Review | Apple iPad Pro 2024 M4 13-inch review: thinner, faster, best tablet battery life, but high price tag
- With its new M4 chip, thinner form factor, OLED screen and superb battery life, the 13-inch Apple iPad Pro 2024 is a fantastic device
- However, to get the most out of it you’ll need the Magic Keyboard and new Apple Pencil Pro, adding to an already high price
The new Apple iPad Pro has been touted by the US tech giant as the biggest upgrade to the iPad series in its history.
While I would say the 2018 iPad redesign was still the more groundbreaking update, the 2024 iPad Pro, along with accessories that are increasingly becoming not optional, do bring significant improvements across the board.
The new iPad Pro is easily the most powerful and capable tablet on the market, and the line between Apple’s tablets and laptops continues to blur.
Design and hardware
At first glance, the front of the new model may look similar to past iPad Pros, but there are many improvements. Measuring 5.1mm and weighing 582g, compared with the previous model’s 6.4mm and 682g, the body is thinner and lighter, and the 100g of weight loss is immediately noticeable.
The dimensions of the 13-inch screen, and the bezels that wrap around it, are the same as before, but the new iPad Pro uses OLED display technology, which can produce true blacks and punchier reds than the MiniLED panels used in the last two iPad Pros. This new screen is also brighter and has the option to add an antiglare nano-texture matt coating, which this review unit has.
The biggest upgrade, at least on paper, is the new chip: the iPad Pro is the first Apple product to run on the newest M4 chip. This is the first time Apple has debuted a new M chip in a product that is not a Mac.
Even with the slimmer form, the 13-inch iPad Pro is still not really a device that is meant for handheld use. Most people who buy this tablet will pair it with a keyboard, and Apple has also given its expensive, but excellent, Magic Keyboard an upgrade.
The case is thinner than the last generation thanks to a redesigned hinge and has an aluminium palm rest instead of a plastic one. It also has a row of F keys.
