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

I opened up DaVinci Resolve and started editing some 4K footage and everything felt very smooth, but even more important is the fact that thanks to iPadOS 26, you can complete rendering tasks in the background without having to stay in the app. I hit the Export and View button, switched to another app, and…well, it turns out that DaVinci Resolve doesn’t support this new feature yet, so I had to keep the app open until the rendering was complete. However, you shouldn’t have a problem with Final Cut Pro.

The most professional task I typically do with my iPad is editing RAW images in Adobe Lightroom, and the M5 unsurprisingly handled its duties with ease, even with my liberal use of Adobe’s AI scanning tool. However, I didn’t have much of an issue with this on my “weaker” iPad Air. What I find annoying is the fact that this powerful device still only comes with one USB-C port. I can’t connect it to my camera and edit photos and Charge the tablet at the same time; you need USB hub.

Photo: Julian Chocato

The iPad Pro is for a very specific type of person, and you probably know who you are. If you mostly edit photos and write documents like me, the iPad Air is more than adequate. But if you regularly use apps like Final Cut Pro or create all sorts of weird AI images, you might like the extra power the M5 iPad Pro offers — though you can certainly use the older M4 model and perhaps save some money.

But unlike the iPad Air, which is affordable enough to serve as a great complement to the MacBook for days when you don’t want the bulk of a laptop, the Pro feels like a choice you’ll have to make between clamshell and slate because of its high price. 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 you’ll have to wait long for the iPad Pro to finally become the touch-enabled Mac of your dreams.