Title: Apple iPad Pro M4 Review – The Pinnacle of Portable Power and Visual Excellence for Creative Professionals

TLDR¶

• Core Features: The Apple iPad Pro M4 features the cutting-edge M4 chip with AI acceleration, a breakthrough Ultra Retina XDR OLED display, and a slim, lightweight design optimized for creative workflows.
• Main Advantages: Exceptional processing power with hardware-accelerated ray tracing, industry-leading OLED color accuracy, and optimized professional app support enhance graphic, 3D, and video work.
• User Experience: Users experience smooth AI-driven drawing, fluid 3D modeling, and robust video editing, with the OLED screen offering vibrant visuals and deep blacks.
• Considerations: Current iPadOS professional app functionalities lag behind macOS counterparts, the Apple Pencil Pro awaits further software integration, and the device carries a premium price tag.
• Purchase Recommendation: Highly recommended for professional artists, 3D designers, and video editors seeking an ultra-portable yet powerful creative workstation; less suitable for casual users due to cost and OS limitations.

Product Specifications & Ratings¶

Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.8/5.0)

Product Overview¶

Apple’s latest iPad Pro introduces the M4 chip, solidifying its position as the most advanced and portable device tailored for professional creators in 2024. Utilizing Apple’s second-generation 3nm fabrication, the M4 integrates a 10-core CPU (4 performance cores, 6 efficiency cores), a 10-core GPU with hardware-accelerated ray tracing, and a 16-core Neural Engine capable of 38 trillion operations per second. This design focuses on dramatically improving machine learning and graphics tasks while consuming roughly half the power required by the preceding M2 chip—an efficiency leap that extends creative productivity.

Key to the iPad Pro M4 experience is the new Ultra Retina XDR OLED display. Apple employs breakthrough tandem OLED technology, delivering exceptional brightness—up to 1600 nits peak for HDR content—and a remarkable 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio. The display combines wide P3 color gamut, True Tone, and ProMotion adaptive refresh rates from 10Hz to 120Hz, resulting in striking visuals with deeper blacks, uniform brightness, and vibrant, accurate color rendition. This panel stands as Apple’s most refined screen yet and sets a new benchmark for forthcoming MacBook OLED technology.

The device’s form factor remains impressively slim and lightweight, with the 11-inch model weighing about 444 grams, making it well suited for mobile workflows. Its build quality and ergonomic design accommodate prolonged creative use, while supporting peripherals such as the new Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard for enhanced productivity.

Professional-grade apps have been optimized to harness the M4’s power. Procreate offers smooth, responsive digital painting; 3D modeling apps like Shapr3D and Nomad Sculpt exploit the GPU and neural engine’s capabilities, enabling complex rendering and design in real time. Video editors benefit from Final Cut Pro for iPadOS, where the M4 reliably handles eighttracks of 4K footage simultaneously, although iPadOS software still trails behind its macOS counterpart in advanced functionality.

In sum, Apple iPad Pro M4 emerges as an ambitious evolution—delivering desktop-level performance and visual fidelity in a highly portable tablet that targets demanding professionals in digital art, 3D design, and media production.

In-Depth Review¶

Apple M4 Chip: Performance and Efficiency¶

The M4 chip is the centerpiece of the new iPad Pro, fabricated using the advanced second-generation 3nm process which allows more transistors in a smaller die, enhancing performance per watt. Featuring a 10-core CPU split into four high-performance and six efficiency cores, the chip fosters an ideal balance between raw speed and battery longevity. The GPU consists of 10 cores including hardware-accelerated ray tracing — a first in Apple silicon — that significantly enhances real-time graphics rendering for immersive 3D visualizations and complex lighting effects.

The embedded 16-core Neural Engine executes machine learning tasks at 38 tera operations per second, outperforming prior generations in AI-driven workflows. This accelerates AI-powered drawing tools, enabling rapid image generation and smart editing functions with minimal latency. Memory bandwidth reaches a remarkable 120GB/s with RAM tiers—8GB for base and 16GB for high-capacity models—catering to heavy multitasking and large project files.

Ultra Retina XDR OLED Display Technology¶

Apple’s leap to tandem OLED represents a major display innovation. The 12.9-inch model sports a higher resolution (2752×2064 pixels) and the 11-inch (2420×1668 pixels) offers ultra-sharp visuals at 264ppi. Unlike previous mini-LED solutions, OLED provides perfect blacks and more uniform brightness across the screen. With peak HDR brightness hitting 1600 nits and a dynamic ProMotion feature that refreshes adaptively from 10Hz to 120Hz, the display offers a fluid and color-accurate canvas essential for color grading, photo editing, and detailed digital art.

Additional coating layers improve fingerprint resistance and reduce glare. The fully laminated panel ensures minimal parallax between stylus input and the rendered stroke—vital for precision work in drawing apps.

