Apple iPad Pro 13" M5 2025, 16GB, 1TB, Cellular, Silver

The iPad Pro M5 is the fastest, best-looking tablet we've ever tested. The M5 chip and 16GB of RAM deliver top-tier performance, the 13-inch OLED display is stunning at 1600 nits, and battery life is excellent. But pricing from USD 1,000 to USD 2,400 puts it in MacBook territory, and iPadOS still limits pro workflows. Buy it if you're a creative pro who needs the best display and performance. Otherwise, consider an iPad Air or a laptop.

The M5 chip is a monster. Our benchmark data puts the CPU at the 97th percentile among all tablets, and the GPU sits right there with it at 97th. In plain English: this is one of the fastest tablets you can buy right now. The 10-core CPU handles video exports, 3D modeling, and multitasking without breaking a sweat. The 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM means you can keep a dozen apps open, split-screen two heavy ones, and still have headroom. For creative work, that's the difference between waiting and doing.

Real-world implications? The 1TB SSD at the 98th percentile for storage means you're not juggling files or offloading projects to iCloud every week. The 39Wh battery ranks at the 98th percentile too, which is impressive for a tablet this thin. Apple's efficiency gains with the M5 are real. You'll get through a full day of mixed use without hunting for a charger, and if you're just reading or taking notes, you might stretch it to two. The Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.0 connectivity are top of the charts as well, so file transfers and accessory pairing are as fast as the silicon inside.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra 14.6-inch is the closest Android competitor, and it's a genuinely great tablet. Samsung's AMOLED panels are gorgeous, and the included S Pen is a nice touch that Apple charges extra for. But the M5 chip in the iPad Pro runs circles around Samsung's silicon in sustained workloads. If you're doing video editing or 3D work, the iPad is the clear winner. If you're mostly consuming content and want a bigger screen with a stylus included, the Tab S11 Ultra is worth a look.

The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 is the other serious alternative, and it's the one that makes the iPad's value question hardest. The Surface runs full Windows 11, which means real desktop apps, a proper file system, and no iPadOS limitations. For productivity, it's arguably more capable. But the Surface's display, battery life, and build quality don't match the iPad Pro. The Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro and Lenovo Idea Tab Plus are solid budget options, but they're not in the same league. They're for people who want a good tablet, not the best tablet.

Here's where things get tricky. The iPad Pro M5 spans USD 1,000 to USD 2,400 across 51 US listings. That's a massive spread, and it's driven almost entirely by storage tier and whether you opt for the nano-texture glass. The 1TB model we're reviewing sits in the upper-middle of that range. For the same money, you could buy a MacBook Air with an M4 chip and still have cash left over. But you wouldn't get a touchscreen, an OLED panel this good, or the Apple Pencil experience.

If you're shopping, pay attention to the refurbished listings. Newegg has the 1TB nano-texture model with Wi-Fi and cellular listed as refurbished with 100% battery health and under 25 charge cycles. That's essentially a new device at a meaningful discount. The CAD listings in Canada run CAD 2,580 to CAD 2,599, which is a tighter range but still premium pricing. The value proposition here is simple: you're paying for the best tablet display and performance on the market. Whether that's worth it depends entirely on whether you'll actually use the power.

The iPad Pro M5 is Apple doing what Apple does best: taking something already excellent and making it faster, brighter, and more expensive. This 13-inch model packs the new M5 chip with a 10-core CPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD in our review unit. The display is a 2752x2064 OLED panel running at 120Hz with a peak brightness of 1600 nits. That's the kind of screen spec that makes you want to find excuses to look at it.

Who's this for? Creative professionals who live in Procreate or Final Cut, students who want a single device for notes and media, and anyone with an older iPad who's been waiting for a reason to upgrade. The M5 chip isn't just a spec bump. Apple is pushing on-device AI hard with this generation, and the 16-core Neural Engine is doing the heavy lifting there. If you're into AI-assisted photo editing, transcription, or just want a tablet that won't feel slow in three years, this is aimed squarely at you.

But let's be real about the price. This thing starts around USD 1,000 and climbs to USD 2,400 depending on storage and whether you want the nano-texture glass. That's laptop money. Actually, it's more than a MacBook Air. So the question isn't whether the iPad Pro M5 is good. It's whether it's good enough to justify not buying a laptop instead. We'll dig into that.

If you're mostly browsing the web, watching videos, and checking email, this is overkill. An iPad Air or even a base iPad will handle all of that for a fraction of the price. The M5's power and the OLED display's brilliance are wasted on casual use, and you're paying a premium for capabilities you'll never touch.

Also skip it if you need a real laptop. The Surface Pro 11 runs full Windows 11, which means actual desktop applications, a proper file system, and no iPadOS limitations. If your workflow depends on software that doesn't have a full iPad version, or you need to run multiple monitors with true external display support, the iPad Pro will frustrate you. The hardware is there, but the software ceiling is real.

If you're a creative professional who lives in Procreate, Lightroom, or LumaFusion, the iPad Pro M5 is the best tool you can buy. The display alone is worth the price of admission for anyone doing color-critical work. The M5 chip means you won't be waiting on exports or filters, and the 1TB storage means you won't be deleting projects to make room. Pair it with the Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard, and you have a genuinely capable workstation that happens to be a tablet.

For everyone else, think hard about what you actually need. Students who mostly take notes and stream video can get 90% of this experience from an iPad Air for hundreds less. If you need to run desktop software, the Surface Pro 11 or a MacBook Air makes more sense. The iPad Pro M5 is a luxury device. It's the best tablet on the market, but it's also the most expensive, and iPadOS still puts a ceiling on what that power can do.