iPad Professional M5 evaluation: Pace increase

Apple is again with the latest version of the iPad Pro, and like the iPad Air earlier this yr the surface-level modifications are minimal. Like that iPad Air, there’s a brand new chip on board right here. It’s the M5, which was additionally added to the 14-inch MacBook Professional and Imaginative and prescient Professional. There are new Apple-designed networking chips: the N1 handles Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread, whereas the C1X handles 5G connectivity. Each of these chips debuted in the iPhone Air final month, so that is the primary time they’re in an iPad. Lastly, the iPad Professional helps quick charging for the primary time; you may get to a 50 p.c cost in about half-hour utilizing a 60W energy adaptor.

In comparison with the redesign Apple launched with the M4 iPad Professional in 2024, that is very a lot a minor spec bump. It is smart for Apple to make sure the iPad Professional has its most performant chips as quickly as they’re launched. In the event you’re charging clients upwards of $1,000 for an iPad Professional, it had higher be on the bleeding edge. (The 13-inch iPad Professional I am testing with 1TB of storage and 5G connectivity prices $2,099, plus the $349 Magic Keyboard.)

As such, the iPad Professional M5 is pretty straightforward to grasp. Need a new iPad Professional? You’re now getting precisely what Apple provided every week in the past, plus some spectacular efficiency good points for particular duties. Virtually nobody who purchased an M4 iPad Professional ought to improve to this one, however anybody utilizing an older mannequin will discover a ton to understand right here.

And whereas the {hardware} hasn’t radically modified, iPadOS has. The current iPadOS 26 launch launched a completely new multitasking system, a considerably improved Recordsdata app and extra help for background processes, to call only a few of the highlights. These issues are finest appreciated on a robust gadget with a big display just like the 13-inch iPad Professional M5 I’m reviewing right here. For years, the query that has dogged the iPad Professional is when its software program would match as much as its undeniably spectacular {hardware}. I feel the combo of iPadOS 26 paired with this {hardware} is a winner, however as at all times the worth goes to be a sticking level.

M5

As talked about, the M5 chip is the large change for the iPad Professional, and if you happen to’re coming from a tool older than final yr’s M4 mannequin you possibly can anticipate an enormous efficiency improve once you begin pushing the envelope of what you are able to do.

Earlier than entering into the nitty gritty, right here’s a rundown of what’s completely different from final yr. Most likely essentially the most vital change is that the M5’s GPU now features a “neural accelerator” on every of its 10 cores, an architectural tweak that’ll unsurprisingly give the chip extra muscle when utilizing the GPU for AI-related duties. Past the neural accelerators, the GPU can be as much as 30 p.c sooner in graphics efficiency, and the third-generation ray-tracing engine right here is as much as 45 p.c sooner in apps utilizing ray tracing.

The usual CPU cores (4 efficiency, six effectivity) are additionally sooner than final yr’s mannequin, although much less dramatically so. That’s not a shock, as every successive M-series chip has gotten related modest efficiency good points over time. (Be aware that the iPad Execs with 256GB or 512GB of storage solely get three efficiency cores. Additionally they include 12GB of RAM in comparison with the 16GB in configurations with extra storage, however that’s greater than the 8GB of RAM within the final era’s equal choices.) The Neural Engine has been upgraded, as effectively. Apple can be promising large good points in reminiscence bandwidth, which now hits 153GB/s (practically 30 p.c increased than on the M4). Lastly, learn/write speeds to storage are as much as two occasions sooner than in final yr’s mannequin.

Performing some benchmarking with the Geekbench 6 and Geekbench AI apps present the anticipated main good points for GPU and AI efficiency. Single-core and multi-core CPU exams with Geekbench 6 are available at about 15 p.c and 10 p.c higher than the iPad Professional M4, however GPU efficiency has elevated greater than 32 p.c.

Issues are extra dramatic once you look particularly on the Geekbench AI outcomes. The app gives three scores (single precision, half precision and quantized) and could be run on three completely different chip backends (CPU, GPU and Neural Engine). When working the CPU- and Neural Engine-based benchmarks, the M5 solely bested the M4 by single-digit percentages. However when utilizing the GPU, the M5’s single-precision rating was 22.4 p.c higher than the M4. Half precision and quantized efficiency was much more spectacular — the M5 scored 85 p.c and 101 p.c higher than the M4, respectively.

The story this tells is that except you’re hitting your GPU exhausting with AI duties, the M5 isn’t massively higher than the M4. Not an enormous shock, and most of the people who shelled out for an iPad Professional within the final 18 months ought to nonetheless be a lot proud of their purchases. However these GPU scores showcase precisely the place the M5 can stretch its wings in comparison with its predecessor.

