How to choose the best Apple tablet for you

Screen size: 11 inch or 13 inch | Display resolution: 2420 x 1668 (11 inches), 2752 x 2064 (13 inches) | Storage: Up to 2TB | RAM: Up to 16 GB | Weight: 0.98 pounds (11 inches), 1.28 pounds (13 inches) | Battery life: Until 10 a.m. | Front camera: 12MP | Rear camera: 12MP

Read our full Apple iPad Pro (M4) review

The last iPad Pro that’s more tablets than most people need, period. But if you have money to spend, are determined to use an iPad as your primary mobile computer, or simply want the most technically impressive iPad possible, this is it.

We gave the new iPad Pro a score of 84 in our test. Like the iPad Air, it comes in 11- and 13-inch models: the former starts at $999, while the latter starts at $1,299. That’s a prohibitive price for most people, but for the money you get a number of premium, if non-essential, upgrades compared to Apple’s other tablets.

The most important of these is the Pro’s “tandem OLED” panel. Compared to the iPad Air’s LCD screen, this produces richer colors and deeper, more even black tones. Gaming and scrolling web pages look smoother thanks to its faster 120Hz refresh rate. It can also get much brighter, reaching up to 1,000 nits in SDR and up to 1,600 nits with high HDR lights.

This is where the “tandem” part comes in. Essentially, Apple stacks two OLED panels on top of each other to improve peak brightness, which is often a (relative) weakness of traditional OLED displays. It is a breakthrough, but all you really need to know is that this screen is an absolute delight – one of the best we’ve seen on any consumer device, let alone a tablet. For watching movies or editing media, you really can’t do better. And unlike the previous generation Pros, this display technology is used on the 11- and 13-inch models, so the best size just depends on your personal preference.

The Pro’s design is broadly similar to the iPad Air, but slightly thinner and lighter. The difference isn’t huge on paper, but the Pro’s slimmed-down frames make them a little easier to hold. This is particularly significant with the 13-inch model. Whether this has any effect on the long-term durability of the tablets remains to be seen, but both models seem sturdy overall.

The other major upgrade is Apple’s new M4 SoC, which is only available with the new Pros at the moment. If the M2 is overkill for the vast majority of casual and professional iPad tasks, then the M4 is a mega-killer; he easily chewed up just about anything we threw at him. But it should be even more scalable, and it may save you a few seconds here and there if your work involves editing high-resolution media, heavy use of machine learning, etc.

Beyond that, the base iPad Pro has 256GB of storage, twice as much as the iPad Air. It also supports more advanced features like hardware-accelerated ray tracing on its GPU, which could make lighting easier in future games, and a faster neural engine, which should help with AI features that Apple has planned for the months and years to come.

If you Really If you want to max things out, note that the 1TB and 2TB configurations have twice the RAM (16GB) and use a technically more powerful version of the M4 with an extra performance core unlocked. Upgrading to one of these SKUs costs one minimum of $1,599, though – and that’s before adding accessories. Those looking to use the iPad Pro as a (very expensive) media consumption device don’t need it; If you work with memory-intensive applications or need the best, just know that it will cost you.

The iPad Pro is the only iPad with Face ID, which is still a bit more convenient than using a fingerprint scanner. It’s the only one with a Thunderbolt USB-C port, technically faster for transferring large files. It feels more robust than the Air, with four built-in speakers instead of two. Its camera system isn’t that different, but it includes a flash to more easily scan documents and it can record video in Apple ProRes format. Its front camera is also on the long side. On the accessories side, the Pro alone can use the latest new features from Apple Magic Keyboard, which itself is extremely expensive but features a premium aluminum finish, a roomier trackpad, and a row of function keys. It also supports the Pencil Pro stylus (but not the second-generation Pencil).

If most of these features sound interesting to you, well, yes, that’s the idea. Unless you’re willing to pay for that awesome OLED display, the iPad Air comes close enough for a much more acceptable price. And while the iPad Pro is a top-notch tablet, ultimately it’s still an iPad. Some creative professionals may well use it as a laptop replacement, but for most, iPadOS still makes multitasking and other computing tasks more complicated than they would be on a MacBook. Judging by the features Apple has announced for the next big iPadOS update, that won’t change anytime soon. (THE the most lively an addition there? A new calculator app.) That said, the Pro is a wonderful iPad: fast, thin, and luxurious. And expensive.