Apple M5 iPad Pro vs. M4 iPad Pro: Does the New Chip Make a Big Difference?

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Price and Storage: No Change

Apple has kept the M5 iPad Pro pricing unchanged compared with the 2024 M4 version. That’s good news for you and anyone else considering the new iPad. Here’s how it breaks down:

• 11-inch model with Wi-Fi: 256GB ($999), 512GB ($1,199), 1TB ($1,599), and 2TB ($1,999)

• 11-inch model with Wi-Fi and 5G: 256GB ($1,199), 512GB ($1,399), 1TB ($1,799), and 2TB ($2,199)

• 13-inch model with Wi-Fi: 256GB ($1,299), 512GB ($1,499), 1TB ($1,899), and 2TB ($2,299)

• 13-inch model with Wi-Fi and 5G: 256GB ($1,599), 512GB ($1,799), 1TB ($2,099), and 2TB ($2,499)

Adding the 5G radio costs $200 extra across the board. You can also opt for nanotexture glass, which reduces glare and reflectivity, for an additional $100, although this option is only available on the 1TB and 2TB models.

Winner: Tie

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Size and Design: Recycled Aluminum

Millimeter for millimeter and ounce for ounce, the new 13- and 11-inch M5 iPads are identical to the M4 versions. Indeed, all the new components are hidden on the main logic board.

Apple iPad Pro (M4) (Credit: Eric Zeman)

The 13-inch models measure 11.09 by 8.48 by 0.20 inches (HWD) and weigh 1.28 pounds, while the 11-inch models measure 9.83 by 6.99 by 0.21 inches and weigh 0.98 pounds. It’s fairly impressive that Apple could keep them the same weight, despite swapping out several internal components.

Along with the size and weight, the design is also unchanged. The tablets are thin, with a large piece of glass set into an aluminum frame. The side edges are flat and contain the four speakers, the USB-C port (Thunderbolt 4), and the power/volume buttons in the same locations. The camera module is tucked into the upper left corner of the rear panel. The iPads come in Space Black (which is really dark gray) and Silver.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway here is that if you upgrade from an M4 iPad to an M5 iPad, all your existing accessories, such as the Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard, will remain compatible.

Winner: Tie

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Display: Excellent Across the Board

The displays are also carried over from the M4 iPads. That means you get Apple’s Ultra Retina XDR tandem OLED screen, which is fantastic. The 13-inch model features a resolution of 2,732 by 2,048 pixels, an adaptive refresh rate that ranges from 10Hz to 120Hz, 1,000 nits of brightness for SDR content, and a peak brightness of 1,600 nits for HDR content.

Apple iPad Pro (M5) (Credit: Apple)

Other features include P3 wide color, True Tone (automatic white balance), and an antireflective coating that reduces glare. The 11-inch model has a resolution of 2,420 by 1,668 pixels, along with all the other specs and features of the 13-inch model. All the iPads have a pixel density of 264 pixels per inch.

As with the previous generation, you can opt to spend an extra $100 to get the nanotexture glass on the 1TB and 2TB models. This extra option reduces glare even further.

Winner: Tie

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Processor: M5 > M4

Now, it’s time to pay attention, because this is where the real changes take effect. The new iPad Pro replaces the M4 chip of the 2024 model with Apple’s M5 silicon.

At a high level, the chips look somewhat similar. The M4 and M5 both have a 9- or 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine. Apple says the CPU and GPU are more advanced, while the Neural Engine is faster.

Apple iPad Pro (M5) (Credit: Apple)

The GPU adds the same Neural Accelerators that appear in the iPhone 17’s A19 chip, which boost the GPU’s ability to power AI tasks. Apple claims the M5’s AI performance is 3.5 times faster than the M4 and significantly better at handling on-device, diffusion-based image generation. Moreover, the revised Neural Engine is more energy efficient than the M4. Apple really emphasizes the M5’s gaming and graphics capabilities. For example, it’s said to be 1.5 times faster at rendering 3D graphics with ray tracing, 6 times faster at video transcoding, 4 times faster at AI image generation, and up to 3.7 times faster at AI video upscaling.

