Apple iPad Pro (M5) Review

The M5 iPad Pro is a refinement rather than a reinvention. Apple has carried over the thin, light chassis and the Tandem OLED display that made the previous generation stand out, then updated the internals. There's the new M5 chip, more base RAM than before, faster storage, and current wireless standards in Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. Reviewers broadly agree it is a fairly minor step up from the M4 model, so how appealing it is depends a lot on what you're upgrading from.

It comes in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes, starting at $999 and $1,299 respectively for Wi-Fi models. That puts it firmly in premium territory, and it's aimed at creative professionals, power users, and anyone who wants the best tablet display available and is willing to pay for it. If you mainly stream video, browse and take notes, this is far more tablet than you need.

On the strengths, the display is the headline. Reviewers consistently rank the Ultra Retina XDR Tandem OLED panel among the best on any tablet, and it remains the most compelling reason to choose this model. The thin, lightweight design, which one reviewer called Apple's thinnest computer ever, makes it easy to carry for such a capable machine. The M5 chip, whose GPU has Neural Accelerators in every core, plus the higher base memory and faster storage, give it plenty of headroom for demanding creative work. Thunderbolt/USB 4, Wi-Fi 7 and optional 5G round out a forward-looking set of connections.

There are real drawbacks too:

• Price: the tablet is expensive, and so are its accessories and upgrades. Configurations add up quickly.
• Split configurations: the full 10-core CPU and 16 GB of RAM are only available on the 1 TB and 2 TB models. That makes the best version even pricier.
• Small upgrade: M4 owners have little reason to move up.
• Software: iPadOS 26 adds productivity features. However, at least one reviewer felt some changes make it worse to use as a tablet.

Battery life is rated at up to 10 hours, which is reasonable but not exceptional. Overall, this is an outstanding piece of hardware that is held back mainly by its cost and by how little it changes from last year. For buyers coming from an older iPad, or creatives who will put the display and performance to work, it's easy to recommend. For everyone else, it's hard to justify.