Apple iPad Pro (M5, 2025) review: Very powerful

When I opened DaVinci Resolve and started editing the 4K footage, everything felt very smooth. But more importantly, thanks to iPadOS 26, you can complete rendering tasks in the background without having to leave apps running. I hit the export and render button and switched to another app. It turns out that DaVinci Resolve doesn’t yet support this new feature, so I had to keep the app open until the render was complete. However, the problem does not occur in Final Cut Pro.

The most professional task I typically use the iPad for is editing RAW images in Adobe Lightroom, and unsurprisingly, the M5 was up to the task with ease, even with heavy use of Adobe’s AI erasure tools. However, I had no problems with the “weaker” iPad Air. What’s frustrating to me is the fact that this powerful machine still only has one USB-C port. Cannot connect to camera and edit photos and Charge your tablet at the same time. i need you usb hub.

The iPad Pro is for a very specific type of person, and you probably know who you are. If you mostly edit photos and type out documents like I do, the iPad Air is fine. However, if you regularly use apps like Final Cut Pro or generate all sorts of weird AI images, you might love the extra power the M5 iPad Pro offers. However, the older M4 model may do the trick and perhaps save you some money.

But unlike the iPad Air, which is affordable enough to complement your MacBook for days when you don’t need much of a laptop, the Pro’s higher price makes it feel like you have to choose between a clamshell and a slate. For now, I’d probably opt for the new M5 MacBook Pro instead, but with more desktop apps coming to the iPad, I don’t think we’ll have to wait too long until the iPad Pro finally becomes the touchscreen Mac of our dreams.