M4 iPad Pro: Not For Pros After All??

The M4 iPad Pro is nearly perfect—but that doesn’t make it enjoyable to use…

This video reviews the nearly perfect hardware of the iPad Pro M4 and the flaws in iPadOS that bring it down. Despite superb performance, issues with iPadOS 17’s core apps, Stage Manager's poor multitasking, and the unreliable file manager, hinder professional use. While iPadOS 18 may bring improvements, these current limitations highlight challenges for the iPad Pro M4 in a pro workflow.

[Garrettdx]

Most other tech youtubers have basically released the same video for each ipad review since 2018. I appreciate Quinn actually reviewing each one

[ololadeagboola]

Finally a proper review! Not one where I’m being read back all the specs that Apple already talked about in the Keynote.

[keco]

The poor implementation of stage manager is a big reason of why I’ve never bothered to upgrade from the 2018 iPad Pro

[MrSamPhoenix]

Apple used to be the king of UI/UX. But over the last 5 or so years they’ve been missing the mark… a LOT. They seem to be taking 5 steps forward, then another 4.9 steps back. Craig Federighi needs to clamp down on the quality of life aspects of the OSes he’s responsible for. I like Craig, but I truly miss Bertrand Serlet who truly understands human/machine interactions through software.

[DanielACroft]

The FCP export issue blows my mind, so frustrating. Better yet, if you get all the way through a long export, and your iPad goes to sleep with the selection dialog open, you've lost your export.

[voidmayonnaise]

Oops, looks like I accidentally enabled DND eight hours ago. *That sure is a bummer.*

[uhohoverflow]

I've given the iPad lots of tries over the years. Doing mundane stuff with it feels like a breeze so I often thought to myself "okay, you beautiful device, let's get to work!" only to find myself frustrated shortly after.

[Whiskeyj]

So glad to see someone else complain about how non-simple iPadOS is. I got rid of my 2015 MBP for a 2020 iPad Pro to be one of those guys that can accomplish everything on an iPad. Boy was I wrong. I dealt with it for about 6 months before building a PC so that I could get more productive things done. Then a couple years after that purchased a 14” MBP and have since relegated my iPad to just a media machine. I can grab my MacBook and get anything done in a fraction of the time with infinitely less frustration compared to iPadOS.

[Kylefassbinderful]

I wish there were more people that were critical of the iPad like you are. At that price point with that kind of tech inside it should be capable of so much more than it is. It should be a legit editing, powerhouse of a tablet.

[ConorORegan]

The M4 iPad Pro can be used as a laptop for some people…but an M1 iPad Pro can also do the same thing. The OLED display is nice but not a dealbreaker not to have. iPadOS needs to be improved to justify an iPad Pro’s price tag

[WillJBailey]

Every time I consider doing professional work on my iPad Pro (outside of Procreate and basic admin), I remember just how much quicker, easy and better I can do it on my Mac Studio, and I use that instead.

[mariomarton]

hehe I've seen this video have three different titles as Snazzy was changing his mind, approximately these
- I can't review the new iPad Pro
- iPad Pro (2024) is great. iPadOS is terrible.
- The M4 iPad Pro let me down

[happybroski]

One small correction at 11:15 and it’s that you have to really fling your cursor mouse down to get the dock to show up when hidden. The problem is that the flinging down is borderline impossible when the iPad monitor is set to below the external monitor…very poor UX

[CrackerSnifferBurger]

I am a professional, full time artist. I am pretty much the exact target audience for an iPad. I've held off for years. and year-over-year Apple has given me more reasons NOT to get one.

Here's just a few.

Do you really think I'm going to pay ANY amount of money to use the Files app? I am not. You couldn't pay ME to use the Files app. I can barely stand using it on my iPhone. I can't even open webm/mkv or 50 other formats. It's literally trash. With all the file formats I open daily, there's no way I can use the Files app with any regularity.