The new iPads also gain more, faster memory. The 256GB and 512GB models increase from 8GB of RAM to 12GB of RAM, while the 1TB and 2TB models retain 16GB of RAM. The memory is quicker. The M4 chip had a 120Gbps memory bandwidth, while the M5 chip has a 153Gbps memory bandwidth. The storage components are also faster. With quicker RAM and storage, the iPad Pro now boasts a 2x faster read and write speed, resulting in faster AI performance.

Last, the M5 supports faster charging. Apple says the M5 helps the battery recharge by 50% in just 35 minutes when used with a high-wattage USB-C charger.

Winner: iPad Pro (M5)

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Connectivity: Apple Radios Take the Efficiency Lead

The M5 iPad Pro is the first tablet to gain Apple’s C1X cellular modem and N1 networking chip. The company debuted the C1X in the iPhone Air and the N1 with the iPhone 17 lineup earlier this year.

Apple iPad Pro (M4) (Credit: Eric Zeman)

The C1X cellular modem brings 5G to the iPad Pro for a hefty $200 upcharge. It runs sub-6GHz and C-band 5G, but doesn’t support mmWave. However, the C1X can leverage the M5 chip’s efficiency, doubling the theoretical peak speeds of C-band 5G. In testing on the iPhone Air, it performs really well. It’s these efficiency gains that led Apple away from third-party modem chips (like those made by Qualcomm) in favor of its own. We can expect the C1X or its variants/successors to land in more Apple products over time.

The N1 is a similar big deal. Rather than grab an off-the-shelf solution, Apple combined the iPad’s Bluetooth, Thread, and Wi-Fi radios onto a single chip. In addition to working hand-in-hand with the M5, the N1 bumps the iPad Pro from Bluetooth 5.3 to Bluetooth 6.0, and from Wi-Fi 6E to Wi-Fi 7. Those are welcome radio upgrades that futureproof the iPad Pro for years to come.

Winner: iPad Pro (M5)

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Battery: A Small Win for the M5

Apple doesn’t disclose the capacities of its iPad batteries, but teardowns indicate that the 11-inch M4 iPad Pro features a battery with approximately 8,100mAh, while the 13-inch M4 iPad Pro has a battery with approximately 10,500mAh. Whatever the actual size, Apple is making the same battery life claims for the M5 iPad as it did for the M4: You can expect approximately 10 hours of browsing the web over Wi-Fi and about 9 hours of browsing over 5G. In our battery test, the 13-inch M4 iPad Pro ran for 7 hours and 43 minutes.

The M5 iPad notches a win because it supports faster recharging. The M5 allows the new iPad to recharge at a faster rate, which means you can power up and get to work quicker than ever.

Winner: iPad Pro (M5)

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Cameras: It Boils Down to the ISP

According to Apple’s published spec sheets, the camera components and features appear to be identical between the M5 iPad and the M4 iPad. The tablets have a single 12MP camera on the rear with an aperture of f/1.8. It supports up to 5x digital zoom and features an Adaptive True Tone flash with Smart HDR 4 processing for enhanced photo quality. Video capture sticks with 4K resolution at 24, 25, 30, or 60fps, with extended dynamic range at 30fps. You can capture ProRes format footage at 4K30 when recording to the iPad’s internal storage or 4K60 to an external storage unit. Other features include audio zoom, slow-motion recording in 1080p at 120fps or 240fps, time-lapse, and stereo audio capture.

Apple iPad Pro (M5) (Credit: Apple)

The front camera is centered on the long edge for video chats. It has a 12MP sensor with an f/2.0 lens. It can zoom out by a factor of 2x, use the screen as a Retina Flash, and even shoot in Portrait mode with bokeh effects. Video is limited to 1080p at 25, 30, or 60fps, but you can take advantage of cinematic video stabilization (perfect for all those times you’re filming an action sequence with your tablet).

The only unknown here is how the M5’s image signal processor works. If it’s anything like the A19 Pro chip in the iPhone 17 Pro line, it should be faster and more accurate at rendering color and exposure than the M4. We won’t know for certain until we can take some side-by-side photos for comparison. We do know that the M4 iPad takes better photos and videos than any other tablet in the market.

Winner: Tie