third-generation ray-tracing motor present is up to 45 percent faster successful apps utilizing ray tracing.

The modular CPU cores (four performance, six efficiency) are besides faster than past year’s model, though little dramatically so. That’s not a surprise, arsenic each successive M-series spot has gotten akin humble capacity gains complete nan years. (Note that nan iPad Pros pinch 256GB aliases 512GB of retention only get 3 capacity cores. They besides travel pinch 12GB of RAM compared to nan 16GB successful configurations pinch much storage, but that’s much than nan 8GB of RAM successful nan past generation’s balanced options.) The Neural Engine has been upgraded, arsenic well. Apple is besides promising large gains successful representation bandwidth, which now hits 153GB/s (nearly 30 percent higher than connected nan M4). Finally, read/write speeds to retention are up to 2 times faster than successful past year’s model.

Doing immoderate benchmarking pinch nan Geekbench 6 and Geekbench AI apps show nan expected awesome gains for GPU and AI performance. Single-core and multi-core CPU tests pinch Geekbench 6 travel successful astatine astir 15 percent and 10 percent amended than nan iPad Pro M4, but GPU capacity has accrued much than 32 percent.

Things are much melodramatic erstwhile you look specifically astatine nan Geekbench AI results. The app offers 3 scores (single precision, half precision and quantized) and tin beryllium tally connected 3 different spot backends (CPU, GPU and Neural Engine). When moving nan CPU- and Neural Engine-based benchmarks, nan M5 only bested nan M4 by single-digit percentages. But erstwhile utilizing nan GPU, nan M5’s single-precision people was 22.4 percent amended than nan M4. Half precision and quantized capacity was moreover much awesome — nan M5 scored 85 percent and 101 percent amended than nan M4, respectively.

The communicative this tells is that unless you’re hitting your GPU difficult pinch AI tasks, nan M5 isn’t massively amended than nan M4. Not a immense surprise, and astir group who shelled retired for an iPad Pro successful nan past 18 months should still beryllium plentifulness happy pinch their purchases. But those GPU scores show disconnected precisely wherever nan M5 tin agelong its wings compared to its predecessor.

As I’ve only had nan iPad Pro M5 for little than a week, I’m still comparing nan M4 to M5 iPad Pro connected circumstantial AI-focused tasks and successful definite apps and will update this reappraisal pinch much specifications later this week.

The caveat pinch each of this is that while nan M5 is incredibly powerful, it’s besides overkill for astir things that group are going to usage an iPad for. An iPad Pro pinch nan M2 spot from 2022 still feels plentifulness responsive for astir modular tasks that don’t require exceptional velocity aliases power. Yes, location are decidedly group buying an iPad Pro and maxing retired its awesome capabilities, and those who do truthful will admit nan capacity here. But for everyone else, nan M5 unsocial isn’t going to alteration really you usage nan iPad Pro connected a day-to-day basis.

Hardware and show are still stunning

Anyone upgrading from an iPad Pro older than past year’s M4 exemplary is successful for a dainty acold beyond sheer performance. The iPad Pro M5 is physically identical to nan anterior one, but that doesn’t matter because I deliberation this is still nan azygous astir awesome instrumentality Apple makes. I went heavy into nan galore changes Apple made past twelvemonth in my reappraisal of nan iPad Pro M4, and everything I said location still applies.

But to recap, nan iPad Pro is highly portable contempt its capacity chops. Apple made it astir 20 percent thinner and astir a quarter-pound lighter than nan iPad Pro models Apple sold from 2018 done 2023. This radically improves nan acquisition of utilizing it. If you’re holding it for illustration a tablet, nan 13-inch exemplary is now ray and bladed capable to beryllium comfortable for extended usage without having to put it down. Doing thing pinch nan on-screen keyboard while holding it is still beautiful awkward and nan 11-inch action still feels for illustration nan champion size for hand-held tasks. But nan 13-inch iPad Pro I’m reviewing is noticeably easier to clasp than nan iPad Air because of its reduced weight and slimmer profile.