As I’ve solely had the iPad Professional M5 for lower than every week, I’m nonetheless evaluating the M4 to M5 iPad Professional on particular AI-focused duties and in sure apps and can replace this evaluation with extra particulars later this week.

The caveat with all of that is that whereas the M5 is extremely highly effective, it’s additionally overkill for many issues that persons are going to make use of an iPad for. An iPad Professional with the M2 chip from 2022 nonetheless feels a lot responsive for most traditional duties that don’t require distinctive pace or energy. Sure, there are positively folks shopping for an iPad Professional and maxing out its spectacular capabilities, and people who accomplish that will respect the efficiency right here. However for everybody else, the M5 alone isn’t going to vary how you utilize the iPad Professional on a day-to-day foundation.

{Hardware} and show are nonetheless beautiful

Anybody upgrading from an iPad Professional older than final yr’s M4 mannequin is in for a deal with far past sheer efficiency. The iPad Professional M5 is bodily equivalent to the prior one, however that doesn’t matter as a result of I feel that is nonetheless the only most spectacular gadget Apple makes. I went deep into the numerous modifications Apple made final yr in my review of the iPad Pro M4, and every little thing I mentioned there nonetheless applies.

However to recap, the iPad Professional is extraordinarily moveable regardless of its efficiency chops. Apple made it about 20 p.c thinner and a couple of quarter-pound lighter than the iPad Professional fashions Apple offered from 2018 via 2023. This radically improves the expertise of utilizing it. In the event you’re holding it like a pill, the 13-inch mannequin is now gentle and skinny sufficient to be comfy for prolonged use with out having to place it down. Doing something with the on-screen keyboard whereas holding it’s nonetheless fairly awkward and the 11-inch choice nonetheless appears like the perfect dimension for hand-held duties. However the 13-inch iPad Professional I’m reviewing is noticeably simpler to carry than the iPad Air due to its diminished weight and slimmer profile.

The one grievance I might need about that thinness is it prevents Apple from shoving a much bigger battery in right here. The iPad Professional M5 will get the identical 10-hour battery life score (for browsing the net or watching movies) that each iPad has gotten for the reason that pill was launched in 2010. However lately, Apple has, to a point, stopped specializing in making each gadget as skinny as attainable on the potential expense of issues like efficiency or battery life. Clearly, efficiency isn’t a problem right here. However the identical individuals who worth prolonged battery life in a thicker gadget when utilizing issues just like the MacBook Professional may really feel the identical right here.

That’s a legitimate opinion, however a pill is supposed to be held in your palms and carried round with you much more so than a laptop computer, so I perceive why Apple values portability over extending the iPad Professional’s battery life. Plus, the iPad Professional M5’s fast-charging capabilities make it fairly straightforward to increase its life. Utilizing Apple’s new 40W Dynamic Charger that may robotically step as much as 60W, I bought from 23 p.c to 70 p.c in 35 minutes. That’s a tad slower than the 50 p.c cost in half-hour Apple claims, however we’re effectively inside the “shut sufficient” vary.

One factor I didn’t get to check final yr with the iPad Professional M4 was its sturdiness. The pill’s extraordinarily skinny design reminded folks of previous Apple gadgets that had had some points with flexing. After over a yr with the earlier iPad Professional, I’m under no circumstances anxious about this one. I’ve taken an iPad Professional M4 throughout the US and internationally with no points. Granted, it’s often in its keyboard case, however I’ve additionally traveled with it within the primary Sensible Folio Apple sells and have seen no proof of bending. I additionally don’t bear in mind seeing any stories about sturdiness points from house owners during the last 18 months, so I wouldn’t fear about its long-term sturdiness.

I don’t have an excellent learn on how lengthy the iPad Professional M5 lasts away from its charger simply but — within the first few days with a brand new gadget it’s usually downloading a whole lot of knowledge from backups and performing some optimizing, thus not providing you with an excellent really feel for a way lengthy it’ll often final. However to this point, efficiency appears much like the iPad Air M3 and iPad Professional M4 I’ve reviewed lately. I used to be getting between seven and eight hours whereas utilizing the Magic Keyboard, and I’m guessing that I’ll blow previous the 10-hour estimate when watching locally-stored video. Extra particulars on that to return.

