Thinness sells. The amount of positive reviews that have focused in on how impossibly thin the new iPads Pros are really shines a light on it.
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iPad Pro Are the M4 speakers that bad?
- Thread starter smorrissey
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Thinness sells. The amount of positive reviews that have focused in on how impossibly thin the new iPads Pros are really shines a light on it.
There has been a ton of focus on it. I enjoy the reduced size and weight...but would rather have better speakers and battery life than then a thinner device myself.
I think the 13” sounds a bit better than my three year old 12.9”. I don’t listen to music much on the iPad, I use Airpods Pro or Max for that. Listening to voices in podcasts I especially notice that the voices sound a bit smoother or buttery. I was worried about this but pleasantly surprised when I heard it.
For me, the speakers do the job when required at the right size and weight of the iPad Pro. Older iPads Pros were just a bit too heavy IMO. They've got the balance right in 2024. I admit, battery life is a bit of a sore point versus what the MacBooks Pros can do.
Yes - the new speakers are a clear downgrade from my old 2020 11” Pro - and trust me, this makes me sad because it drags down what is otherwise an amazing superb product.
Overall, the speakers just aren’t as immersive. There is far less bass, the volume itself is lower (reduced sound output), it just sounds flat. I loved having my old Pro open in laptop mode (MK), typing away while playing some music which I would find immersive, its just not the same here.
I wonder if Apple will heed all the criticism and increase the thickness of the next Pro slightly to try and remediate all the (deserved) criticism the new Pro has gotten with its downgraded speakers.
Overall, the speakers just aren’t as immersive. There is far less bass, the volume itself is lower (reduced sound output), it just sounds flat. I loved having my old Pro open in laptop mode (MK), typing away while playing some music which I would find immersive, its just not the same here.
I wonder if Apple will heed all the criticism and increase the thickness of the next Pro slightly to try and remediate all the (deserved) criticism the new Pro has gotten with its downgraded speakers.
The speakers on the 13” are fine if you don’t expect deep booming bass, which is unrealistic to begin with. I think a lot of the negativity on here is from beehive mentality, as well as some having unreal expectations of the sound on a mobile device.
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Sorry to hear that. Im used to have great Sound in Apple products but since my muffled iMac 2020 (Late 2013 sounded way better) and now the M4 iPad Pro, I think its not so important to Apple anymore.
Good Speakers = Higher Component Cost
Terrible Speakers -> Increased AirPod Sales = PROFIT!!! 💵
Of course it’s not. Realistically Apple is well aware that such small speakers will always be severely limited and there are 2 customer groups:
1. Not very discerning and will use them regardlesss
2. More discerning and would always use headphones or external speakers regardless
There is no point using more expensive components for this.
Glad to see people who care about iPad speakers. I have seen comments like "who uses speakers" etc. as if those who care are weird. I think a lot of people care, and I talk as someone who uses both airpods and speakers and like the freedom of having a choice
Exactly I use my iPad in my home office during the day, and don't want to wear headphones all day even though I have Bose 45's and AirPods Pro.
Then you fall under “not very discerning.” Group 2 was “always” uses headphones or external speakers.
I’m not disparaging anyone who uses tablet speakers - I use them too. But quality is inherently limited and people either don’t care at all, somewhat care and use external devices when needed, or really care so always use external devices.
no I am discerning, the M1 speakers are good, the M4 are not lol
Coming from the 2018 11 inch model, I don’t feel the sound is that bad on the M4 13. It’s not at MBP levels, but I don’t expect much from a device of 5mm - but so far it has been surprisingly fine for occasional Masterclass and Netflix / Prime Videos. To be more immersive, AirPod Pro/Max would make sense.
I had the 12.9" M2 and now I have the 13" M4 and I consider them to be worse than the previous model, they lack mids and at high volume they exaggerate the bass too much. The previous model was much better balanced, although Apple products always stand out for tending to have very powerful bass.
"good" is a very relative term in phones, tablets, and even larger computers.
One can be better or worse than another — and though I haven't compared them, I have no issue accepting the claim that the M4 ones are worse than the M1. You may be discerning in the sense of wanting a current gen device to have speakers at least on par with previous ones.
But unless they're unsuitable for calls, FaceTime etc, it's hard to say they are bad. Speakers of that size will never deliver anything close to an audiophile experience. They won't be delivering Atmos. They won't have the dynamic range to hear a song in all its glory. That is why external speakers and headphones exist.
The speakers in a tablet ultimately need to just produce audio that's pretty clear, so dialogue can be heard correctly for instance. Sounding like it's coming out of a tin shed is not good, but that doesn't seem to be the consensus for how the M4 sounds.
Well, on the basis that you're paying for a tablet — if you'd spent $1700 on speakers then the expectations and defence of Apple would be very different.
But that's not the scenario. It's a tablet. Any speakers of that size will leave a lot to be desired, and that isn't the primary purpose of the device and that's why Apple gets "a pass."
Fortunately for you, there is a very, very easy fix: a bluetooth speaker is cheap, sounds better, and doesn't need cables. It's ideal for when you want better sound but don't want, or need, to wear headphones.
Well if you frequently find yourself in the strange scenario of not wanting to use a speaker or headphones, luckily there are other iPads with speakers you prefer.
Strange scenario... speak for youself.
For me and probably for many people it's much more convient to have speakers in a laptop or tablet that are good and lound enough that you don't need to move from room to room with a bluetooth speaker (in addition to your device) just to make up for it...
And that you can use airpods only whe you choose and not all the time cause the speakers are not good or loud enough (especially if there are other noises like cooking, water, washing machines at the same time)