Apple iPad Pro (M5, 2025) Review: Tremendously Powerful

I opened DaVinci Resolve and started editing 4K footage and everything seemed smooth, but more importantly is the fact that thanks to iPadOS 26 you can perform rendering tasks in the background without needing to stay in the app. I hit the export and render button, switched to another app and… well, turns out DaVinci Resolve doesn’t support this new feature yet, so I had to keep the app open for the rendering to complete. However, you shouldn’t have any problems with Final Cut Pro.

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 don’t really have a problem with this on the “weaker” iPad Air either. What I find annoying is the fact that this powerful machine still only has 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.

Photography: Julian Chokkattu

The iPad Pro is aimed at a very specific type of person, and you probably know who you are. If, like me, you mainly edit photos and type documents, the iPad Air is more than adequate. But if you regularly use apps like Final Cut Pro or generate all sorts of weird AI images, you might appreciate the extra power provided by the iPad Pro M5, although you can certainly get by with the older M4 model and perhaps save some money.

But unlike the iPad Air, which is just affordable enough to exist as a nice complement to a MacBook for those days when you don’t want the bulk of a laptop, the Pro feels more like a choice you have to make between a case and a slate due to its high price. Right now, I’d probably choose 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.