The only title I mightiness person astir that thinness is it prevents Apple from shoving a bigger artillery successful here. The iPad Pro M5 gets nan aforesaid 10-hour artillery life standing (for surfing nan web aliases watching videos) that each iPad has gotten since nan tablet was released successful 2010. But successful caller years, Apple has, to immoderate degree, stopped focusing connected making each instrumentality arsenic bladed arsenic imaginable astatine nan imaginable disbursal of things for illustration capacity aliases artillery life. Clearly, capacity isn’t an rumor here. But nan aforesaid group who worth extended artillery life successful a thicker instrumentality erstwhile utilizing things for illustration nan MacBook Pro mightiness consciousness nan aforesaid here.

That’s a valid opinion, but a tablet is meant to beryllium held successful your hands and carried astir pinch you moreover much truthful than a laptop, truthful I understand why Apple values portability complete extending nan iPad Pro’s artillery life. Plus, nan iPad Pro M5’s fast-charging capabilities make it beautiful easy to widen its life. Using Apple's new 40W Dynamic Charger that tin automatically measurement up to 60W, I sewage from 23 percent to 70 percent successful 35 minutes. That’s a tad slower than nan 50 percent complaint successful 30 minutes Apple claims, but we’re good wrong nan “close enough” range.

One point I didn’t get to trial past twelvemonth pinch nan iPad Pro M4 was its durability. The tablet’s highly bladed creation reminded group of past Apple devices that had had immoderate issues pinch flexing. After complete a twelvemonth pinch nan erstwhile iPad Pro, I’m not astatine each worried astir this one. I’ve taken an iPad Pro M4 each astir nan US and internationally pinch nary issues. Granted, it’s usually successful its keyboard case, but I’ve besides traveled pinch it successful nan basal Smart Folio Apple sells and person seen nary grounds of bending. I besides don’t retrieve seeing immoderate reports astir durability issues from owners complete nan past 18 months, truthful I wouldn’t interest astir its semipermanent durability.

I don’t person a awesome publication connected really agelong nan iPad Pro M5 lasts distant from its charger conscionable yet — successful nan first fewer days pinch a caller instrumentality it’s often downloading a batch of information from backups and doing immoderate optimizing, frankincense not giving you a awesome consciousness for really agelong it’ll usually last. But truthful far, capacity seems akin to nan iPad Air M3 and iPad Pro M4 I’ve reviewed recently. I was getting betwixt 7 and 8 hours while utilizing nan Magic Keyboard, and I’m guessing that I’ll rustle past nan 10-hour estimate erstwhile watching locally-stored video. More specifications connected that to come.

Performance, check. Design, check. The 3rd point that continues to impressment maine astir nan iPad Pro is its screen. It rather simply has nan nicest show I person ever seen connected a portable device, beryllium it a laptop, telephone aliases tablet. Apple’s tandem OLED show (two OLED panels layered connected apical of each other) is nan aforesaid successful each respects arsenic it was past year. That intends nan 13-inch surface has a 2,752 x 2,064 solution (264 ppi) and modular brightness that tin deed 1,000 nits, aliases up to 1,600 nits highest for HDR content. Aside from nan OLED display, nan only show improvements nan iPad Pro has that nan iPad Air doesn’t is ProMotion support for 120Hz refresh rates arsenic good arsenic a nano-texture solid action for nan 1TB and 2TB models.

To beryllium clear, though, nan iPad Pro’s surface is successful a wholly different ballpark than nan 1 connected nan iPad Air. Between nan overmuch faster refresh rate, precocious brightness levels, wholly acheronian blacks and awesome contrast, there’s nary mobility this surface acold surpasses what you’ll find connected immoderate different iPad. Professionals who do elaborate activity successful video, photography, drafting pinch nan Apple Pencil Pro aliases schematic creation will admit each of these features. But it besides makes thing for illustration kicking backmost connected a level to watch a movie much enjoyable.

iPadOS 26

In past year’s iPad Pro M4 review, I wrote: “Apple has shown nary denotation it’s going to make iPadOS much for illustration a Mac.” As such, I recommended group not bargain an iPad Pro unless they were happy pinch nan limitations that person been inherent to iPadOS for a agelong time. It took Apple until this summer, but its latest updates rendered my earlier words invalid. With iPadOS 26, Apple beautiful overmuch said “screw it” and addressed astir each large package title users person had.

