Why You Should Skip the M4 Mac and Switch to an iPad Pro Instead

The distinction between traditional computing methods has been slowly eroding over the past few generations of Apple products. The Mac has long been Apple’s default workstation, but with the introduction of the new M4 iPad Pro, there’s now a viable option to consider for serious work.

The powerful M4 iPad Pro has overwhelming computing power, a stunning screen, and a MacBook-like Magic Keyboard. Consumers have always been interested in a touchscreen Mac, but Apple won’t respond, so the iPad Pro is the next best option.

But can the iPad Pro be a capable Mac replacement? Given the sheer power of the iPad Pro, it certainly seems like it could be, but beyond that, the platform’s limitations still remain. Let’s take a look at how close the iPad Pro is to being a workstation that users can rely on.

iPad Pro: The hardware is impressive

The iPad Pro performs surprisingly well in benchmark tests, beating out the seasoned M3. The new iPad Pro also features a decent 8GB of RAM, or 16GB of RAM on the 1TB model. Along with the iPad Pro’s higher-tier storage, the M4 has more RAM and one more CPU core. It’s similar to how Apple does with its MacBook Pro tier upgrades. This could be taken as a sign that the iPad Pro is a true Mac replacement. The 10-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine provide more processing power.

Thiago Trevisan/Foundry

Thiago Trevisan/Foundry

Thiago Trevisan/Foundry

It gets even better. The iPad Pro’s tandem OLED display is beautiful to look at. With a stunning 264-pixel-per-inch resolution and a 120Hz Pro Motion refresh rate, there’s not much to complain about. The nano-texture version on the 1TB and above models gives pro users a brighter work environment option. Add in the beautiful, accurate colors, and it can compete with much more expensive monitors. Sure, the 13-inch iPad Pro is still smaller than the 16-inch MacBook Pro, but it more than makes up for it with the flexibility of the touchscreen.

Apple also released a new Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro. Designed to look more like the MacBook Pro keyboard, it now also features a function row packed with utility. With a responsive touchpad, the tactile feel of iPad Pro is unmatched by any MacBook Pro.

Thiago Trevisan/Foundry

Thiago Trevisan/Foundry

Thiago Trevisan/Foundry

With so many hardware utilities on the iPad Pro, it’s easy to overlook the Apple Pencil Pro. Redesigned with a few new tricks up its sleeve, it’s the ultimate tool for artists and productivity users who demand the nuance that only a stylus can provide.

Considering all that the hardware has to offer, I can confidently say that the M4 iPad Pro is a worthy Mac replacement. But hardware isn’t everything.

iPad Pro: Here’s the problem:

The iPad Pro hardware can certainly get you racing down the productivity highway, but then you hit a bottleneck: iPadOS. iPadOS isn’t designed for large-scale, everyday productivity, but Apple has carefully curated a collection of apps specifically designed with iPad Pro users in mind, making it a valuable tool for smaller instances.

Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro are just two of the powerful apps being tuned for the iPad experience. Both apps take full advantage of the M4 chip in iPad Pro. The intuitive controls have also been fine-tuned to provide an overall enjoyable experience for creatives.

But there are problems with how iPadOS works when power users try to push the envelope. iCloud and the file system were great additions to the iPad Pro, but the file system is still inferior to macOS. It’s much easier to organize large projects on a Mac.

And then there’s the multitasking feature, which can be both useful and annoying on iPadOS. Stage Manager is a nice idea in theory, but it’s a bit clunky when it comes to resizing and adjusting windows.

Thiago Trevisan/Foundry

Thiago Trevisan/Foundry

Thiago Trevisan/Foundry

Apple’s recent WWDC saw a full-on push into AI (aka Apple Intelligence), and the iPad Pro looks like the ideal platform for these capabilities. Apple provided a brief demo of the upcoming AI features, but the software user experience is still to be defined until it’s actually in users’ hands. The iPad Pro is one of the first devices to be at the forefront of all the AI ​​products Apple plans to roll out across its lineup, so we can expect to see some practical uses for AI.

As a touch platform, iPadOS has its strengths and works great. Software interaction with the Apple Pencil Pro is fantastic, with impressive details like the appearance of the Pencil Pro shadow and the new squeeze feature.

iPad Pro: Use Cases for Different Situations

Apple is careful not to completely cannibalize the MacBook Pro lineup, and the iPad Pro maintains enough power to attract some niche users, but the iPad Pro can certainly be a great laptop replacement for the right users. Regardless of your use case, one of the key issues is price. The iPad Pro can easily cost over $2,000 when fully decked out with accessories and high-end specs. While there are other iPads in Apple’s lineup for budget-conscious users, the iPad Pro appears to be a premium product that has to compete with the MacBook lineup on merit. Let’s take a look at how the iPad Pro fits into your use case.

Home users: If all you need is a fantastic webcam device, screen, and capable keyboard, the iPad Pro is for you. iPadOS gives you easy access to apps like Mail, Safari, Messages, FaceTime, and even Keynote, Numbers, and Pages. It can also punch above its weight when you need more screen real estate, with the ability to connect to a larger monitor. The iPad Pro also tends to be an entertainment powerhouse, thanks to its gorgeous screen, fast hardware, and access to music and video streaming apps.

Thiago Tresbian/Foundry

Thiago Tresbian/Foundry

Thiago Tresbian/Foundry

Creative Professional: There are a variety of apps for both amateur and professional users, but professionals may not find what they need. The Apple Pencil Pro is a valuable tool that rivals the MacBook. With one of the best OLED screens around, the Pencil Pro provides artists with what they need from this device. Photographers will find the iPad Pro to be portable and useful enough, and some users may find the nuances of photo editing easier on this device. Third-party software like Adobe Photoshop gives the iPad Pro a wealth of features built right in.

Final Cut Pro: Apple has put a lot of effort into Final Cut Pro for iPad Pro. With finely tuned controls and the ability to capture images using the iPad Pro itself, it should be a great fit for all but the most power users.

logic pro: Logic Pro for iPad Pro is very similar to Final Cut Pro, taking advantage of the powerful hardware built into it to easily handle most workflows on a clean, portable device. Power users will still want to work on a full macOS desktop for larger projects, but this is a step toward making iPad Pro more versatile.

3D Graphics and Gamers: The iPad Pro’s 10-core GPU delivers up to four times faster rendering performance than the M2 chip, along with ray tracing capabilities. While it may not match the performance of a Windows PC with a discrete GPU, the iPad Pro can certainly impress with its capable gaming performance, as demonstrated in Resident Evil 4 and similar titles.

Thiago Trevisan/Foundry

Thiago Trevisan/Foundry

Thiago Trevisan/Foundry

iPad Pro: It Can Replace Your Mac (Mostly)

The iPad Pro can replace many of the features of a desktop or laptop for most users. It has the power to handle a wide range of tasks, from word processing to video editing to even pinpoint graphics work. The iPad Pro has a great form factor, and is thin and portable, making it a better choice than the smaller MacBook Air. It is more comfortable to use in mobile or non-traditional work situations.

But iPadOS doesn’t always meet the needs of more demanding users who don’t like the lack of capable file management. While the iPad has a great software library, many professional apps are missing from the iPad. The macOS ecosystem is still huge and full of options for those users.

The iPad Pro is still a brave challenger to the Mac (and more directly the MacBook), but with upcoming updates to iPadOS and more AI tech, it could become an even more viable platform to replace the Mac.

Learn more about iPad Pro.