Prograde App Ecosystem and Software Considerations¶

The iPad Pro M4 benefits from a growing ecosystem of pro apps optimized for its architecture. Procreate runs with ultra-responsive brush strokes and swift layer management, while 3D design software such as Shapr3D and Nomad Sculpt leverage the GPU and neural engine for fluid model manipulation and high-fidelity renderings.

Final Cut Pro for iPadOS demonstrates the M4’s video editing strength, flawlessly managing eight simultaneous 4K video tracks during preliminary editing phases. Nonetheless, the feature set of Final Cut Pro on iPadOS currently lacks some advanced tools present in the macOS version, signaling that Apple’s tablet remains a companion device rather than a full MacBook Pro replacement, at least for now.

The Apple Pencil Pro introduces enhanced stylus-to-screen responsiveness and new capabilities, though its full functional potential depends on future software updates to integrate seamlessly with the M4’s hardware enhancements.

Battery Life and Portability¶

Despite the high-performance hardware, power efficiency of the M4 chip and refined software tuning grant the iPad Pro all-day battery life for creative work on the move. The device’s thickness is minimized to just 5.3 mm, and with a weight under 450 grams, it delivers unprecedented portability for a professional-grade tablet, encouraging workflow flexibility across locations.

Real-World Experience¶

In practical use, creative professionals praise the iPad Pro M4’s performance leap over the M2 generation. Digital artists note the buttery-smooth experience in Procreate, especially during complex multi-layered artwork and AI-assisted generation, where the Neural Engine drastically speeds up tasks. 3D modelers experience near-desktop responsiveness when manipulating objects and rendering shaders in Shapr3D and Nomad Sculpt, highlighting the power of hardware accelerated ray tracing.

Video editors working with Final Cut Pro appreciate the ability to operate multiple 4K streams without lag, facilitating efficient rough cuts and basic edits when away from their desktop rigs. However, some express desire for more comprehensive editing features on iPadOS to replace Mac workflows fully.

The OLED display receives unanimous acclaim for its vibrant colors, deep contrast, and eye comfort during extended sessions, beneficial for color-critical projects. Users also find the ultra-thin design conducive to mobility without sacrificing stability or port access.

Some customers mention the premium price as a barrier and note that further Apple Pencil updates are eagerly anticipated to unlock the stylus’s full creative potential aligned with the M4 chip’s capabilities.

Pros and Cons Analysis¶

Pros:
– Industry-leading M4 chip delivering exceptional CPU, GPU, and AI performance with excellent power efficiency.
– Ultra Retina XDR tandem OLED display provides unrivaled color accuracy, brightness, and contrast perfect for professional visual work.
– Lightweight and ultra-thin design enhances portability without compromising build quality.
– Broad app ecosystem optimized for M4, including Procreate, Shapr3D, and Final Cut Pro.

Cons:
– Professional software on iPadOS still trails macOS versions, limiting advanced workflow capabilities.
– Apple Pencil Pro features remain under development, pending future software enhancements.
– High price point limits accessibility primarily to professionals and serious creatives.

Purchase Recommendation¶

The Apple iPad Pro M4 stands as a breakthrough in mobile creative tools, perfectly catering to professionals requiring a top-tier portable workstation. Its powerful M4 chip combined with the stunning Ultra Retina XDR OLED display marks it as one of the most capable tablets for graphic design, 3D modeling, AI-assisted creativity, and video editing.

If your workflow demands the utmost on-the-go performance and color fidelity, and you rely heavily on applications such as Procreate, Shapr3D, or Final Cut Pro, this device is among the best investments in the market. Its slim form factor and long battery life further complement dynamic, location-independent work styles.

Conversely, casual users or those whose creative demands are less intensive may find more affordable alternatives within Apple’s iPad lineups more appropriate. Also, if your editing needs require the full spectrum of professional tools, currently available only on macOS, consider that the iPad Pro remains a supplementary device rather than a complete laptop replacement.

Pairing the iPad Pro M4 with the new Apple Pencil Pro is strongly advised to unlock the full creative potential, pending ongoing software improvements. This combination is poised to set a new standard for portable professional creativity in the years to come.

References:

[1] iPad Pro 11‑inch (M4) – Tech Specs
https://support.apple.com/en-us/119892

[2] Apple iPad Pro (M4)
https://panthertech.fiu.edu/Apple-11-inch-13-inch-iPad-Pro

[3] iPad Pro – Technical Specifications
https://www.apple.com/sg/ipad-pro/specs/

[4] iPad Pro – Technical Specifications
https://www.apple.com/ipad-pro/specs/

[5] iPad Pro
https://www.apple.com/ipad-pro/

[6] Apple iPad Pro M4 Review: Not a MacBook …
https://alexreviewstech.com/apple-ipad-pro-m4-review-not-a-macbook-pro-replacement-yet/

[7] iPad Pro 13‑in. (M4) vs iPad Air 13‑in. (M3)
https://www.apple.com/ipad/compare/?modelList=ipad-pro-13-m4%2Cipad-air-13-m3

[8] iPad Pro (M4)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPad_Pro_(M4)