M4 iPad Pro and why I can’t get enough of it!

This summer, I bought the M4 iPad Pro, and I've been using it pretty much every day for over 6 months, but how does it fit into my workflow, and what is that keeps me coming back to it?

This piece could be quite timely — maybe you're thinking of picking yourself up an iPad Pro this holiday season for yourself or giving it as a gift, and if you are, hopefully, my experiences & thoughts may help you decide if it's for you.

Bear in mind, first and foremost, I'm a Mac user, so I had to get used to a new OS — iPad OS. If you, too, are coming from a Mac, let me say this — it's not as bad as you may've heard. Honestly, it's not! Sure, it's not macOS, but it's not trying to be and neither should it. For starters, we are talking about a tablet that has a touch screen — so it needs a different way of interacting with it.

We'll cover that in more detail later, but first, let's quickly cover some of the basics, starting with the design.

Design

The M4 iPad Pro is a design showcase for Apple. I know I'm stating the obvious, but it needs saying one more time — it is thin! It's thinner than my iPhone 16 Pro Max and thinner than the Pencil Pro. How there is a complete computer in this thing and speakers is a mystery to me! It's easy to be blasé about about quite what Apple has achieved with the M4 iPad Pro.

To that point, one thing I need to remind myself to do more often is to take it out of the Magic Keyboard. It's bloody gorgeous to hold — no other company makes devices that feel this good and this tactile. I never put my iPhone in a case for the same reason — it's part of the design genius behind Apple. Name another device that is more rewarding and exciting to unbox and get your hands on.

The screen on this latest generation of iPad Pro is almost edge-to-edge, and the slim bezels look great on it — it works. I get the mini doesn't need slim bezels because you tend to hold that more like a book, and thicker bezels work on that iPad — but the iPad Pro screams Pro use and elegance. It's refined.

Display

The display is the M4 iPad Pros USP.

The Tandem OLED wizardry they've come up with on here makes it the best display I've ever used by a long way! Every other display, even TVs, quickly feels second best by comparison.

Oh, and if it's bright, you want — the iPad Pro has got your back. It's so bright that I often have to dim it down — and I love my displays bright! Yet again — the iPad Pro raises the bar.

Putting some numbers on it, it has 1000 nits of SDR brightness, which is stunning for an OLED panel and will go up to 1600 nits for HDR content (the iPad mini could take a lesson from its big brother here). The ridiculous brightness levels are well placed as this tablet will often be used outdoors or on the fly, and this panel can be used in any condition — trust me! It's brighter than any of my Mac displays, and the ProMotion spoils you for how fast it reacts. It'll drop down to 10Hz and go all the way up to 120Hz — it reacts intelligently to what you are looking at and will set the refresh rate accordingly. As yet, though, there is no always-on-display — but that could be sorted with a software update.

The first M4 iPad Pro I bought had the nano texture on it. Now, don't get me wrong, it worked ever so well — but it just wasn't for me. I guess if you are an artist, gamer, or generally using the tablet in bright conditions, then it might be a good choice for you.

But for me, the trade-off in how much it flattens and kills the depth of colour was a deal-breaker. The iPad Pro has an anti-reflective coating anyway, which does a reasonable job, and it also has a Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating, helping to keep it smudge-free — or at least making it less smudgy.

You've probably heard or read the term 'Wide colour P3 gamut' and wondered what it means. Well, in plain English, all it means is that it allows the display to show deeper primary colours and richer secondary colours.

It unlocks with Face ID, and it works brilliantly. Can we please start the petition for Apple to drop Touch ID on iPads and iPhones? Touch ID feels ever so last century. It's time for it to be resigned to the garbage can if you ask me.

All you need to know is the display on this M4 iPad Pro will leave you wanting to use it!

As for the size — I will always pick the largest display I can — the 16 Pro Max, 15-inch M3 MacBook Air and 16-inch MacBook Pro. Now, as much as when the iPad Pro is on the desk, I adore the size of it — it's when I have to cart the thing about that I begin to have second thoughts.

The large display comes at a price — and that price is weight. It's a chunky fella, and when you throw it in your backpack, it won't take long for you to know about it. So, my cautionary word to you would be if you are going to be using this on the fly a lot, go and check out the 11-inch alongside the 13-inch and be certain if you are happy with the extra weight the 13-inch iPad comes with.

Speakers & Camera

The speakers often get overlooked, but they're actually pretty good.

You get four speakers on here, and when it's in landscape mode, they shine (it's in front of me right now as I write — and they sound lovely).

The basic physics of a speaker is that they need air and space — it's part of what makes them work. The fact these speakers sound so good in such a tiny body is another mystery to me. They are good enough to be compared pretty favourably to those you'll find in a MacBook Air or Pro. They are a little thin-sounding — but I'm being picky. They are more than useable.

Now, the camera on the iPad is a bit of a non-starter, as we know. You don't want to be that person shooting video or taking pictures on a large iPad. But putting that kind of use to one side where the camera comes in handy is for scanning documents and receipts. So, if your life is spent on expenses and uploading receipts — the iPad Pro will tick some boxes for you.

