iPad Pro Is the iPad Pro M1 a worthy upgrade to the 2018 IPad Pro

[jwar1976]

Hi al, the company I bought the 2018 iPad Pro 12.9” from has offered me a contract upgrade to the latest M1 Pro and I must admit it does look a nice machine for photo and video editing whilst away from home. So I was wondering how much of an upgrade is it when compared to my current iPad Pro ?.

Many thanks

 

[0128672]

Here's a couple of threads that might be helpful:

Curious about the thoughts of those owners of the 2018 12.9 iPad Pro who upgraded to 2021

I switched from my 12.9" 2018 but canceled the delivery of the 2021 and get a 2020 on sale instead. I my day to day use an upgrade to 2021 wouldn’t justify the extra cost. The reason was more storage and a fresh battery. I regret it, because the 12.9" 2020 has noticeable lower contrast compared...

forums.macrumors.com

Question to all 2018 iPad Pro Users ?

While I had no complaints about my 2018 and 2020 .... the M1 is noticeably faster. UI is faster, tasks I do are faster, and I don't have anywhere near the reloads I did with the 2018 (basically none). Now, 2020 - I had almost no reloads as well. For my usage case, the 2018 and the 2020 would...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[jwar1976]

Here's a couple of threads that might be helpful:

Curious about the thoughts of those owners of the 2018 12.9 iPad Pro who upgraded to 2021

I switched from my 12.9" 2018 but canceled the delivery of the 2021 and get a 2020 on sale instead. I my day to day use an upgrade to 2021 wouldn’t justify the extra cost. The reason was more storage and a fresh battery. I regret it, because the 12.9" 2020 has noticeable lower contrast compared...

forums.macrumors.com

Question to all 2018 iPad Pro Users ?

While I had no complaints about my 2018 and 2020 .... the M1 is noticeably faster. UI is faster, tasks I do are faster, and I don't have anywhere near the reloads I did with the 2018 (basically none). Now, 2020 - I had almost no reloads as well. For my usage case, the 2018 and the 2020 would...

forums.macrumors.com

Thank you, I will take a good look at those.

 

[Wizec]

I upgraded from the 2018 Pro and so far am really happy with the M1.

I didn’t push my 2018 very hard, but I definitely noticed more app reloads on it.

I like that the M1 is faster at loading web pages and I almost never have app reloads due to the 8GB of RAM vs the 4GB on the 2018.

 

[sparksd]

I did this upgrade and am happy with it. Video is better to my eyes and performance in LumaFusion video rendering and Lightroom RAW processing have also improved.

 

[jwar1976]

I upgraded from the 2018 Pro and so far am really happy with the M1.

I didn’t push my 2018 very hard, but I definitely noticed more app reloads on it.

I like that the M1 is faster at loading web pages and I almost never have app reloads due to the 8GB of RAM vs the 4GB on the 2018.

Thank you for that Information as app reloads really shouldn’t be an issue on such a device.

I did this upgrade and am happy with it. Video is better to my eyes and performance in LumaFusion video rendering and Lightroom RAW processing have also improved.

Thank you that is really useful to know, while I am yet to use LumaFusion, I do use Lightroom as my main RAW editing package. Could you possibly tell me if you can import RAW files into Lightroom without the need of putting them into the CameraRoll first ?

 

[sparksd]

Thank you for that Information as app reloads really shouldn’t be an issue on such a device.

Thank you that is really useful to know, while I am yet to use LumaFusion, I do use Lightroom as my main RAW editing package. Could you possibly tell me if you can import RAW files into Lightroom without the need of putting them into the CameraRoll first ?

Yes. I can connect storage to the iPad and open that storage in Files, select images (including RAW) and then Share them with LR. When LR is opened, they are copied in directly. I've tried to do an Add Photos from within LR, selecting the Files app as the source, It can then access the external storage but nothing seems to happen when I select and add the photos - so I use the Share route. I never use CameraRoll.

 

[jwar1976]

Yes. I can connect storage to the iPad and open that storage in Files, select images (including RAW) and then Share them with LR. When LR is opened, they are copied in directly. I've tried to do an Add Photos from within LR, selecting the Files app as the source, It can then access the external storage but nothing seems to happen when I select and add the photos - so I use the Share route. I never use CameraRoll.

