(gentle music)
- Hello, and welcome back to my channel.
I just got my hands on the brand new iPad Pro
with the M1 chip, and I'm so excited.
I spent the whole of last week testing it
so I can tell you all about it.
You'll see that I've got a few
of my other iPads here as well,
so that we can compare them to this new iPad
and to see how much better the new iPad is.
After unboxing the iPad,
the first thing that I did was actually restore it
from a backup from my Mac,
just to make sure it's exactly the same as my previous iPad
so that we can compare apples with apples.
So, first off, what is new?
Well, of course, the M1 chip,
and yes, it is amazing.
I've got the same M1 chip in my current MacBook Pro
and it is seriously fast.
That's why I was so excited to see
what it would be like in an iPad.
The CPU is 50% faster and the GPU is 40% faster,
which sounds really good on paper, right?
But what does it mean in practice?
There is a noticeable difference,
especially when navigating around the iPad,
opening and closing apps,
or even when just browsing the internet.
Everything just feels a little bit smoother,
which is really nice.
And then there is more storage as well.
The basic model stats with 128 gigabytes of storage,
but this time it goes all the way up to 2 terabytes.
Oh, it's amazing!
Now when you make a decision
which storage size to get for your iPad,
make sure that you consider the 1 and 2 terabyte options,
because the difference between those two
versus the versions with less storage
is that the 1 and 2 terabyte iPads
actually have 16 gigabytes of RAM,
whereas the 512 gigabyte in lower iPads
only have 8 gigabytes of RAM.
Of course, 8 gigabytes of RAM
is still more than the current iPad has,
but this is definitely something to be aware of,
especially if you want to keep your iPad for a long time.
So if you want to take advantage of the additional RAM,
then you will need the 1 terabyte version.
But now, of course, the most exciting thing,
and that is the new screen in the M1 iPad Pro.
It is so amazing.
It's actually really hard to show the difference on camera.
But when you look at the screen in more detail,
it's really really different.
I'm going to try and show you but, as everyone says,
you actually have to see it yourself to believe it.
Other than the size and the weight,
this is actually also the only difference
between the new 11 inch and 12.9 inch iPads.
The new 12.9 inch iPad Pro has a mini LED design
with over 10,000 LEDs,
which makes the darks a lot darker
and the brights a lot brighter.
It really creates more contrast
for a more immersive experience,
especially when you're watching movies or playing games.
Where you'd also notice a difference in the screen
is actually in the scrolling performance.
So you can see here on the new iPad,
the scrolling is absolutely smooth.
And then on the older iPad,
when I'm scrolling through my huge Procreate library,
you can see how it starts dropping some frames.
But then the biggest surprise
was when I started practice my lettering.
This actually makes a huge difference.
I don't know what it is but it seems like the screen
is ever so slightly more precise.
And it seems like it translates the brush strokes
from my hand onto the iPad so much nicer.
I also feel that it creates a slightly nicer texture
for some of my brushes.
And it's just a lot smoother.
I think it's most noticeable in the transitions here
from the thick through the thin strokes
where the color changes.
It's so much nicer to create this smooth blend
with this new iPad.
I am really, really impressed with this.
And this is actually not something that I expected.
I really didn't think it was gonna make such a difference
between this new iPad and any of the older iPads,
but this totally blew me away.
You'll also see the brightness of the two screens
is quite different.
This is the old one,
and then this is the new one.
This is so much brighter.
Now, one of the issues that this screen has
is that little shadow here around the edges has of the iPad.
But I don't actually think it's that noticeable,
especially if you're using dark mode in your iPad.
I don't think you will notice this.
So if I'm zooming in that canvas,
you can see that there is no shadow
and it's not actually visible because we're using dark mode.
I know this is probably not a fair comparison,
but I wanted to put the iPad Air screen here as well
so you can see the difference between the iPad Air
that came out last year at the end of 2020,
and then also the new iPad Pro.
And very similar to the previous iPad Pro,
the screen is not quite as bright.
And then additionally, also the iPad Air screen
doesn't have the same refresh rate as the new iPad Pro has.
So the scrolling experience is quite different.
And you will notice how on the iPad Air,
it just doesn't scroll quite as smoothly
as it does on the iPad Pro.
But if you've never seen the iPad Pro screen
and you currently have an iPad Air
or you're thinking about getting an iPad Air,
then you have nothing to worry about.
I don't think it would worry you.
This is only really noticeable
if you see both iPads side-by-side.
Another thing that's new on this iPad
is that the cellular version now has 5G support,
and this makes a huge difference.
I took the iPad out with me
and I tested the 5G network in the car just to see
what the top speeds were that I could achieve.
And, wow, I was really impressed.
This is really, really gonna make a difference.
I've always had the cellular version of iPads
because I find it really handy to have that.
Of course, you can tether your phone to the iPad
if you need to or if you don't have Wi-Fi access,
but I really like having the cellular version of the iPad.
