iPad Pro 2021 with Apple M1: Ultimate Review

2021 from a technological point of view, and as a lover of Apple products, was an absolutely fantastic year.

We witnessed the birth of the Apple M1 chips, first brought to the 13-inch MacBook Air and Pro and then, in the M1 Pro and M1 Max variants, in the high-end 14" and 16" models.

But in June 2021, totally unexpectedly, Apple presented the new 11" and 12.9" iPad Pro with the M1 chip!

Madness.

Let's take a look at all the advantages and disadvantages of this small hardware revolution in this full 2021 iPad Pro review.

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iPad Pro 2021: technical characteristics

I hate to make the shopping list of specifications but, even if it's short, it has to be done.

The main features of the 2021 iPad Pro with M1 chip are:

• 11" or 12.9" Liquid Retina XDR display
• Apple M1 chip
• 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB of storage
• 12MP Wide, 10MP Ultra Wide rear cameras and LiDAR scanners
• new 12MP Ultra Wide front camera with Center Stage function
• Face ID with TrueDepth system
• Four speaker audio system
• Thunderbolt USB-C port
• 5G and WiFi 6 connection

As you can see from the list above, the changes compared to the 2020 model are not crazy and can be summarized in three lines:

• New Apple M1 processor
• Center Stage for the front camera
• XDR display for 12.9" models

The most important change, on the purely hardware side, obviously lies in the adoption in this generation of iPad Pro of the M1 chip which, at the beginning of its presentation in 2020, we thought was designed exclusively for MacBooks.

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Apple M1, Macbook power within reach of a tablet

The M1 chip is a SoC that mounts an 8-core CPU, which together work in multi-threaded mode to maintain consistent performance and at the same time reduce energy consumption.

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The 8 cores are divided into:

• 4 performance cores that allow you to operate at maximum speed in all demanding activities
• 4 efficiency core that perform the most basic daily activities such as browsing the Internet, allowing very low energy consumption and extending battery life (which easily reaches 12 hours of browsing, madness).

Obviously, even the GPU has 8-cores, up to a Power equal to 2.6 TFLOPS, equal to or better than an Nvidia GTX 1050TI for Windows laptops.

All boxed in the small iPad Pro 2021 which, with this power, can to be really exploited at a professional level... or it could, if there were Pro Apps, but that's another story.

Let's continue.

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Finally interesting RAM memory cuts

The advantages of the M1 chip are not limited to mere brute force but, of course, they bring with them other important characteristics.

The most interesting upgrade, in my opinion, is that of the RAM.

For the first time, after years of waiting and requests, the iPad no longer has a measly 3GB of RAM but:

• 8GB of RAM on 128GB, 256GB and 512GB models
• 16GB of RAM on 1TB and 2TB models

This thing, from a professional point of view, is fantastic.

Finally applications have enough memory to support really heavy workloads. The “old chips” A12 and A12Z, although very powerful, were definitely limited by inconsistent memory cuts for professional workflows.

Today, however, with an initial RAM cut of 8GB, the doors are finally opening for the development of complete apps that can actually be used for a more complex use, from MacBook.

Finally, Display XDR Miniled

If we talk about displays, we can only rejoice and appreciate the new 2021 iPad Pro panels, which, to a great surprise, are equipped respectively:

• one XDR display for the 12.9" model
• an LCD display for the 11"

Both include True Tone, ProMotion at 120hz and P3 color range.

In everyday use, absolutely nothing changes between the two displays; the difference is noticeable only in the eyes of experts to whom, the version with XDR, is dedicated.

The XDR display carries the Mini-LED technology, 10,000 of the latter are grouped together, allowing you to precisely adjust the brightness of the images, literally turning off the black screen, managing to achieve crazy levels of contrast between colors.

In short, a feast for the eyes. Especially for photo retouching or video editing professionals, who need screens with significant color fidelity and brightness.

Cameras and Center Stage

The 2021 iPad Pro, at the level of rear cameras, has:

• A 12MP wide angle
• A 10MP ultra wide angle
• Lidar sensor, useful for analyzing environments and experiences in Augmented Reality

The real news, however, lies in the front camera.

In fact, the iPad Pro M1, unlike previous models, is equipped with a new 12MP ultra-wide angle Which brings with it a new gem: the Center Stage.

This addition, thanks to the new ultra-wide angle and machine learning, allows you to activate a function of automatic framing which, during video calls, is able to move the frame autonomously so you never lose sight of yourself, downsizing the image as other people join or leave during the call.

An absurd cool thing for students and professionals struggling with dad and smart-working.

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Audio and connections

As for everything else, nothing new:

• 4 audio speakers
• Thunderbolt USB-C port
• 5G and Wifi6 connection

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A jewel of design, unchanged but perfect

Everything can be said about the iPad Pro except that it is an ugly design, in fact practically everyone is copying it (Huawei coff coff, Samsung coff coff, Lenovo coff coff).

So I'm not going to tell you anything, let's let the images talk for once.

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iPad Pro for studying and working

But in short, after all I'm a bunch of boring specifications, what's the real use of this iPad Pro with M1?

