Apple iPad Pro (M5) review: The best comes at a cost

Price When Reviewed

$999

Best Prices Today: Apple iPad Pro 11-inch (M5, 2025)

Apple’s iPad lineup is the most extensive it’s ever been. There’s the cute and compact iPad mini (A17 Pro), the excellent everyday iPad (A16), the powerful and portable iPad Air (M3) and at the top, you have the iPad Pro. 

Until recently, that was the iPad Pro (M4), but Apple has now introduced a more advanced processor to this slab in the M5, whilst also improving connectivity and adding, for the first time on iPad, fast charging.

If you have the iPad Pro (M4), it’s highly unlikely you’ll be upgrading, but if you have an older iPad Pro, another iPad, or you’re new to iPad entirely, there’s a lot to love in the iPad Pro (M5). Having used it since it was announced, here’s why it cements itself as best in class, as well as what to consider before you hit buy. 

Design & Build

• Same design as iPad Pro (M4)
• Two colours
• Aluminium build

There’s just something about slim devices. I’m not even sure we’ve all noticed as phones and tablets have increased in thickness over the last few years. Compare the iPhone 6 to the iPhone 17, though, and there is a noticeable difference. When the iPad Pro (M4) was revealed in May 2024, its 5.1mm build was as noteworthy as it was impressive.

At that point, we hadn’t seen the iPhone Air or the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, so phones weren’t anywhere near that slim, let alone tablets. It was so light and portable, even in the 13-inch size, and its design was a real delight. 

The iPad Pro (M5) thought it best to keep things exactly how they were, and that’s something I won’t fault in this case. There are two sizes again – 11 inches and 13 inches – with the smaller model fractionally thicker at 5.3mm. That’s still thinner than the iPhone Air, and just like that phone, get this tablet in your hand and you’ll really appreciate how lovely it is.

At 444g on the 11-inch model, it’s nearly a third of the weight of a MacBook Air, while the 13-inch model (and my review unit) is just 580g – still pretty much half the weight of Apple’s cheapest laptop.

The aluminium frame comes in two boring yet classy colour options – Silver and Space Black – with the latter being my preference. All models have a small camera housing on the rear, a Smart Connector for attaching accessories and uniform bezels around the display. 

Get this tablet in your hand and you’ll really appreciate how lovely it is

Screen & Speakers

• 11- or 13-inch options
• Tandem OLED, 120Hz refresh rate
• Apple Pencil Pro support
• Quad speakers

The display on the M5 iPad Pro is also the same as the M4 version. Again, this is by no means a bad thing.

Apple is continuing with what it calls a Tandem OLED display, which effectively means two OLED panels on top of each other to deliver a brighter screen overall. As a result, there’s a peak brightness of 1,600 nits on the iPad Pro (M5), which not only makes it usable outside on a sunny day but also ensures HDR photos and videos look superb.

Colours are lovely and punchy, whites are incredibly bright, and you get true blacks during darker scenes. Details in everything from the time stamp in the top left corner to app icons and notification bubbles are crisp and sharp, while viewing angles are great too.

Meanwhile, the ProMotion display technology means support for refresh rates up to 120Hz, ensuring a lovely, smooth scrolling experience.

Colours are lovely and punchy, whites are incredibly bright, and you get true blacks during darker scenes

On the models with 1TB or 2TB of storage, you have the option to add a nano-texture coating. This adds a matt finish to what is otherwise a glossy display, which should reduce glare in the process.

My review unit of the iPad Pro (M5) doesn’t have this finish, but I have used and loved it on the iPad Pro (M4). It’s excellent for cutting through reflections, so if you’re planning on using this iPad outside or in a room with bright lights or large windows, I highly recommend considering it. I don’t understand why Apple didn’t make it an option on models with less storage.

There are two speakers positioned at either side of the iPad Pro (M5)’s display when held in a landscape orientation. The sound is decent for a tablet, and you’ll have no problem watching a movie or taking a video call. I’d always recommend connecting up a pair of headphones or AirPods if you want the best experience, but the four speakers do a more than adequate job when you need them to. 

Specs & Performance

• Apple M5 processor
• 256GB starting storage
• Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, Thread

Under the hood, the iPad Pro (M5) sees an upgrade in processor from the Apple M4 we saw in the 2024 model to the Apple M5, which you may have guessed from its name.

Built on a 3nm process, the chip has a 10-core GPU with Neural Accelerators that are claimed to deliver 3.5 times faster AI performance than the M4 iPad Pro. There’s also a faster 16-core Neural Engine, according to Apple, said to be helpful for things such as summarising a page of notes or isolating a background in a video. 

The CPU makeup of the M5 depends on the storage model you select. On the higher storage 1TB and 2TB models, you get a 10-core CPU made up of four performance cores and six efficiency cores, while the 256GB and 512GB models have a nine-core CPU (three performance, six efficiency). My 1TB review sample benefitted from the more powerful version, and powerful it most definitely is. 

