iPad Pro M1 iPad pro reviews' recap

[Digitalguy]

I have spent roughly 1.5 hours watching Youtube reviews of the new 12.9 M1 iPads.
To sum up a few conclusions about the hardware (no speculation about software coming at WWDC, it makes little sense at this point...)

- The XDR screen is great but basically only when watching HDR content, other than that there is not much difference, and the brightness for non HDR videos is 600 nits (don't be confused about what MKBHD said, he was probably referring to videos, other reviewers say this clearly)
In HDR content is virtually as good as OLED.
However the Verge, picked up an issue with written white text on black background, especially in Kindle, there is some noticeable glow in the mini led

- M1 is almost fast as in the Mac...

- 16GB RAM do make a difference, even if no app can take advantage of them, since apps don't reload like for ages... also apparently you can let things like file transfers of big files run in the background while doing other things since there is no risk of RAM not being able to keep up...

- Center stage doesn't fix the issue with video conferencing at all (camera not in front of you), but is nice to have if you move around or other people are with you

- You can feel the additional weight, but it's not a big difference

- Battery life can be better than previous models if you don't use the HDR brightness since the battery is bigger and this should more than offset apps staying open in RAM

- The previous gen magic keyboard works perfectly even when closed, maybe be a thick glass screen protector could make a difference but otherwise absolutely no need to buy a new one...

 

[Precursor]

- The XDR screen is great but basically only when watching HDR content, other than that there is not much difference

I don't know which reviews you watched, but there was a day and night difference between still photos, on reviews where they compared photos on the newer and older models side by side.

 

[Digitalguy]

I don't know which reviews you watched, but there was a day and night difference between still photos, on reviews where they compared photos on the newer and older models side by side.

Yeah I think René Ritchie showed some photos with a difference in contrast (I watched the videos on my Tab S7+), some reviewers however said that they found little difference in daily use compared to the 2020 one
So far I haven't found a review comparing it to the Tab S7+, but I guess for that we'll have to wait the other reviewers that did not received a unit on loan from Apple...

 

[Precursor]

Starting at 5:24, the side by side comparisons of photos are clearly way more different than I'd have expected

 

[Digitalguy]

Starting at 5:24, the side by side comparisons of photos are clearly way more different than I'd have expected

they are definitely different, but the videos are much more different, probably to the much increased brightness kicking in

 

[pdoherty]

- The XDR screen is great but basically only when watching HDR content, other than that there is not much difference, and the brightness for non HDR videos is 600 nits (don't be confused about what MKBHD said, he was probably referring to videos, other reviewers say this clearly)
In HDR content is virtually as good as OLED.

Makes no sense. What makes the screen better than the previous one is the better blacks not necessarily the brightness (which is brighter than OLED anyway). The better contrast this screen produces is better under ALL conditions, not just HDR.

 

[pdoherty]

Yeah I think René Ritchie showed some photos with a difference in contrast (I watched the videos on my Tab S7+), some reviewers however said that they found little difference in daily use compared to the 2020 one
So far I haven't found a review comparing it to the Tab S7+, but I guess for that we'll have to wait the other reviewers that did not received a unit on loan from Apple...

Those will be interesting comparisons. It will be funny watching the OLED faithful try to pick apart what should be almost no difference at all. “But if you go sit in the closet of your bedroom with no light at all, you can see the difference in the BLaCKs!!”

 

[isoft7]

It's exactly as predicted... every mainstream reviewer was to report that yes, it's stupid fast, yes the screen is incredible... but with all this, the OS is holding it back.

The end.

We've known what the reviews were going to show for weeks now.

 

[Digitalguy]

Makes no sense. What makes the screen better than the previous one is the better blacks not necessarily the brightness (which is brighter than OLED anyway). The better contrast this screen produces is better under ALL conditions, not just HDR.

Regardless of how much sense it makes, I am reporting what some people that have had the device for a week have said, particularly comparing it to the 2020 one...

 

[Digitalguy]

Those will be interesting comparisons. It will be funny watching the OLED faithful try to pick apart what should be almost no difference at all. “But if you go sit in the closet of your bedroom with no light at all, you can see the difference in the BLaCKs!!”

You'll find fanboys in each side. Samsung fanboys will probably try to prove that the OLED is better and Apple fanboys will try to prove the same with the XDR.... ?

 

[Digitalguy]

It's exactly as predicted... every mainstream reviewer was to report that yes, it's stupid fast, yes the screen is incredible... but with all this, the OS is holding it back.

The end.

