Apple’s M5 iPad Pro is launching this fall, and thanks to the huge upgrades coming in iPadOS 26, it’s set to deliver something users have long asked for: new hardware that’s truly pushed to the limits by it software.
M5 iPad Pro set to reverse the software shortcoming of every prior launch
I’ve been an iPad Pro user for nearly a decade, and an iPad user even longer.
One trademark of the iPad Pro era in particular is that hardware has outpaced software.
If you revisit iPad Pro reviews from the last several hardware upgrades, you’ll see the same themes emerge over and over.
”Powerful hardware that’s let down by its software.”
This has been true a long time, but was perhaps amplified further when Apple started putting Mac-class chips into the iPad.
For example, in 2021 the iPad Pro gained an M1 chip—the very same chip that supercharged the MacBook Air the prior year and kicked off the Apple silicon era.
Yet on the iPad, it seemed to make little difference.
It was the same story last year, when the M4 chip debuted exclusively for six months on the iPad Pro.
Apple’s M-series chips have been a triumph on the Mac, while eliciting frustration on the iPad due to their untapped potential.
But this year, things finally look to be different.
iPadOS 26 is finally a suitable match for powerful iPad hardware
When the M5 iPad Pro launches, it will be equipped with iPadOS 26.
New hardware will be paired with iPadOS 26’s productivity upgrades like:
- powerful new windowing system
- background tasks and Live Activities
- the menu bar
- Files upgrades
- new audio recording tools
- and so much more
I’m planning to buy an M5 iPad Pro, despite there being minimal leaks about new features yet.
Why? Because for the first time in the iPad Pro’s decade on the market, it has software that feels like it could benefit from more powerful hardware.
Usually I wouldn’t get very excited about what seems like a spec bump year for the iPad Pro.
But with software like iPadOS 26, I have no doubt that an M5 iPad Pro can offer meaningful improvement over my M4 model.
10 years into the iPad Pro, the new M5 model and iPadOS 26 should show us more than ever what the iPad is truly capable of.
Are you interested in the M5 iPad Pro? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments.
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