There was nothing I could do on my MacBook Pro that I couldn’t do on the M5 iPad Pro

There was nothing I could do on my MacBook Pro that I couldn’t do on the M5 iPad Pro – it made light work of anything I threw at it.

I spent hours editing images, wrote thousands of words (including this review), streamed hours of movies and TV shows and had a lovely time reading the news and casually browsing the web. Multi-tasking is a breeze (especially with iPadOS 26 – more on that later), and switching between apps and tasks is instant with no sign of lag.

I mentioned the storage options already – 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB – with those higher capacity models getting the more powerful chip and nano-texture display option.

There’s no support for Micro-SD storage expansion on any of them, though, so keep that in mind if you like a large library of offline films or want to sync lots of your iPhone photos.

Elsewhere, there’s support for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and now Thread, thanks to a new wireless chip called the N1. The latter should make it easier to connect to and control smart home devices, but it’s primarily about future-proofing rather than the here and now.

For the cellular models, there’s also a new cellular modem called the C1X that is claimed to bring 50% faster cellular data performance. I can’t say I noticed a huge difference between the iPad Pro (M5)’s connectivity and last year’s iPad Pro (M4), but what is perhaps more important is that I didn’t notice any connectivity issues either, so Apple is clearly getting something right.

Apple iPad Pro (M5) benchmarks

Cameras

• 12Mp rear, f/1.8
• 12Mp front, f/2.0
• Center Stage tech on the front lens

When it comes to photography, I would never recommend using a tablet as your primary device.

The smartphone in your pocket almost certainly takes better photos, even if it costs a fraction of the price of the iPad Pro. Tablets are typically too big and cumbersome for capturing decent, stable shots – I cringe every time I see someone using one in public.

However, the M5 iPad Pro’s single 12Mp rear sensor is better than many tablet rivals, meaning you’ll get a decent level of detail and colour accuracy with occasional snaps. It’s absolutely fine if you need to scan a document or take a photo of your child’s homework to upload to Google Classroom with no issues.

It works in tandem with the LiDAR scanner, which allows for AR experiences like viewing a piece of furniture in real time in your living room, helping you make sure you aren’t making a rash decision. That all runs smoothly too, so there’s very little to complain about in this department.

You’ll probably care about the front-facing lens much more, though, considering a tablet’s popularity for the likes of video calls.

The front 12Mp camera does a solid job, especially with its natural positioning at the top of the screen when in landscape orientation. This allows you to get more people in frame, but also makes it natural to use while the Magic Keyboard or Smart Folio case (both sold separately) is attached.

The front 12Mp camera does a solid job, especially with its natural positioning at the top of the screen when in landscape

It’s not quite as clever as the front camera you’ll find on the new iPhone models – it can’t switch between landscape and portrait selfies without you rotating the whole device. However, there is Center Stage technology on board to keep you in the frame if you move around. This works well if you’re on a video call to a friend and you’re cooking and moving around your kitchen at the same time, for example.

There’s also Face ID support in the iPad Pro, which makes using this tablet significantly more convenient than some other iPads. A quick glance is all you need to unlock it, authenticate payments and allow you to sign into apps or view passwords.

Battery Life & Charging

• 10 hours
• 60W charging
• Up to 50 per cent in 30 minutes

Like usual, Apple doesn’t quote specific battery capacities for either size of M5 iPad Pro. However, GSMArena suggests it’s an 8160mAh battery on the 11-inch model and a 10,290mAh cell on the 13-inch version I’ve been testing.

However, it doesn’t matter what iPad model you buy from Apple, all are claimed to offer 10 hours of battery life for video watching and nine hours of browsing the web. In my experience, that’s pretty much spot on for all of them, too, assuming those are the things you are doing.

You’ll find the battery drops quicker if you attach the Magic Keyboard and start typing continuously for a couple of hours – in that scenario, you can expect around half that time. But if you’re checking emails, casually scrolling through social media, browsing the web for an upcoming winter holiday or streaming content, you’ll get a working day out of the iPad Pro without an issue. 

That’s not even the best news, though. The biggest story here is that the iPad Pro (M5) now supports fast charging, which is a first for iPad.

Now, it’s not quite as speedy as the likes of Oppo or OnePlus, both of which support 67W on their respective Android tablets, but the iPad Pro (M5) is claimed to offer up to 50 per cent battery in around 30 minutes with a 60W charger. I got 43 per cent in 30 minutes with a 96W charger and 50 per cent in 35 minutes, while it took 1 hour and 45 minutes to reach 100 per cent. That’s a significant improvement on what you’ll get on the M3 iPad Air.

If you’re checking emails, casually scrolling through social media, browsing the web for an upcoming winter holiday or streaming content, you’ll get a working day out of the iPad Pro without an issue

It’s worth remembering that the iPad Pro (M5) doesn’t come with a charger in the box, however, so while the support for fast charging is now there, you will need to source your own charger to take advantage of it.

