Apple’s new iPad Pro features the incredibly powerful M5 chip. M5 unlocks the most advanced iPad experience ever, packing an incredible amount of power and AI performance into the ultraportable design of iPad Pro.
Featuring a next-generation GPU with a Neural Accelerator in each core, M5 delivers a big boost in performance for iPad Pro users, whether they’re working on cutting-edge projects or tapping into AI for productivity. The new iPad Pro delivers up to 3.5x the AI performance than iPad Pro with M4 and up to 5.6x faster than iPad Pro with M1.
N1, the new Apple-designed wireless networking chip, enables the latest generation of wireless technologies with support for Wi-Fi 7 on iPad Pro. The C1X modem comes to cellular models of iPad Pro, delivering up to 50 percent faster cellular data performance than its predecessor with even greater efficiency, allowing users to do more on the go.
Available in space black and silver, iPad Pro comes in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes, and features the Ultra Retina XDR display for an unparalleled viewing experience. The game-changing features of iPadOS 26 supercharge iPad Pro and help users handle demanding creative and professional tasks with ease. With staggering performance gains and breakthrough improvements over M1 models, there has never been a better time to upgrade.
The iPad Pro is for a very specific type of person, and you probably know who you are. If you’re mostly editing photos and typing up documents like me, the iPad Air is more than sufficient. But if you’re regularly in apps like Final Cut Pro or generating all sorts of weird AI images, you may like the extra power the M5 iPad Pro provides — though you can certainly get by with the older M4 model and maybe save some cash.
iPads have had so much power, but the operating system felt hampered, so much so that it was hard to see it as a viable laptop replacement (I’m sure many folks have been able to replace their clamshells just fine). But iPadOS 26 brought a solution that makes these machines much more capable: windowed apps…
You can fling apps to the sides for easy split-screen, resize apps to whatever shape or size, or just go completely full screen if you want. It feels more malleable to how you want to work, much like a desktop. I thought I’d miss Slide Over, where I can keep one app hovering over and to the side, but I didn’t. (Good news, Apple is reintroducing Slide Over in iPadOS 26.1, so you can have the best of both.)
I have been working off this machine over the past few days, and I feel as though I’ve been able to work faster than I ever have before on an iPad. That’s not specifically because of this tablet’s performance, more so because it feels fluid to operate thanks to the interface changes.
At present, I’d probably pick up the new M5 MacBook Pro instead, but with more desktop apps coming to iPad, I don’t think you’ll have to wait too long until the iPad Pro finally becomes the touchscreen Mac of your dreams.
MacDailyNews Take: The M5 iPad Pro is approaching the iPad we’ve all dreamed about since iPad was unveiled in 2010.
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