iPad Pro with M2 review – stunning performance that’s gone to the next level

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• VERDICT

The iPad Pro with M2 is an absolute game changer when it comes to a tablet being able to power through your tasks and maintaining a high level of productivity with some of the most intense applications. It is in a class of its own.

If you thought the M1 iPad Pro was powerful, then wait till you get a load of the brand new model powered by Apple’s M2 processor – it really takes things to the next level.

While the design of the new iPad Pro hasn’t changed, there are some exciting developments under the hood that will make this product even more valuable and versatile to professionals who rely on high-level performance anywhere.

Available with either 11-inch and 12.9-inch Liquid Retina displays, the iPad Pro can now deliver incredible performance and power through even the most demanding workflows thanks to that new M2 chip.

This latest generation processor from Apple is built on second generation 5-nanometer process with more than 20 billion transistors.

The chip derives its power from the 8-core CPU, which includes four high performance cores and four high efficiency cores and this makes it up to 15 per cent faster than the M1 powered iPad Pro released last year.

And remarkably, it still housed in a thin and light chassis.

On the graphics side, the iPad Pro’s 10-core GPU means up to 35 per cent faster graphics performance than the M1.

This means working with multiple layers in Adobe Photoshop, editing 4K videos and retouching photos is remarkably smooth and responsive.

Blackmagic Design’s Da Vinci Resolve video editing software has also just been released for the iPad Pro with M2.

And it’s a case of having to see it to believe it when editing videos, colour grading and managing HDR workflows – on a tablet.

This will be music to the ears of high-end video editors who can now do their work on the go.

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which Tech Guide received for this review, has a gorgeous Liquid Retina XDR display with up to 1600 nits of peak brightness and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.

The larger iPad Pro also has native support for Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG to offer a mobile cinematic viewing experience.

Not much has changed on the camera side with the 12-megapixel wide camera that can shoot 4K video at up to 60 frames per second as well as capturing HD at up to 240 frames per second for slo-mo videos.

The other 10-megapixel ultra-wide camera lets you zoom out 2x and capture images or 4K video with a much larger field of view.

With the new M2 processor, it turns the iPad Pro into a complete movie studio that accelerates ProRes encode and decode so you’re able to convert video projects to ProRes up to three times faster.

And thanks to the image signal processor in the M2 chip, the iPad Pro can now capture ProRes video.

It also has five studio-quality microphones on board as well as a four-speaker audio system with support for Dolby Atmos so you can not only record theatre quality sound but also enjoy it when it’s time to relax with a movie.

The front 12-megapixel TrueDepth camera on the iPad Pro not only enables Face ID but also has portrait mode and 122-degree field of view which enables Centre Stage to keep you front and centre in your video calls and on FaceTime.

Apple Pencil users will enjoy an all-new feature with the iPad Pro called Apple Pencil Hover.

This feature allows users to preview what they’re about to write or draw before actually pressing Apple Pencil to the screen.

For example, if you’re using different colours on the display, you can select the colour and visualise what that colour will look like just by keeping Apple Pencil up to 12mm away from the screen.

It’s like a try before you buy feature so you’re not using the wrong colour.

This is a feature powered by M2 so it can interpret the signals from Apple Pencil in three dimensions and approximate where the tip will touch the screen.

On the connectivity side, the iPad Pro with M2 provides 5G connectivity on the cellular models.

And it’s also the first Apple device to offer Wi-Fi 6E connectivity.

But there is a small catch with the iPad Pro Wi-Fi 6E operating only two bands – 2.4 GHz and 5GHz.

What’s missing here is its ability to operate on the 6GHz band which makes it operate even faster on Wi-Fi 6E networks.

The 11-inch iPad Pro with M2 is priced at $1,399 (128GB, wi-fi), $1,579 (256GB, wi-fi), $1,929 (512GB, wi-fi), $2,639 (1TB, wi-fi), $3,329 (2TB, wi-fi), $1,649 (128GB, wi-fi + cellular), $1,829 (256GB, wi-fi + cellular), $2,179 (512GB, wi-fi + cellular), $2,879 (1TB, wi-fi + cellular), $3,579 (2TB, wi-fi + cellular).

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro with M2 is priced at $1,829 (128GB, wi-fi), $2,079 (256GB, wi-fi), $2,429 (512GB, wi-fi), $3,129 (1TB, wi-fi), $3,829 (2TB, wi-fi), $2,149 (128GB, wi-fi + cellular), $2,329 (256GB, wi-fi + cellular), $2,679 (512GB, wi-fi + cellular), $3,399 (1TB, wi-fi + cellular), $4,099 (2TB, wi-fi + cellular).

VERDICT

The iPad Pro with M2 is an absolute game changer when it comes to a tablet being able to power through your tasks and maintaining a high level of productivity with some of the most intense applications. It is in a class of its own.