Considering Adobe apparently optimise their apps for Apple products, it is a shame that you are not able to add files directly from LR, but at least you have found a workaround especially without having to copy into the Camera Roll first. Must admit that I haven’t used the 2018 iPad Pro for editing since before the new OS got released, as I only have the basic model with the limited space. The only time I really use it for editing, is if I have uploaded to creative cloud first.

Whilst the RAW files on my Canon 5D MKIII are not as big as some files on my Canon 32mp M6 MKII, they can chew up the storage when doing Sports and Band Photography. For the average Rugby game or Wrestling event, I take at least 2000 images. So it is great to know you are not stuck with the Csmera Roll.

 

[Natzoo]

no unless you want Mini-Led. In my eyes, the 2018/20/21 are all the same.

 

[jwar1976]

no unless you want Mini-Led. In my eyes, the 2018/20/21 are all the same.

I must admit the the 2018 iPad Pro 12.9 is my only iPad, prior to that I only had a Android tablet. I really need to see how Lightroom handles RAW files from external storage, so will do that in the coming days, if all is good then I may just treat my iPad to a magic keyboard as I already have the 2nd Gen Pencil.

 

[Natzoo]

Since you are currently using the 12.9, the 2021 model seems like a pretty solid upgrade with 21 having 2x the ram of 2018 *unless you have the high memory option. Maybe Apple will update the Ipad again in 2022 but I doubt it, just get it now if you need it and 2018 is being sluggish or slow. Or keep the 18 and get an M1 mac mini?

 

[sparksd]

I must admit the the 2018 iPad Pro 12.9 is my only iPad, prior to that I only had a Android tablet. I really need to see how Lightroom handles RAW files from external storage, so will do that in the coming days, if all is good then I may just treat my iPad to a magic keyboard as I already have the 2nd Gen Pencil.

I really like my 2021 12.9 iPP but I honestly rarely use it for RAW (Canon) processing. On the road, I take both it and my Surface Pro 7 (16GB i7 Win11) and use the SP7 because it is so much more straightforward wrt processing directly to and from external storage (a 1TB SSD). And backing up from a camera card to the SSD is so much simpler (and error free). In addition, I prefer a mouse to touch for processing work and the mouse support on the iPad is still just too wonky. And at home, the SP7 setup connects directly to my 4K monitor with full display support. Size wise, they're close to the same. With my personal preferences and workflow, the SP7 just works better for photo processing.

 

[jwar1976]

Since you are currently using the 12.9, the 2021 model seems like a pretty solid upgrade with 21 having 2x the ram of 2018 *unless you have the high memory option. Maybe Apple will update the Ipad again in 2022 but I doubt it, just get it now if you need it and 2018 is being sluggish or slow. Or keep the 18 and get an M1 mac mini?

Next year I will be looking to get a iMac for at home editing, but am looking for something powerful and portable with screen when away from home.

I really like my 2021 12.9 iPP but I honestly rarely use it for RAW (Canon) processing. On the road, I take both it and my Surface Pro 7 (16GB i7 Win11) and use the SP7 because it is so much more straightforward wrt processing directly to and from external storage (a 1TB SSD). And backing up from a camera card to the SSD is so much simpler (and error free). In addition, I prefer a mouse to touch for processing work and the mouse support on the iPad is still just too wonky. And at home, the SP7 setup connects directly to my 4K monitor with full display support. Size wise, they're close to the same. With my personal preferences and workflow, the SP7 just works better for photo processing.

That is really useful to know, I was seriously considering a SP as the ability to use full versions of programs like LR / PS / Portrait Pro seemed like a dream, but then I kinda got locked into the dreaded Apple Ecosystem ?. Perhaps a SP is a good way forward.

 

[sparksd]

Next year I will be looking to get a iMac for at home editing, but am looking for something powerful and portable with screen when away from home.

That is really useful to know, I was seriously considering a SP as the ability to use full versions of programs like LR / PS / Portrait Pro seemed like a dream, but then I kinda got locked into the dreaded Apple Ecosystem ?. Perhaps a SP is a good way forward.