Software & Apps

• iPadOS 26
• Apple Intelligence
• Better multitasking with new windowing view

The iPad Pro (M5) runs on Apple’s latest software for iPad, which is called iPadOS 26. It takes over from iPadOS 18, and it is arguably the biggest and most important update for iPad since Apple’s tablet moved onto its own software and separated itself from iOS.

The reason I say that is the support for windowing. During setup, you can choose between the traditional layout of iPad, which is where you typically use one app at a time, or two if you’re using the Split Screen functionality, or you can pick the windowing option.

The windowing setting allows the iPad Pro (M5) to run more like a Mac, with the option to arrange multiple apps and windows on the screen, overlay them on top of each other and resize them however you like.

There’s also a menu bar like Mac at the top of each app when you swipe down from the top, with the same traffic light system for closing an app, minimising it or expanding it. Pressing and holding the green icon also allows you to snap apps into a grid layout like Mac, with up to four apps being used at once. Honestly, the overall experience is significantly better for multitasking than it’s ever been. 

The overall experience is significantly better for multitasking than it’s ever been

Elsewhere, the new software brings a new design called Liquid Glass, which is designed to mimic layers of glass via translucent menus and app icons with controls overlaid on top of the content on your screen, allowing you to see more of what’s beneath. It’s a little harder to read than the previous version of iPad’s software was, but the design itself is nice. 

The Phone app comes to iPad for the first time with iOS 26 too, so all your recent calls, contacts and voicemails will appear here if you have an iPhone signed into the same Apple ID, while there’s also a Preview app for viewing and editing PDFs and a Games app for a smoother gaming experience. 

There’s support for Apple Intelligence here too, as you would expect, and while there are a number of features yet to be fully realised, like a more contextualised and personalised Siri, there are some handy ones already there. I am a particular fan of Clean Up, which offers an easy way to remove objects, people or other distractions from photos.

The one thing the iPad continues to lack, however, is support for multiple user profiles. It borrows a lot from Mac this time around, but being able to have a guest user or several profiles is still not something that has carried across. It’s a shame because when you pay £1,000/$1,000 or more for a tablet, it should be easier to switch between multiple people in a household if you want to use it as a family tablet.

Still, software support is excellent, and while Apple doesn’t specify exactly how many years it will give the iPad Pro (M5) updates for, it’s usually around seven years. That would mean this tablet should get new features and security patches until at least 2030.

Price & Availability

The iPad Pro (M5) starts at £999/$999, which is for the 11-inch model with 256GB of storage and Wi-Fi connectivity. The 13-inch model with the same storage and connectivity costs £1,299/$1,299. Both can be upgraded to include 5G connectivity, as well as to storage options of 512GB, 1TB and 2TB.

The top-of-the-range iPad Pro (M5) with 2TB of storage, Wi-Fi and Cellular, and the Nano-texture display costs £2,299/$2,299 for the 11-inch model and £2,599/$2,599 for the 13-inch model. Adding accessories will set you back £129/$129 for the Apple Pencil Pro and from £299/$299 for the Magic Keyboard.

You can buy one directly from Apple UK and Apple US, plus via retailers including Amazon UK and Amazon US.

On the Android side, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra (from £1,199/$1,199) is the obvious alternative, but there are plenty of other options in our guide to the best tablets you can buy.

Should I buy the Apple iPad Pro (M5)?

Apple’s M5 iPad Pro is an exceptional tablet. It offers performance on par with a laptop, a stunning display, a super slim and lightweight design and solid battery life. The user interface has also seen huge multitasking improvements thanks to iPadOS 26, while the fast charging capabilities make a big difference in terms of usability. 

There’s still no support for multiple user profiles, accessories cost extra, and there is no getting away from the eye-watering price, no matter how much tablet you get for that money. But none of those are the iPad Pro’s biggest problem.

Instead, it’s the rest of the iPad lineup that’s the issue, because almost all of them will be more than sufficient for most when it comes to performance, and they all have the same user experience. 

Still, if you’re after the best in class tablet, the Apple iPad Pro (M5) is currently it. It’s a superb tablet that will serve you for years to come, and it’s a real pleasure to use.

Specs

• iPadOS 26
• 11in or 13in Tandem OLED display
• 11in: 2420 x 1668 (264ppi) / 13in: 2752 x 2064 (264ppi)
• Four-speaker audio
• Face ID
• 256GB/512GB/1TB/2TB storage
• Apple M5
• 5G cellular (optional)
• eSIM
• Wi-Fi 7
• Bluetooth 6
• Thread
• 12Mp Landscape front-facing camera with Center Stage
• 12Mp rear camera with LiDAR sensor
• USB-C port
• 31.29Wh battery (11in) / 38.99Wh battery (13in)
• Available in Space Black and Silver
• 249.7 x 177.5 x 5.3mm (11in) / 281.6 x 215.5 x 5.1mm (13in)
• 444g (11in, Wi-Fi) / 579g (13in, Wi-Fi)