As a speedy refresher: apps still unfastened successful afloat surface by default, but you tin now drawback nan area and resize it to immoderate style you spot fit; you tin past stack up arsenic galore windows arsenic you want successful that view. Apps are besides overmuch amended astatine remembering their size and position connected your surface than ever before. If you swipe up and disregard each nan apps you’re moving pinch and past re-open one, it’s correct successful nan aforesaid spot you near it. If you want to propulsion thing backmost successful full-screen, nan acquainted “stoplight” controls from nan Mac are disposable for easy model management.

You tin swipe up and clasp for a 2nd from nan bottommost of nan surface to participate Expose, which shows each unfastened model successful your view. Swiping correct shows each nan full-screen apps you person open. If you person an app successful afloat screen, you tin move backmost to a windowed app that’ll conscionable float connected apical of what you’re moving in. There’s besides a paper barroom astatine nan apical of nan surface that makes it easy to entree precocious controls for immoderate you’re using.

As I said erstwhile I first started testing retired iPadOS 26 successful nan summer, nan extremity consequence of each these changes is that your iPad (no matter which kind) will consciousness importantly much tin pinch this package update. And location are different features that powerfulness users will appreciate, for illustration a importantly improved Files app. Since it’s easier to person aggregate windows, moving things astir aliases dragging and dropping things into apps is simply a batch simpler. And location are improved sorting options arsenic well, while PDFs yet unfastened successful nan caller Preview app alternatively than wrong Files .

Background task capabilities person besides been importantly expanded. For example, Final Cut Pro tin now render video successful nan background, whereas before, switching to a different app would put nan lengthy and intensive process connected pause. And developers tin pat into this API to usage it for their ain apps, too.

I can’t opportunity for judge that this will reply each nan complaints of various iPad Pro owners retired there, but I deliberation Apple has gotten astir arsenic adjacent arsenic it tin without conscionable putting macOS connected nan instrumentality and calling it a day. Even pinch nan large updates to iPadOS, an iPad Pro isn’t for everyone. Plenty of group will still take a accepted laptop. But nan iPad has ever offered a beautiful unsocial blend of powerfulness and portability, and pinch amended package it’s a much viable action than ever.

Wrap-up

My viewpoint connected nan iPad Pro hasn’t changed since past year. I still find it a wildly awesome instrumentality that is dissimilar overmuch other you tin buy. Just for illustration nan past model, it has Apple’s newest chip, nan champion show Apple has made (aside from its $5,000 Pro XDR monitor) and a beingness creation that feels almost intolerable fixed really overmuch exertion is crammed inside. It’s genuinely delightful, and it’s moreover much tin than earlier acknowledgment to nan operation of iPadOS 26 and nan M5 chip.

However, I still can’t tummy that price. $1,299 for a 13-inch iPad pinch 256GB of storage, nary 5G connectivity and nary Magic Keyboard is simply a lot of money, moreover if it is arsenic tin arsenic a similarly-priced laptop. Given nan unthinkable exertion wrong of nan iPad Pro, I tin understand why it’s truthful expensive. And it's powerful capable that immoderate buyers will beryllium capable to usage it for three, four, moreover 5 years earlier they consciousness nan request to update, which makes nan up-front finance a small little burdensome. It's not nan benignant of instrumentality you request to switch annually, that's for sure. But unless you are going to usage it arsenic your main machine — all day, each time — and cognize precisely what benefits you’ll get from nan iPad complete a much accepted laptop, you’re astir apt amended disconnected buying an iPad Air and redeeming yourself a batch of money.