I opened DaVinci Resolve and started editing some 4K footage and everything felt buttery smooth, but more important is the fact that thanks to iPadOS 26, you’re able to complete rendering tasks in the background without needing to stay on the app. I hit the export and render button, swapped to another app, and … well, turns out DaVinci Resolve doesn’t support this new feature just yet, so I had to keep the app open for the render to complete. You shouldn’t have an issue on Final Cut Pro, though.
The most professional task I typically use with my iPad is editing RAW images in Adobe Lightroom, and, unsurprisingly, the M5 performed its duties with ease, even with my liberal use of Adobe’s AI-erase tool. However, I also didn’t really have much issue with this on the “weaker” iPad Air. What I find annoying is the fact that this powerful machine still only comes with one USB-C port. I can’t plug it into my camera and edit photos and charge the tablet at the same time; you need a USB hub.
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
The iPad Pro is for a very specific type of person, and you probably know who you are. If you’re mostly editing photos and typing up documents like me, the iPad Air is more than sufficient. But if you’re regularly in apps like Final Cut Pro or generating all sorts of weird AI images, you may like the extra power the M5 iPad Pro provides—though you can certainly get by with the older M4 model and maybe save some cash.
But unlike the iPad Air, which is just affordable enough to exist as a nice complement to a MacBook for days you don’t want the bulk of a laptop, the Pro feels more like a choice you have to make between clamshell and slate because of its high price. At present, I’d probably pick up the new M5 MacBook Pro instead, but with more desktop apps coming to iPad, I don’t think you’ll have to wait too long until the iPad Pro finally becomes the touchscreen Mac of your dreams.
