M5 power makes the iPad Pro even more likely to replace your laptop
Same epic iPad, just now with some serious extra oomph on tap
Right on cue, Apple has pulled back the curtain on the latest iPad Pro generation – complete with new M5 silicon to leave pretty much every other tablet in the dust, including the firm’s outgoing models. It’s also the first iPad to use Apple’s in-house C1X wireless modem, and the entry-grade models now get more memory as standard.
Styling-wise nothing has changed from the outgoing iPad Pro with M4, but given those slates were a mere 5.3mm/5.1mm thick depending on screen size, I can’t see any reason to grumble. The Ultra Retina XDR screens, which use tandem OLED panel tech and claim a retina-scorching 1600 nits peak brightness for HDR content, make a return, as does the nano-texture glass option for reduced light reflections. New for 2025 is the ability to run an external display at up to 120Hz, with adaptive refresh also making the cut for the first time.
The big upgrades are all inside, with the new M5 chipset promising some suitably epic performance. It’s got a 10-core CPU, split between four performance cores and six efficiency cores; a 16-core Neural Engine that’s faster than the M4 generation at AI-powered workloads; and up to 10 GPU cores, each with its own Neural Accelerator.
That apparently helps makes 3D rendering program Octane X up to 1.5x faster than an M4-powered iPad Pro. Upscaling videos using AI in DaVinci Resolve for iPad is a massive 2.3x faster than before, and Final Cut Pro for iPad is 1.2x quicker at transcoding videos now.
Boosting memory bandwidth by almost 30% over the outgoing chipset also plays a part here, with the 256GB and 512GB models now getting 12GB of unified memory as standard – up from 6GB on the last-gen iPad Pro. Storage read and write speeds are up to twice as fast now, too.
The C1X modem has already shown up in the iPhone Air, but this is the first time it’s appeared in an iPad. Apple reckons it’s more efficient than the Qualcomm-supplied chipset used before, which could translate to marginally better battery life. It’s unlikely the firm will have added more battery capacity, but support for high-wattage charging speeds apparently mean a 50% refuel now takes just 30 minutes.
As ever, the iPad Pro can be had in space black or silver colours, and 11in or 13in screen sizes. The new version will arrive running iOS 26 out of the box.
The iPad Pro with M5 is up for pre-order right now, directly from Apple, with devices set to start shipping from October 22. Expect to pay $999/£999 for the 11in model with 256GB of storage and a Wi-Fi connection; prices climb as high as $2299/£2599 for the 13in range-topper with 2TB of storage, 5G cellular modem, and nano-textured screen. Oh, and don’t forget the Apple Pencil Pro or Magic Keyboard, which will both cost you extra.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor 