Is it good for studying? And to work?

Let's dive deeper.

The modularity of the iPad Pro is its main feature. It is a tablet that can be used to play games, watch movies and television programs and, if necessary, transform into a laptop by magnetically attaching the keyboard. Really great.

The presence of the pen in the iPad Pro, however, is what transforms the user experience most significantly.

The Apple Pencil opens the door to everything that, with a normal laptop, you can't do:

• sign documents, with Adobe Fill & Sign you can sign literally in 3 straight seconds
• Take notes by hand, Notability docet
• Draw illustrations, with Procreate you can achieve absurd results with a very high quality
• model in 3D, NomadSculpt and Sharpr 3D are excellent alternatives to desktop apps and allow you to achieve crazy results with a UX (User-experience) designed to the maximum for Apple Pencil
• Edit photos, the pen is perfect for photo editing and precise stain removal on Adobe Lightroom

And also, thanks to the new Center Stage function, iPad Pro becomes the perfect ally during lessons and video calls, always keeping you in the center of the frame, with all the apps such as FaceTime, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Zoom.

Obviously That glitter isn't all gold, in fact, in none of the previous examples is there the word”vocational“.

Obviously, That glitter isn't all gold; in fact, the words' professional 'or' expert 'are never mentioned in any of the previous examples.

We understand why.

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iPadOS: the Achilles' heel of iPad Pro

Although iPad Pro is equipped with the infamous Apple M1 chip, there is a peculiarities not to be underestimated: The operating system.

Unfortunately, theiPad Pro Use the unripe iPadOS, which stands out for its software restrictions that make you hear that excessive and almost unjustified 'Pro':

• Multitasking is terrible
• File management is terrible
• You can't extend the screen via HDMI in an external monitor but, rather, you can only duplicate without adjusting the proportions
• Apps use a few GB of RAM despite the fact that up to 16GB can be configured
• last but not least, there are no professional applications.

The biggest disadvantage of iPad OS and the iPad Pro, which does Fail All the excitement, is that there are no truly PRO applications.

Let's face it, there are Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom, Luma Fusion, Acrobat, and Nomad Sculpt - all “lite” versions that violently run up against the restrictions listed above in iPad OS. The iPad version of Photoshop is little more than a shadow of its desktop counterpart.

And the much flaunted Luma Fusion is nothing more than a limited video editing app, not even remotely comparable to Premiere Pro or Final Cut.

What about web development? VS Code has its web version but it is very limited. Not to mention the Browser lack of support for builders such as Wordpress, Shopify or Webflow, are terrible to use on iPad because, open your ears wide, the iPadOS one is not a real cursor but a gesture touch simulation.

When you click, with the mouse, you are actually simulating a tap touch.

When you scroll a page with your mouse wheel, you're actually simulating scrolling with your fingers.

And all this makes all those web applications that are not optimized for touch screens incompatible, so almost all of them.

In short, with the awareness of the real potential of a product like iPad Pro with M1, all this is really frustrating and demeaning for those, like me, who were looking for and are still looking for a compromise between laptop and tablet.

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Is it worth buying an iPad Pro with an M1 chip in 2022?

I admit that the previous paragraph was not exactly pleasant to write, and perhaps not even to read, in a 'definitive review'.

But certain things, in the face of an important expense such as that of iPad Pro, must be said.

So do I recommend it? Is iPad Pro 2021 worth buying in 2022?

Yes, but let's see in what cases and why.

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To study

If you are a student, I would definitely recommend it.

It is very convenient to better perform all the typical tasks of high school and university study:

• Can you say goodbye to books and notebooks, reading and taking notes on iPad is a pleasure
• you can safely follow the lessons online, there are all the apps such as Meet and Teams
• There's no comparison for entertainment and web browsing, Netflix goes to hell 😉

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To work

If, on the other hand, like me, you are a professional then things change slightly.

Let's be clear, this iPad Pro is a bomb. Really.

But it has all the software limitations listed above that relegate it to a perfect complementary device to a Macbook, not a primary one in short.

If you're an illustrator, there's nothing better than the iPad Pro with Apple Pencil.

For bloggers, content creators and various writers the same thing, a bomb.

But for everything else, think of it as something more than the MacBook, not a replacement.

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iPadOS 16 is coming

A small reason, as simple as it is important, is the presentation of iPad OS 16 in June 2022.

As I also wrote in this article, among the rumors about the new operating system for iPad is the porting of professional apps such as Final Cut and Logic Pro to iPad Pro with an M1 chip.

So yes, with a view to future software updates, iPad Pro M1 is the best investment as it will benefit from the expected OS improvements for the new Cupertino SoCs.

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Conclusions

In short, the iPad Pro with Apple M1 chip is a powerful device that offers the best of both worlds for people who are looking for a tablet that can also afford the luxury of behaving like a laptop.

Its very good technical specifications make it perfect for students and professionals who don't need all the bells and whistles of a computer and are happy to work within the limits of iPadOS.

But Apple is working hard to improve the tablet OS, and I expect even better things from the 2022 iPads.

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