Right. With the SP7 I get not just full-up LR & PS but I also need full-up Office365 and like to use Adobe Premiere.

 

[jwar1976]

Right. With the SP7 I get not just full-up LR & PS but I also need full-up Office365 and like to use Adobe Premiere.

Having use of full versions of software is really useful. How does the SP7 handle video editing with Premier ?

 

[Digitalguy]

Next year I will be looking to get a iMac for at home editing, but am looking for something powerful and portable with screen when away from home.

That is really useful to know, I was seriously considering a SP as the ability to use full versions of programs like LR / PS / Portrait Pro seemed like a dream, but then I kinda got locked into the dreaded Apple Ecosystem ?. Perhaps a SP is a good way forward.

If you get a surface, get the SP7+ instead of the SP7, better battery life, newer CPU and upgradable SSD (and there is also a LTE variant if you need that)

 

[sparksd]

Having use of full versions of software is really useful. How does the SP7 handle video editing with Premier ?

It handles it well - I went with the higher-powered i7 & 16GB. I find the ability to work with a large 4K monitor at the desk and then be able to use the same device in a portable form to be a tremendous advantage. In tablet format, the iPP is superior but I could use SP7 with the detached keyboard as an adequate replacement. The reality for me is that I can live without the iPP but not without the SP7.

 

[jwar1976]

If you get a surface, get the SP7+ instead of the SP7, better battery life, newer CPU and upgradable SSD (and there is also a LTE variant if you need that)

Thank you for that really useful information, I will be definitely be doing some reading up.

It handles it well - I went with the higher-powered i7 & 16GB. I find the ability to work with a large 4K monitor at the desk and then be able to use the same device in a portable form to be a tremendous advantage. In tablet format, the iPP is superior but I could use SP7 with the detached keyboard as an adequate replacement. The reality for me is that I can live without the iPP but not without the SP7.

That is good to know as I will hopefully be doing more video work soon. Yes the reality is the thing, for web surfing my IPP is the first thing I grab. However when it comes to editing the only thing I mainly use when at home is either my MSI gaming laptop which is too much of a beast to carry around, and a 2015 MacBook Pro 13”. Which while dated has unfortunately fallen into the hands of the missus. So am looking for a portable solution which can be used anywhere.

 

[sparksd]

If you get a surface, get the SP7+ instead of the SP7, better battery life, newer CPU and upgradable SSD (and there is also a LTE variant if you need that)

I looked at the 7+ but the price differential is significant and I don't need the upgradeable SSD and battery life is not a concern for me.

 

[Bengaldad]

The editing horsepower of the M1 iPad Pro is not to be underestimated. I have recently been editing projects in LumaFusion on the M1 iPad Pro using 8K H. 265 media shot with my Canon R5. My late 2019 Mac Pro (12-core with Vega II graphics card) will not play this 8K media in Final Cut Pro without stuttering, while the M1 iPad Pro plays it smoothly without skipping a frame. Exporting the project in LumaFusion is currently limited to 4K, but the export is fast and looks great. One major limitation of the M1 iPad Pro for video editing is the lack of support for Apple's Prores codec. This is a major and glaring limitation of iOS! I use the M1 iPad Pro for video editing with the Apple Magic Keyboard and I find the cursor control to be precise and fast. I find that there is no problem connecting either Thunderbolt SSD's (like the Samsung X5) or USB C SSD's (like the Samsung T5) to the M1 iPad Pro. Apple has apparently (without commenting) addressed the slow Thunderbolt port on the M1 iPad Pro since file transfers with my Samsung X5 Thunderbolt are blazingly fast. If you plan on doing video work with higher resolution formats like 4K and 8K, then these are items to consider before you rule out the M1 iPad Pro.

