iPad Pro M2 12.9″ (2022) Review: It Lacks That Certain Something

The iPad Pro M2 (2022) is a mighty behemoth that continues the transformation of Apple’s premium tablet into an actual performance computer. Also, in terms of price, the iPad Pro has nothing to envy “real” laptops. This comprehensive test shows what the iPad Pro M2 (2022) is worth daily.

Table of Contents

The iPad Pro M2 (2022) In Brief

Apple continued to update its product line in 2022 with the latest iPad Pros equipped with the SoC M2. They have become more expensive and offer the best hardware Apple can offer for a tablet. However, everything has stayed the same in terms of design. The new SoC M2 alone makes the iPad Pro (2022) one of the most potent PCs if we want to classify it in this category. Added to this is a great screen (unfortunately not Oled) and maximum connectivity with Wi-Fi 6E or Thunderbolt 3.

Before I conclude too long on the benefits of Apple’s premium tablet, let’s face it, the iPad Pro M2 (2022) is expensive. The 11-inch variant starts at 1069 euros, while the 12.9-inch version costs at least 1469 euros. The most expensive variant, 2 TB of storage and 5G connectivity, costs 3044 euros. As always, debates about whether or not Apple’s prices are a justified rage on the web. It is not only useless to discuss this question because, after all, it is also up to everyone to decide for themselves. It is also a very tricky subject!

This year, in addition to reviewing the design of the iPad 10 (2022), Apple has also equipped it with the A14 Bionic SoC, which will allow it to last for many years. The iPad Pro 2022 with its SoC M2 is even more prominent because it should receive not five but seven years of software updates. Five years from now, the iPad Pro will still be worth a good chunk of its purchase price.

Ultimately, this means that Apple makes very robust products and doesn’t expect you to change devices after one or three years to have enough power still. Software maintenance is simple but also very expensive. Suppose we add to this the shortage of chips, the significantly more complex supply chains, and drastically more expensive transport, as well as the weakness of the euro. In that case, we can understand the price in these aspects without having to justify it.

It Still Has The Same Effective But Aging Design

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro is made of quality materials, has an excellent finish, and has a slim body. This large format is convenient as long as you are not doing video conferences. The position of the selfie lens could be more comfortable.

Highlights Of The 12.9-Inch iPad Pro M2 (2022)

The beautiful and timeless design
The perfect finish

The Weak Points Of The 12.9-Inch iPad Pro M2 (2022)

The position of the selfie lens

The iPad Pro M2 kept the same design, unlike the last standard iPad. Unfortunately, this also applies to the position of the selfie lens. This is indeed always on the upper edge in portrait mode. This has the consequence that during video calls, for which we should use this camera in 90% of cases, we are poorly framed and do not face our “interlocutor.”

It almost nullifies functions as interesting as Center Stage. This is a huge negative point because the iPad Pro M2 (2022) is a professional tablet. For many, the tablet is even the primary work tool. On the iPad 10 (2022), Apple has finally repositioned the selfie camera to landscape mode. The next generation of iPad Pro will benefit from this change.

For the rest, the design and finish are impeccable, as always, with Apple. The body is made of beautiful aluminum and machined from one piece. The Liquid Retina XDR display is perfectly integrated, and nothing moves or creaks.

A Screen Designed For Pros

The iPad Pro M2 (2022) sports a 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR display proudly displaying 2732 x 2048 pixels. The mini LED screen is breathtaking, even if it is not an Oled panel.

Highlights Of The 12.9-Inch iPad Pro M2 (2022)

The bright screen with excellent resolution
Exceptional sound thanks to four built-in speakers

The Weak Points Of The 12.9-Inch iPad Pro M2 (2022)

The iPad Pro is increasingly aimed at true professionals or people who like to have the best. In the iPad Pro M2 (2022), the screen has remained the same from the previous year but remains the best in a tablet. The 11-inch iPad Pro’s display is an LCD panel with a resolution of 2388 × 1668 pixels, while the 12.9-inch iPad Pro M2’s display has a Liquid Retina XDR panel. The latter has a resolution of 2732 × 2048 pixels and better contrast.

With a brightness of up to 1000 Nits, images and videos can be viewed even in a very bright environment. The 10,000 mini-LEDs in the screen are interconnected to form around 2,500 dimming zones to dim specific areas in a targeted manner and thus achieve significantly better contrasts. This is especially interesting for real professionals.

For creatives, the iPad becomes a desktop extension that allows photographers, filmmakers, or illustrators to work smoothly and as usual, even on the go and without a laptop. The iPad Pro M2 (2022) will also delight movie and series lovers. In addition to Dolby Vision and HDR10, it supports HLG, a standard for rendering TV signals in SDR or HDR.