We've known what the reviews were going to show for weeks now.

Absolutely I have learnt nothing new from these reviews, everything as expected, other that maybe some details about the screen and about the effect of 16GB RAM

 

[EmotionalSnow]

- 16GB RAM do make a difference, even if no app can take advantage of them, since apps don't reload like for ages... also apparently you can let things like file transfers of big files run in the background while doing other things since there is no risk of RAM not being able to keep up...

Sounds interesting. If they announce apps that can make use of that RAM at WWDC I might exchange mine for a 16 GB model.

 

[JPack]

Almost no glow even in a dark room.

 

[pdoherty]

Sounds interesting. If they announce apps that can make use of that RAM at WWDC I might exchange mine for a 16 GB model.

One of the reviews made clear the extra RAM is already being used appropriately by keeping even apps that haven’t been used in hours available in RAM so they reload instantly right where you left off without reloading.

 

[kiko000]

 

[mr_jomo]

You'll find fanboys in each side. Samsung fanboys will probably try to prove that the OLED is better and Apple fanboys will try to prove the same with the XDR.... ?

while the rest of us just enjoy our devices and restrain ourselves from trying to "prove" things on the internet ?

 

[EmotionalSnow]

One of the reviews made clear the extra RAM is already being used appropriately by keeping even apps that haven’t been used in hours available in RAM so they reload instantly right where you left off without reloading.

I read that and it sounds neat but I don't think it would be a good idea, financially speaking, for me to upgrade from the 512 GB to the 1 TB model because of that alone.

 

[KittyKatta]

It's exactly as predicted... every mainstream reviewer was to report that yes, it's stupid fast, yes the screen is incredible... but with all this, the OS is holding it back.

The end.

We've known what the reviews were going to show for weeks now.

Its always the same pattern.

Round 1: High profile names giving rushed “reviews” on products they dont regularly use

Round 2: Buy/Return Reviewers. Buy. Film. Recommend. Yell “Future Proof”. Return.

Round 3: Actual users who spend their own money and actually push the limits (when possible)


I dont mind the early reviewers because I do enjoy the glamour shots, but it does take a while to actually get opinions from people who actually use the products regularly.

 

[Flabasha]

Interesting... my favorite tech reviewer for art applications found the new screen actually worse than the last generation for drawing. Apparently the glass is thicker, and the corners of the screen have falloff. To be fair, he did like the HDR videos he viewed, but that's not my main use case. Go to 3:55 for the rundown on the screen.

 

[Itsedstech]

This guy uses his iPad Pro as his main computer. In fact his channel is basically ipad focused. Recommend it for people who want to see someone who puts it to good use

 

[Wags]

One of the reviews made clear the extra RAM is already being used appropriately by keeping even apps that haven’t been used in hours available in RAM so they reload instantly right where you left off without reloading.

$600 dollars worth faster? 256GB speaking. Thought most said didn’t notice difference with every day tasks.

 

[Digitalguy]

while the rest of us just enjoy our devices and restrain ourselves from trying to "prove" things on the internet ?

exactly and some of us buy devices in both camps with any brand loyalty....

 

[Digitalguy]

View attachment 1777170

Almost no glow even in a dark room.

here you go

 

[rui no onna]

- 16GB RAM do make a difference, even if no app can take advantage of them, since apps don't reload like for ages... also apparently you can let things like file transfers of big files run in the background while doing other things since there is no risk of RAM not being able to keep up...

This is pretty much what I had expected to see. I was going 1TB already (2018 12.9 LTE was $1899 vs 2021 12.9 5G $1999) so 16GB is icing on the cake.

 

[LogicalApex]

It's exactly as predicted... every mainstream reviewer was to report that yes, it's stupid fast, yes the screen is incredible... but with all this, the OS is holding it back.

The end.

We've known what the reviews were going to show for weeks now.

Exactly. It was clear from day 1 that all eyes would be on WWDC and that hasn't changed one bit. I still think the component shortages pushed Apple to announce them so far ahead of WWDC (to get enough made and shipped to pre-order buyers in the current time where delays are stretching), but still close enough to WWDC to make sure everyone is keeping an eye on it before writing the upgrades off entirely. Today you get "fast, but needs software" if they had launched this in April you'd get "fast, but useless" as WWDC would be so far away people would forget about the connection by then.

One of the reviews made clear the extra RAM is already being used appropriately by keeping even apps that haven’t been used in hours available in RAM so they reload instantly right where you left off without reloading.

That's nice, but definitely not $600 nice...