Also, if you are at conferences or seminars regularly with the iPad, you can have the best of both worlds — jotting down notes and taking some pictures all on one device.

And, of course, if you work in the Apple ecosystem, an iPad fits in seamlessly with Universal Control, AirDrop and Side Car.

Keyboard & Pencil on the M4 iPad Pro

It's an odd truism that you'd never consider buying an iPad Pro without popping it in a case — and most likely a Magic Keyboard. Although it's an expensive extra, costing £350, it's true to say it makes the iPad Pro come to life.

When it first came out in 2020, it changed what people could do with their iPads and where it sat in people's estimations of what the boundaries were for it. Of all iPads — the iPad Pro needs a keyboard. Without one, it just seems wrong. I've not used a third-party one and have no desire to. Apple's one works so well, why look elsewhere?

You've doubtless heard all about the function keys — well, for me, the stars are the escape key, brightness, search and volume keys. The metal case makes it feel premium and familiar; by that, I mean it's very Mac-like.

It's super comfortable — even more comfortable than a Mac to type & work on. The trackpad is large and user-friendly, and as for the haptic engine in it, well, you'd swear you were using a physical trackpad.

The case does mark easily, though. It feels lovely and velvety, but it picks up scuffs ever so easily. The good news is though, that most marks come off with a microfibre cloth and so far has proven to be durable enough.

Much like the Magic Keyboard, the M4 iPad Pro needs a pencil. The choice now is much simpler as you only have two options — the Pencil Pro (£129) and the cheaper USB-C Pencil (£79). For my money, you'll only buy a Pencil once, so spend the extra £50 and load it with all the beans.

I'm no artist, so although I don't get the most from it, I wouldn't want to be without it. I use it mostly for jotting down notes — that's right…shock horror…WRITING by hand! There is no noticeable lag when using the pencil. I don't use any kind of paper-type screen protector either, but using the pencil directly on the glass surface feels natural enough — it's a tad bit too smooth, but it's not an awful experience.

I've left the gestures turned on but increased the sensitivity settings on the Pencil. Natively, they were too easy to trigger. Features such as selecting the eraser, pen types and thickness are handy, and after a brief spell of disabling them, I found that I missed them too much. Hover is probably my favourite Pencil feature, and only wish we could also use it on an iPhone as well.

Multi-tasking

I'm not going to get too weighed down in this one!

I found it's either one of those things you can get along with or not. You'll either embrace it or you won't. Part of the problem may be that folks might be expecting a Mac desktop experience, and when it's not, they feel let down.

Although it is different, it doesn't stop you from getting work done on the iPad. With Stage Manager, you can group apps for specific tasks and overlap & re-size windows. It sort of works, but I find it a little messy and prefer to use Slide Over & Split View. I find it a more focused way of working.

For all the naysayers when it comes to multitasking on an iPad, let's not forget that it's just another term for getting things done — and on the iPad Pro, you can get plenty done — particularly if I am at the desk and connect it to the Studio Display. The USB-C port opens up all sorts of possibilities.

Apple silicon and AI

Apple silicon may yet prove to be the making of the iPad. It's fair to say that the iPad has struggled to find its identity — but finally, it looks as if we can see the way forward for it.

Recently, we've seen the first truly Pro apps available for iPad — namely Final Cut & Logic. Apple didn't take the obvious lazy option and just port the Mac versions over to the iPad — they actually developed them specifically for the iPad. Are they as good as their desktop counterparts? Nope — but they are good enough to edit video and audio away from your studio. And now, some plugins are starting to become available for these apps, too, which is an overdue and exciting development. With Apple having just bought Pixelmator, it shows their intentions for Apple silicon and the tablet.

Apple Intelligence is stuttering to life and, at some point, could be more than just light photo editing and writing tools — but at least with Apple silicon in iPads, they'll be ready for whatever Apple will eventually throw at it. And who knows, the new Siri may even be useful on an iPad at some point!

Final thoughts

When I bought the iPad, I wasn't sure if I'd keep or return it…or even like it!

It will never replace my Mac, and I don't think it's supposed to — it's not its purpose in life. But I love using it, and it is great to have it sitting in my lineup. So, what is it that keeps me coming back to the iPad Pro?

It's the fact I can do everything on it in one compact, comfortable-to-use mobile, robust device. It has a camera when you need it (that the Mac doesn't), and it's more comfortable to use than a Mac in many circumstances.

Out of the features we don't have yet that I think would be well received is the option to have a multi-user login, and if they could find a way to better integrate the Files app into the OS — that would be great. I didn't realise what a central role the Files app plays in iPad life — way more than on the iPhone, where I hardly ever use it.

On the whole, the iPad these days is a pretty complete device doing what it does well. It has the best screen, decent speakers and an all-day battery if you are just carrying out 'normal' everyday tasks.

And that's what keeps me coming back to it!

It doubles up as a workhorse and a content consumption device when you just want to kick back — but still gives you the option to work should you fancy it.

The M4 iPad Pro is the best of both worlds. Don't ask it to be what it's not — rather learn to enjoy what it is.

Originally published at https://talkingtechandaudio.com on December 12, 2024.