The Pros start at $999 now. Why? Why would I buy an iPad Pro at $999 STARTING price when i can get an M1 Macbook with 16GB RAM/512GB of storage on ebay for +/- $749? I can install the full, ACTUAL adobe suite on that. I'm not limited in file type and I can run 100x the software on it. I don't have to buy a $349 keyboard for it - amazingly, the price of a macbook includes the keyboard and mouse. Why is the keyboard for these iPads $349? I can buy an entire laptop for $349. Do they do something special I'm missing? why is the new Pro more poorly weighted on the keyboard than a macbook from 2010? I could go on and on. $999 base price for one of these is a very, very incredibly fast slab of underwhelming software and missed opportunity.

The base model iPad. Why? It still starts at 64GB. But that's not even the worst part. I have to use that godawful $10 dongle to charge the 1st gen Apple Pencil because, while Apple is able to stack two OLEDs on top of each other for the new Pro, making an iPad that can wirelessly charge a pencil was just too hard. I don't care who the target demographic is for this iPad, no one should have to charge an accessory in such a stupid, asinine way.

The iPad Air. This is the most compelling iPad to me (ignoring the fact that, despite being refreshed at the same time as the iPad Pro, the Pro is THINNER and LIGHTER than a product called, the iPad AIR) It just got a storage bump up to 128GB of storage (still not great for something that starts at $599) and can't go past 256GB. Still the best iPad IMO, but I'd rather pick up a 5th gen on clearance for $549 for the 256GB version (a price i've seen regularly and running for multiple days, from multiple retailers)

The iPad Mini. Cool iPhone Pro Max++, I guess? Someone out there has found a use case for theirs, I can't fathom one. Glad they figured out how to charge a pencil off it without a dongle, though.


I hope they figure it out, but i'm not holding my breath. Maybe, MAYBE when the M1 trickles down to the base iPad and they figure out the magic of sticking a pencil to the side of it, I'll get one for +/- $349. But right now, it's all somehow too bloated and too stripped down, too overcomplicated and too simplified, all at the same time. I like Apple products, a lot, I love my iPhone. But this current iPad lineup isn't it.

[nicholasbinder]

Agreed 100%. Also, you‘re one of the few YouTubers who acknowledge that „pro work“ isn‘t only about video editing and music making (on one of three apps available for these tasks).

[rittfeldt]

Kudos to you for not just echoing every other youtuber. I'm restrictive with my subscriptions, but you just gained one more! :)

[prochnowja]

Appreciate the video. Think there’s a couple of things you missed with Stage Manager. You can see all of your stages by going into the app launcher (still can’t manage a stage here, but can at lease see them all). Also, you can add an app to your current stage (from the dock) by shift+clicking. Needs more work, but couple of things that others could find helpful.

[MalcolmREBORN]

Honestly, I gave up on iPad Pro for pro work. Quinn said it best; iPadOS is actually convoluted. MacBook Pro offers so much comfort. That's why I love iOS and macOS they're really breezy to use. I no longer see my Mac when I do things, it just disappears.

[avonbarksdale]

just returned mine today. The screen is absolutely beautiful and i loved watching content on it while traveling, but that's been literally it's only use case other than acting as a mobile second monitor for my Macbook (albeit limited to 60hz over screen sharing which kinda removes a lot of the appeal). I purposely tried to do everything I normally do on it, and there were multiple instances where i just had to pull out my Macbook. Again, incredible display and if they eventually stop gimping iPadOS I may get another one, but as of now an $1, 800 travel content consumption machine just isn't worth it. If they put the same OLED panel in the upcoming Macbook Pro, that will be the ultimate device

[JaredKirkwood]

I’ve used an IPad Pro for 2+ years for my daily work. Overall it’s great and the new hardware is a noticeable improvement. What’s holding the iPad back is Safari and developers not testing their websites against it. Especially web apps for business. I routinely need to Remote Desktop to a “real laptop” to get some work done.