Apple iPad Pro with M4: who the new 2024 iPad Pro is made for

Compared to its predecessor from two years ago, the 2024 iPad Pro has become thinner and lighter and packs even more power. That is exactly why I wonder who this tablet is actually worth it for. Here is my opinion on the iPad Pro with M4.

Evolution, not revolution

Apple did not revolutionize the technology with the new iPad Pro. After two years, it gets a more powerful processor. I call that a necessary evolution.

What Apple did manage, though: a slap in the face for everyone who bought an M3 MacBook, which only came out in March. If you spend a lot of money on the latest version of an Apple product, you assume it contains the company’s best technology. After just eight weeks, a much more powerful M4 arrives. I would have been furious, and I don’t understand why the M4 wasn’t built into the MacBooks right away.

The M4 in two versions

The M4 comes in two variants:

Storage	CPU	RAM
256 or 512 GB	9 cores, 3 of them performance cores	8 GB
1 or 2 TB	10 cores, 4 of them performance cores	16 GB

The bigger variant costs €730 more. If you go for the smaller models, you get the feeling that you didn’t choose the most powerful option. I find that outstandingly staged from a sales strategy point of view, and a little perfidious. I can’t imagine a scenario for 99.99% of users where the performance of nine cores and 8 GB on a tablet would ever be used to the full. Apple is also leading its customers by the nose emotionally here.

Design and display

The new iPad Pro is 0.6 mm slimmer and 22 g lighter than its predecessor and still has an identically sized battery. That is what I call progress. At 5.3 mm thick, it even beats the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra and the Huawei MatePad Pro, which measure 5.5 mm. It weighs a pleasant 444 g. The build quality is overwhelming, as always with Apple.

Then you switch it on and are greeted by incredibly thick bezels. On the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, the display takes up 90% of the front, on the Huawei MatePad Pro 91%. On the newest and most expensive iPad Pro, it is a sad 84%. That means 16% of the front is black and useless. The year 2015 called and would like its bezels back.

The highlight is the new Ultra Retina XDR tandem OLED display: two OLED displays are stacked on top of each other. Color depth and sharpness are outstanding, and at 1,600 nits peak it gets really bright. For working, watching videos and writing, it is a lot of fun.

Apple Pencil Pro

The Apple Pencil Pro was introduced alongside the iPad Pro and the iPad Air. In addition to the familiar double tap to switch between pen and eraser, you can now squeeze the pen to open the context menu. It appears exactly where the pen tip is, and you no longer have to go to the bottom edge of the screen to switch pen or color. That is handy if you draw a lot. I haven’t quite figured out the new rotation feature yet: when you rotate the pen, the pen tip rotates with it, so you can use the line width in different ways.

Ad: accessories from ESR

The manufacturer ESR offers accessories for the iPad Pro and iPad Air, linked in the video description. The video includes an ad segment for them: a tempered glass screen protector, a magnetic protective film with a matte surface that makes writing feel like paper, a stylus, and the Shift magnetic case, which can be propped up at many angles and has room for the pen.

Who is the iPad Pro worth it for?

The price plays a big role here. The two-month-old MacBook Air with M3 costs €1,299 and has a 13-inch display. The most powerful iPad Pro is only available from 1 TB, and in the 11-inch version it costs at least €1,929. The MacBook Pro with M3 and 1 TB costs €2,229, just €300 more.

MacBooks are much more versatile because you don’t depend on the limited App Store and can download full-fledged software. The key question is therefore: how much do you need the Apple Pencil for work or a hobby? It is the only thing an iPad has over a MacBook. If you don’t need it, you are better off buying a MacBook plus a cheaper iPad, such as an iPad Air from two years ago, for reading, watching movies and a few notes.

• A good upgrade: for anyone who works with the Apple Pencil every day and needs the greatest possible performance, for example to edit photos and videos on the go, draw or render 4K videos.
• A luxury item: for everyone else. For watching Netflix, emails or the occasional note, you don’t need this performance. It’s like buying a Ferrari to drive to the nearest mailbox.

Verdict

I don’t blame anyone for spending a lot of money on tech. I just try to make sure that what I buy fits my needs. Whether the iPad Pro was made only to get money out of customers’ pockets or offers the best value for money will be decided for me in June at Apple’s developer conference. If Apple presents new AI models there that need the power of the M4, the whole thing would at least make halfway sense.