So I've got the internet right built in
and I don't have to worry about tethering.
And then next up, we have the new front camera
with center stage, which is really, really cool.
The camera follows you around
and gives you a much wider viewing angle.
It looks almost like having your own camera person.
It works really well with FaceTime and Zoom,
those are the two apps that I've tested it with.
And then the next thing I wanted to look at is the keyboard.
This now comes in both the white and the black versions.
And I really, really like the white version.
It looks just beautiful.
It's so nice.
And you'll also see I've got the silver iPad.
So the silver iPad and the white keyboard
match really nicely.
So now we can put it on
and then it fits into the iPad really nicely.
The typing experience is exactly the same
as with the previous keyboard.
But now a question a lot of people have asked me
is what if I have the previous version keyboard?
Does the new iPad still fit into
the previous version of the keyboard?
Well, let's find out.
This is last year's keyboard for the 2020 iPad.
So let's see what happens if we put the new iPad into this.
(lively music)
And this is what it is.
So the keyboard closes.
It doesn't stick out too much.
I heard some people saying that it sticks out a little bit,
but I don't actually notice it.
So to me, this is still the perfect fit.
And I really don't think
you need to worry about the keyboard.
If you already have a keyboard,
you don't need to buy a new one.
I think this one is still perfect.
And then the other way round as well,
let's try the new keyboard with the old iPad
to see if that fits as well.
So I'm just gonna create my iPad.
And yes, same.
So this is what it looks like.
Of course, we've got the dark iPad here
with the white keyboard,
but you know, I think it's still fine.
So if you wanted to do that,
you could certainly do that as well.
So both work really well
and you don't have to worry about this.
So now, of course, I'm gonna swap them over again
because I really like having the dark iPad
with the dark keyboard,
and the silver iPad with the white keyboard.
And now both iPads are in their proper packaging again
and this is what they look like.
And then another question that I got
is how dirty is this white keyboard gonna get?
(chuckling) I think this is a really good question.
And probably only time will tell.
I think if you're really worried about it,
then going with the darker keyboard
is definitely the better plan.
I'm just gonna show you the cover that I have
on my second generation iPad Pro,
and this is what it currently looks like.
I'm not sure how visible this is.
I've had this for four years
and you can see it does have some stains on it.
The condition is not too bad but, of course,
the dark keyboard will always age better than the white one.
And then one of the things to mention as well
is that the new iPad is ever so slightly heavier
than the old one although it's actually quite minor.
Holding them like this,
I don't really notice the difference.
So the weight of the two iPads
with the keyboard is very, very similar.
And now, of course, the big question,
is it worth buying this new iPad?
This is a very good question.
And I think the answer really depends
on what iPadOS 15 is going to bring.
The new M1 processor makes the iPad noticeably faster,
which is super nice and worth the upgrade in my opinion.
But the problem with the current version of iPadOS
is that the apps can't actually use
all of the extra RAM yet.
From what I've heard,
the apps can only use around about 5 gigabytes,
which is not a lot when you have 16 gigabytes available.
So if you are an avid Procreate user like myself,
yes, you do get a few extra layers right now,
but not double the layer size that you would expect.
Having said that, with the extra RAM,
you will be able to keep more apps open at the same time.
And that is actually really nice,
especially if you're using both Procreate
and, let's say, Affinity Designer.
You'll be able to have both apps running at the same time.
You don't have to wait for each app to restart
if you're switching between the two of them,
which is saving quite a bit of time
and makes the work flow a lot more seamless.
I haven't anticipated a new version of iPadOS
as much as this one in a long time.
I'm very much hoping that it will be possible
to use more RAM in apps
so that we'll get many more layers in Procreate
and also the ability to create bigger canvases.
And then another thing I'm really hoping for
is better external monitor support.
You can plug in your iPad
into an external monitor right now
but all it does is mirror the screen.
So you can't extend the screen like you would on a laptop
and then maybe have two apps running at same time.
And that kind of defeats the purpose.
So if you're on the fence about buying this iPad,
I actually recommend you wait until we know
the new features of iPadOS.
It could make all the difference.
I'm reasonably confident that
the RAM limitation will be resolved.
Otherwise, what's the point putting it in the iPad, right?
And if that's the case, then this iPad will be leap years
better than any other iPad before.
I'm less confident about the ability to extend the screen,
but there's always hope.
If this will indeed become possible,
I will be very close on using my iPad
as my main computer every day,
which will be an absolute dream come true.
Once we know all the new iPadOS features,
I'm going to make another video
with my exact iPad buying recommendations.
I really think it's important to know those first.
Make sure you subscribe right now
so you are not missing it when it comes out.
In the meantime, you might like to watch
my iPad Air review video,
where I'm drawing a diagram with all the possible
purchasing decisions you might be making.
It will give you a little bit of something to think about.
Thank you so much for watching
and I'll see you in my next video!