What do you get that pill that has everything? Last year, Apple launched a massive overhaul of the iPad Pro, with a slimmer redesign, a sleeker new screen, a bunch of updated accessories, and a faster new chip. I call him the best member ever. I also wondered how it could be even better.
The answer, at least this year, is apparently no. The new iPad Pro is, in every way that matters, exactly the same as last year’s Pro. It still comes in 11- and 13-inch models, which start at $9,999 and $1,299, respectively. It still comes in two colors. It’s still beautiful. Well, okay, there’s one noticeable difference: It doesn’t say “iPad Pro” or have a line of fine print on the back. Apple took a step off the assembly line. Tell your grandchildren.
Inside, there is another change to a similar effect. The latest Pro has a new chip, the M5, and Apple has swapped in its own networking chips—C1X for cellular connections and N1 for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and (theoretically) Ethernet. As you’d expect, everything is a bit faster, and as you’d expect, none of it makes any practical difference in your day-to-day use.
And yet, after spending the better part of a week using the 13-inch iPad Pro, I’m more compelled than I expected. The biggest reason by far isn’t the new hardware but iPadOS 26, which finally imbues the iPad with some PC-like powers, from free-form multitasking to the menu bar to a massively improved Files app. There are still a lot of things that are simple on the Mac and hamfistedly complicated on the iPad, and Liquid Glass remains a mistake, but Apple has clearly decided that the iPad should be just like the Mac.
You can get iPadOS 26 on many iPads, including last year’s Pro. The M5 Pro is the best but also the most expensive, as always the Pro is: I don’t know why you’d get this device unless you got the Apple Pencil or the Magic Keyboard or both, and at that point it’s at least $1,500. If you need a computer, I’d still recommend a Mac to most people. But if you want an iPad, and you want the best iPad, there’s no other choice.
$999
good
- Better performance than before
- The hardware remains invincible
- iPads are becoming more Mac-like
bad
- Still too expensive for a secondary computer
For almost everything you need to know about the iPad Pro, you should read my review from last year. Only a few things changed. The first, of course, is the M5 chip. In benchmark tests, it scores about 11 percent higher than the M4 on standard CPU tasks and 34 percent higher on GPU tasks. That’s a big number, and the result: the M4 Pro was a zippy machine for playing games, exporting video, and editing photos, but the M5 Pro is even faster and a bit faster. (Did I win my first round? Fortnite On the M5 Pro just because the graphics were great? Who can say?) It doesn’t get hot and it doesn’t seem to choke under anger. It’s just a fantastic processor.
If you’re coming from an MOne-powered iPad Pro, you’ll notice a performance improvement right away. Things that used to load and buffer now just render and save almost instantly. The leap from the M4, though, will only really show up when you’re transferring huge amounts of video or 3D rendering through the machine. For all but the most aggressive, creative professional workflows, the M4 was and is more than enough processor.
When Apple started making its own networking chips instead of buying from companies like Broadcom, the question wasn’t whether they would be better, but whether they could be good enough. Easy to relax: They are. In fact, my internet speed is consistently faster on the M5 Pro than on the M5 Pro. sometimes method There are many reasons why faster internet speeds fluctuate, so I don’t want to get too excited about Apple’s work here, but I can confidently say that you don’t need to worry about chip switches.
A new charger might be the best thing in iPadland this year
There’s a new charger in the box with the new Pro, which might actually be the best new thing in iPad land this year. It’s a small, lightweight 40-watt charger that can boost its output to 60 watts for short periods of time to charge your device faster. My tests matched Apple’s exactly: I put the M5 Pro on the charger to dead, and exactly 30 minutes later it was at 50 percent. I did the same with the M4 Pro, and after half an hour it was at 33 percent. Good stuff in any case! This charger is going everywhere with me from now on.
That’s it. Here’s everything new about the M5 iPad Pro. It’s fast! Somewhere between a little faster and a lot faster, depending on which iPad you’re upgrading from. Apple wants you to think that every bit of performance matters, because AI workflows are becoming ubiquitous and foundational models are part of everything you do. Whether you think the slightly faster AI image generation is a killer app is between you and your god, but so far, the image playing field isn’t tempting me to upgrade. This is a chip bump through and through.
This is a chip bump through and through
If you’re shopping for an iPad Pro, I’d tell most people to see if you can get a good deal on the M4 Pro, which is plenty good and powerful enough for almost everything. But if you’re on the absolute bleeding edge of an iPad, I struggle to find a reason why you wouldn’t like the M5 Pro. This is the best, even better.
I was concerned with last year’s model that the iPad Pro was a great piece of hardware, given how limited the iPad has been. Those bezels aren’t there with the iPad 26, but they’re getting there. The M5 Pro now feels like a super-fast laptop that never slows down, even when I have 10 overlapping apps open just because I can. Navigating is more intuitive, especially with the trackpad and keyboard. Now you can find things in files! We’re still far from a full-on “what is a computer” crisis with so many desktop-class apps, but iPadOS 26 makes it clear that Apple thinks of the iPad as more or less just a laptop. And the M5 Pro is one of the best and best looking laptops I’ve ever used.