 

[sparksd]

The editing horsepower of the M1 iPad Pro is not to be underestimated. I have recently been editing projects in LumaFusion on the M1 iPad Pro using 8K H. 265 media shot with my Canon R5. My late 2019 Mac Pro (12-core with Vega II graphics card) will not play this 8K media in Final Cut Pro without stuttering, while the M1 iPad Pro plays it smoothly without skipping a frame. Exporting the project in LumaFusion is currently limited to 4K, but the export is fast and looks great. One major limitation of the M1 iPad Pro for video editing is the lack of support for Apple's Prores codec. This is a major and glaring limitation of iOS! I use the M1 iPad Pro for video editing with the Apple Magic Keyboard and I find the cursor control to be precise and fast. I find that there is no problem connecting either Thunderbolt SSD's (like the Samsung X5) or USB C SSD's (like the Samsung T5) to the M1 iPad Pro. Apple has apparently (without commenting) addressed the slow Thunderbolt port on the M1 iPad Pro since file transfers with my Samsung X5 Thunderbolt are blazingly fast. If you plan on doing video work with higher resolution formats like 4K and 8K, then these are items to consider before you rule out the M1 iPad Pro.

I'd agree with this. While my preference is to edit with Adobe Premier on a large screen with good mouse support, LumaFusion on the iPad M1 is really an outstanding app.

 

[jwar1976]

The editing horsepower of the M1 iPad Pro is not to be underestimated. I have recently been editing projects in LumaFusion on the M1 iPad Pro using 8K H. 265 media shot with my Canon R5. My late 2019 Mac Pro (12-core with Vega II graphics card) will not play this 8K media in Final Cut Pro without stuttering, while the M1 iPad Pro plays it smoothly without skipping a frame. Exporting the project in LumaFusion is currently limited to 4K, but the export is fast and looks great. One major limitation of the M1 iPad Pro for video editing is the lack of support for Apple's Prores codec. This is a major and glaring limitation of iOS! I use the M1 iPad Pro for video editing with the Apple Magic Keyboard and I find the cursor control to be precise and fast. I find that there is no problem connecting either Thunderbolt SSD's (like the Samsung X5) or USB C SSD's (like the Samsung T5) to the M1 iPad Pro. Apple has apparently (without commenting) addressed the slow Thunderbolt port on the M1 iPad Pro since file transfers with my Samsung X5 Thunderbolt are blazingly fast. If you plan on doing video work with higher resolution formats like 4K and 8K, then these are items to consider before you rule out the M1 iPad Pro.

Not this is a extremely detailed & interesting reply. Whilst the lack of codec support is frustrating, the fact of the matter is that the M1 iPad Pro is able to edit high resolution. This is a big plus towards a potential buy as while I haven’t got an R6 or R5 yet, one of them is on the to get list next year. When I also hope to be doing more video work, especially if I go on holiday somewhere or do video work with models etc. As you are a R5 shooter, can you tell me if the M1 can also handle the CRAW (Compressed Raw) format ?

 

[Bengaldad]

Not this is a extremely detailed & interesting reply. Whilst the lack of codec support is frustrating, the fact of the matter is that the M1 iPad Pro is able to edit high resolution. This is a big plus towards a potential buy as while I haven’t got an R6 or R5 yet, one of them is on the to get list next year. When I also hope to be doing more video work, especially if I go on holiday somewhere or do video work with models etc. As you are a R5 shooter, can you tell me if the M1 can also handle the CRAW (Compressed Raw) format ?

I have never shot footage with my Canon R5 in the Craw format so I cannot give you a solid answer to your question. However, I have shot 8K Canon raw footage using the H. 265 format and the M1 iPad Pro handles that just fine. I suspect that Craw using Canon's IPB (H. 265) would be just fine. Canon has done a terrific job of releasing firmware updates for the Canon R5 that have added many new features including the ability to shoot with IPB and IPB Lite compression (H.265) which still afford excellent image quality and to my eyes are virtually indistinguishable from 8K Canon raw captured in the All-I format but with much much smaller file sizes. Furthermore, LumaFusion allowed me apply the proper LUT for Canon Log 3 to my 8K H. 265 footage and played it back with the LUT applied with no problems.