The iPad Pro M2 still has impressive sound quality. The screen also supports ProMotion technology, thanks to which the refresh rate automatically varies from 24 to 120 Hz, depending on the content displayed. The screen is thus very fluid, without consuming too much energy. With the Apple Pencil 2, the iPad Pro 2022 has a hover function that works at a distance of 1 cm. This new function is surprisingly practical.

Interface/OS

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro M2 runs iPad 16. I want to tell you about the Stage Manager function in particular! This function allows up to four applications in a group to be open simultaneously; the windows can also be overlapped and resized. In addition, up to four other groups will be available on the edge of the screen and can be activated with a click and thus brought to the fore.

I’ve used Stage Manager on the smaller iPad Pro and the larger one. Before, I wasn’t a fan of the big iPad. It has too long loading times and needs to be bulkier than the small model. But my point of view has changed with Stage Manager and its many possibilities to work like a traditional laptop. Stage Manager is a real asset for all iPads. It makes them much more adept at working with multiple applications.

The Perfect Combo For Impressive Performance

In 2022, the iPad Pro took another giant leap forward with the new SoC M2. In terms of CPU and GPU performance, the tablet has improved yet another notch and is simply impressive.

Highlights Of The 12.9-Inch iPad Pro M2 (2022)

The M2 chip is high-speed
Many fast communication standards
Superb battery life

The Weak Points Of The 12.9-Inch iPad Pro M2 (2022)

Apple’s SoCs have earned a reputation for being extraordinarily high-performance and power efficient. The M2 is Apple’s latest SoC, introduced only a few months ago. It is an SoC with eight cores for its CPU, 10 for the GPU, and 16 for Apple’s neural engine. Compared to the already powerful M1 SoC, the M2 is 15% more powerful, according to Apple. Graphics performance is even 35% better. In the Geekbench 5 benchmark, the performance gain over the previous model is between 10 and 18%.

iPad Pro: The Comparison Of The Results Of Geekbench-5

Apple has equipped the iPad Pro M2 with the latest connectivity standards. With Wi-Fi 6E, the connection can reach 2.4 Gbps, which is twice as fast as last year’s iPad Pro. The iPad Pro M2 is compatible with 5G. As usual, Apple doesn’t list battery capacity, but over the past few days, I’ve always managed to last a full day with the iPad Pro M2, even under heavy use.

We Keep The Same, And We Start Again

Is a photo lens on a tablet essential? The answer is yes, at least for the selfie lens! The problem is that Apple needed to put it in the right place.

Highlights Of The 12.9-Inch iPad Pro M2 (2022)

The ability to shoot and edit 4K video in ProRes format
The weak points of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro M2 (2022)

The Badly Positioned Selfie Lens

The iPad Pro M2 selfie lens has a 12 MP ultra-wide-angle sensor supporting Center Stage. This feature keeps you in the center of the frame during video conferences. But as I said above, the position of the lens in portrait mode is annoying. This defect should be corrected by next year. The photo module on the back of the iPad Pro consists of a 12 MP primary lens and a 10 MP ultra-wide angle lens. It is possible to film in 4K at 60 fps or in super slow motion at 240 fps.

Thanks to the SoC M2, ProRes videos can be processed up to three times faster. Of course, the iPad Pro M2 is also equipped with a LiDAR scanner this year. This technology makes it possible to create a depth map of an environment by measuring the travel time of the infrared light emitted by the environment. The iPad Pro M2 thus supports augmented or mixed reality applications.

The main focus, however, remains a niche product in the iPad. At 12.9 inches, the tablet is too big and bulky to take pictures. With the iPad Pro M2, it is now possible to record ProRes video up to 4K. But many iPad users will likely use this function.

Conclusion

I will never be able to harness the full power and possibilities of the iPad Pro M2. And this is likely the case for a large part of future users of this iPad. Thus, it would be best if you considered the suitability of such a powerful device. For watching movies on your sofa, reading your emails, and hitting up Instagram occasionally, the iPad Pro M2 is too expensive and extreme.

The iPad Pro M2 can now replace a laptop. It connects seamlessly to external displays like Apple’s Studio Display through Thunderbolt, has excellent performance, and thanks to iPad 16, it’s possible to work comfortably with the tablet. If we often go from one window to another, it takes time to adapt to working daily and exclusively with the iPad. I can’t see myself giving up my computer and going solely to the iPad.

But the trend of primarily using my iPad when I’m on the go should continue with the iPad Pro M2. The position of the selfie lens is a considerable drawback. It could be more professional, especially since it is precisely the critical function of a tablet these days. For this reason alone, I would not buy such an expensive device but rather wait another year. Once Apple has corrected this defect by repositioning the selfie camera in the right direction, the iPad Pro will be perfect.