Efficiency, verify. Design, verify. The third factor that continues to impress me in regards to the iPad Professional is its display. It fairly merely has the nicest show I’ve ever seen on a conveyable gadget, be it a laptop computer, telephone or pill. Apple’s tandem OLED show (two OLED panels layered on high of one another) is similar in all respects because it was final yr. Which means the 13-inch display has a 2,752 x 2,064 decision (264 ppi) and normal brightness that may hit 1,000 nits, or as much as 1,600 nits peak for HDR content material. Other than the OLED show, the one show enhancements the iPad Professional has that the iPad Air doesn’t is ProMotion help for 120Hz refresh charges in addition to a nano-texture glass choice for the 1TB and 2TB fashions.

To be clear, although, the iPad Professional’s display is in a very completely different ballpark than the one on the iPad Air. Between the a lot sooner refresh fee, excessive brightness ranges, utterly darkish blacks and great distinction, there’s no query this display far surpasses what you’ll discover on another iPad. Professionals who do detailed work in video, images, drawing with the Apple Pencil Professional or graphic design will respect all of those options. But it surely additionally makes one thing like kicking again on a aircraft to observe a film extra gratifying.

iPadOS 26

In final yr’s iPad Professional M4 evaluation, I wrote: “Apple has proven no indication it’s going to make iPadOS extra like a Mac.” As such, I really useful folks not purchase an iPad Professional except they have been proud of the constraints which have been inherent to iPadOS for a very long time. It took Apple till this summer time, however its newest updates rendered my earlier phrases invalid. With iPadOS 26, Apple just about mentioned “screw it” and addressed practically each large software program grievance customers have had.

As a fast refresher: apps nonetheless open in full display by default, however now you can seize the nook and resize it to any form you see match; you possibly can then stack up as many home windows as you need in that view. Apps are additionally significantly better at remembering their dimension and place in your display than ever earlier than. In the event you swipe up and dismiss all of the apps you’re working with after which re-open one, it’s proper in the identical place you left it. If you wish to toss stuff again in full-screen, the acquainted “stoplight” controls from the Mac can be found for simple window administration.

You possibly can swipe up and maintain for a second from the underside of the display to enter Expose, which reveals each open window in your view. Swiping proper reveals all of the full-screen apps you have got open. In case you have an app in full display, you possibly can change again to a windowed app that’ll simply float on high of what you’re working in. There’s additionally a menu bar on the high of the display that makes it straightforward to entry superior controls for no matter you’re utilizing.

As I mentioned once I first began testing out iPadOS 26 in the summertime, the top results of all these modifications is that your iPad (irrespective of which sort) will really feel considerably extra succesful with this software program replace. And there are different options that energy customers will respect, like a considerably improved Recordsdata app. Because it’s simpler to have a number of home windows, transferring issues round or dragging and dropping issues into apps is lots less complicated. And there are improved sorting choices as effectively, whereas PDFs lastly open within the new Preview app quite than inside Recordsdata .

Background activity capabilities have additionally been considerably expanded. For instance, Remaining Lower Professional can now render video within the background, whereas earlier than, switching to a unique app would put the prolonged and intensive course of on pause. And builders can faucet into this API to make use of it for their very own apps, too.

I can’t say for positive that this may reply all of the complaints of assorted iPad Professional house owners on the market, however I feel Apple has gotten about as shut as it may possibly with out simply placing macOS on the gadget and calling it a day. Even with the large updates to iPadOS, an iPad Professional isn’t for everybody. Loads of folks will nonetheless select a standard laptop computer. However the iPad has at all times provided a fairly distinctive mix of energy and portability, and with higher software program it’s a extra viable choice than ever.

Wrap-up

My viewpoint on the iPad Professional hasn’t modified since final yr. I nonetheless discover it a wildly spectacular gadget that’s in contrast to a lot else you should buy. Identical to the final mannequin, it has Apple’s latest chip, the perfect show Apple has made (apart from its $5,000 Professional XDR monitor) and a bodily design that feels virtually not possible given how a lot expertise is crammed inside. It’s actually pleasant, and it’s much more succesful than earlier than because of the mix of iPadOS 26 and the M5 chip.

Nonetheless, I nonetheless can’t abdomen that value. $1,299 for a 13-inch iPad with 256GB of storage, no 5G connectivity and no Magic Keyboard is a lot of cash, even whether it is as succesful as a similarly-priced laptop computer. Given the unimaginable expertise within the iPad Professional, I can perceive why it’s so costly. And it is highly effective sufficient that some consumers will be capable of use it for 3, 4, even 5 years earlier than they really feel the necessity to replace, which makes the up-front funding rather less burdensome. It is not the sort of gadget you might want to substitute yearly, that is for positive. However except you will use it as your essential laptop — all day, day by day — and know precisely what advantages you’ll get from the iPad over a extra conventional laptop computer, you’re in all probability higher off shopping for an iPad Air and saving your self some huge cash.