The M1 iPad Pro is a great companion for the Canon R5, but an even better (and cheaper) companion is the M1 MacBook Air. The latter has the advantage of allowing editing in Final Cut Pro and using Apple Prores which the M1 iPad Pro does not. For those who are not Final Cut Pro affectionadoes, the M1 MacBook Air also allows editing in daVinci Resolve which has just been updated with a powerful rendering engine that essentially brings Resolve even in terms of speed of rendering with Final Cut Pro. The M1 MacBook Air is just as portable, if not more so, than the M1 iPad Pro and affords greater battery life. The advantage to the iPad Pro vs. the M1 MacBook Air is the display. The 12.9 in. M1 iPad Pro has an excellent display that is fully capable of displaying HDR content as it is meant to be seen.

I hope I have not bored you with all of this. I just want you to realize the strengths and weaknesses of the M1 iPad Pro and tha tthe M1 MacBook Air is a far less expensive, and in some ways, more powerful alternative.

Tom

 

[Lerten]

I think that the 12.9 M1 version especially can be considered a direct upgrade to the 2018 Pro due to the display and RAM mostly.

From what I gather – the miniLED display is a worthy upgrade to the 2017/2018/2020 iPad Pro display, on almost any front.

Jump from 2017 4gb iPad Pro 10.5 to 6GB 11-inch 2020 Pro was very significant to me, so I can imagine that a jump from 4 to 8 (or 16) GBs would be even more significant.

I wouldn’t upgrade a 2018/2020 11-inch, but would probably consider upgrading a 2018 12.9 inch. Just my two cents.

 

[jwar1976]

I have never shot footage with my Canon R5 in the Craw format so I cannot give you a solid answer to your question. However, I have shot 8K Canon raw footage using the H. 265 format and the M1 iPad Pro handles that just fine. I suspect that Craw using Canon's IPB (H. 265) would be just fine. Canon has done a terrific job of releasing firmware updates for the Canon R5 that have added many new features including the ability to shoot with IPB and IPB Lite compression (H.265) which still afford excellent image quality and to my eyes are virtually indistinguishable from 8K Canon raw captured in the All-I format but with much much smaller file sizes. Furthermore, LumaFusion allowed me apply the proper LUT for Canon Log 3 to my 8K H. 265 footage and played it back with the LUT applied with no problems.

The M1 iPad Pro is a great companion for the Canon R5, but an even better (and cheaper) companion is the M1 MacBook Air. The latter has the advantage of allowing editing in Final Cut Pro and using Apple Prores which the M1 iPad Pro does not. For those who are not Final Cut Pro affectionadoes, the M1 MacBook Air also allows editing in daVinci Resolve which has just been updated with a powerful rendering engine that essentially brings Resolve even in terms of speed of rendering with Final Cut Pro. The M1 MacBook Air is just as portable, if not more so, than the M1 iPad Pro and affords greater battery life. The advantage to the iPad Pro vs. the M1 MacBook Air is the display. The 12.9 in. M1 iPad Pro has an excellent display that is fully capable of displaying HDR content as it is meant to be seen.

I hope I have not bored you with all of this. I just want you to realize the strengths and weaknesses of the M1 iPad Pro and tha tthe M1 MacBook Air is a far less expensive, and in some ways, more powerful alternative.

Tom

Wow what an amazing detailed reply and not boring at all, as it is from a actual user and not review critic. My monthly contract for my current Ipad tariff can be bought out at anytime. so in reality I would be able to get both a M1 MBP / MBA and a M1 iPad Pro, without it doing too much damage to my bank account. I will definitely be doing some more research on the M1 MacBook Air / Pro to see how much difference there is with specs and editing.

The other thing is that I do have 1tB storage on Adobe Creative Cloud, so can save on internal storage on either.

I think that the 12.9 M1 version especially can be considered a direct upgrade to the 2018 Pro due to the display and RAM mostly.

From what I gather – the miniLED display is a worthy upgrade to the 2017/2018/2020 iPad Pro display, on almost any front.

Jump from 2017 4gb iPad Pro 10.5 to 6GB 11-inch 2020 Pro was very significant to me, so I can imagine that a jump from 4 to 8 (or 16) GBs would be even more significant.

I wouldn’t upgrade a 2018/2020 11-inch, but would probably consider upgrading a 2018 12.9 inch. Just my two cents.

Thank you for your useful opinion as it does make a lot of sense, I will be doing more reading up on the M1 iPad Pro 12.9, before committing to anything.