iPad Pro M2: What Does "Pro" Even Mean? 

i always love MKBHD’s twin being included in these videos 🙏

Musician here - Most of my colleagues, myself included, own a 12.9 iPad pro for reading music, instead of paper sheet music. We exclusively use iPads instead of other tablets because the software we use, called ForeScore, is apple exclusive, and the 12.9" because it has to be big enough to read off of a music stand. I would love more than anything to have a large non-pro iPad, it's completely insane that the majority of the music industry owns these incredibly powerful machines just to read PDFs on a big screen. Also, Marques, we went to high school together, go cougars.

As someone who just bought their first ever iPad, I wanted the most features and the best device I could get. I won't get another chance to get a device like this for a long time, so yeah the M2 makes the most sense for me. Obviously it's not a meaningful upgrade for someone that bought an iPad in the last couple years, but it's a great starting point for new owners.

I remember when I got my Samsung Tab 6 Lite over 2 years ago and it came with the free S-pen with a similar hover feature. Clearly the amount of power and CPU required to get that to work is tremendous

Imagine the Marques wearing Boston Dynamics T-shirt is not an edited clone but is actually a robot that he got made from Boston Dynamics themselves.

As a healthcare consultant that (before covid) traveled every week for work, I migrated to the iPad Pro and used it as a laptop replacement for years. I didn't create documents or artifacts from scratch. My role at this point was managing teams and reviewing, editing, and improving documents and artifacts my teams created. I could do everything I needed with an instant on, always connected tablet that was 1/4 the weight and size of my laptop. Plus it was far less intimidating to sit with a client or customer and take notes with a pen on my screen than to sit there and click clack away on a laptop keyboard. All that said. I still use the a 2nd generation iPad Pro. It does everything I need.

The refurbished M1 iPad Pro at the moment just make so much more sense. Even in the UK where we often get shafted, we are talking a £440 saving on the 256GB model, M1 refurbished vs M2. It's a crazy amount of price increase for such little gains in spec and features.

Hey Marques, just ran across your channel. Really awesome videos with great info, perspective and a little bit of good humor! Will be watching many more! Thanks!

I find it so crazy that iPad never had hovering and nobody until now mentioned it comparing it with the competition... that's a critical feature to have for digital drawing

Both dudes deserve the massive 16.4M audience. Informative, interesting, insightful, and enjoyable to watch. Great production values. None of the fluff and "I'm so cool" (I'm talking to you Rene) vibe of some tech creators.

I use my M1 iPad Pro for DJ gigs and it’s THE BEST. Simple easy to take a move around, small footprint, large BRIGHT screen, and I can use my hands to interact with the software. Plus my turntable connect DIRECTLY to the usb c port. Super convenient, and powerful. That’s what the pro means too me.

I just upgraded from a 2018 pro. I’ve got the 1tb m2 pro. It’s so fast ! I use mine for music production

This man's intro game is the best I've seen on any RU-vid channel. The whole team deserves the biggest round of applause!

I genuinely love the alliteration you come up with to conclude each video

I think the small improvements are just for those that just happen to buy a new tablet this year and are not meant to encourage you to upgrade from the previous ipad. Even for iphones I think only a small percentage upgrate every year when the new Gen comes out but for tablet users this number is probably still a alot smaller.

I'm in construction, and I also do photography. I can make a point that construction drawings have always been pretty intensive on tablets, and also top photo editing software. I feel confident after purchasing the M2 iPad that I will be able to run everything in a fluid manner.

When I learned that the brush cursor (that dot that shows the size of the brush when you hold the pencil over the screen) is literally the newest feature on the latest iPad pro I couldn't believe it, because I had it since forever on my very old Samsung tablet that I mostly been using for drawing and was looking to replace it. It literally sounded like wow look at this awesome beast of a device with the newest M2 chip - it shows where your brush is going to land and how the colors are blending. Still makes me giggle, despite the fact I actually bought the thing in the end. Whaaat? It's future proof and all..

Marques what can I say you never stop to inspire me. I am not a tech savy just a general consumer and I know there are millions of individuals like me who just want a non biased and no nonsense review of the product and you just simply deliver a great content for us in a simple way and bonus it is free. I am grateful for what you do. Thank you so much Marques.

The new one is not as old as the old one CHECKMATE

I'm an industrial design student and I use my iPad to do concept sketches every day, and some days for 6+ hours a day. I use Adobe Fresco so I can also further edit it a little in Photoshop very easily. I have the M1 and definitely not getting the M2. The last studio I interned at uses digital sketches (although some prefer pen and paper), so the "professional" is definitely there for some people.

What does Pro even mean? It means a lot of PROfit for Apple!

As an avid Clip Studio user the pen hover is a *godsend*. All the icons and buttons are super tiny and seeing where the pen will land should greatly minimize miss-inputs. First time i'm inclined to upgrade since getting the 2019 pro.

The only use case I've found for the M1 Pro (and the M2 by extension) is having extra memory available when running debug builds of our iOS games - the 4-6gb you get on the iPhones often isn't quite enough, especially when you consider that the OS is going to start sending you angrily-worded messages and then kill you when you use about half of that.

The fact Marques still uses an A12Z iPad Pro and it suits his demands of an iPad makes me feel soooo much more comfortable with my purchase of a lightly used one for next to nothing.

I had the normal ipad 2020 and as an artist I work with a lot of layers, up to 200 sometimes. But at like 70 layers I had to stop and switch to the PC because it wasn't powerful enough. This is why I wanted to upgrade to an ipad pro. And didn't want to risk it with the M1 one, because My drawings keep getting more complicated the better I get, so I waited for the M2 one and till now I haven't had any problems. I was able to finish my drawings on my new ipad and the big screen was also a great improvement compared to before:)

Please please do more of these. I absolutely love vids like this from ya.

As a pre med college student I use an M1 iPad Pro with the 2nd gen Apple Pencil and it works perfectly. I use it in tandem with a MacBook Air and the iPad is seriously the most versatile tool for school work and other hobbies (like painting and using the lidar measurements for quick room scans for interior design).

Thank you for making the well NEEDED video. This thing can do way more than they allow it to.

Absolutely superb. Easily the best RU-vidr out there. Brilliant, inquiring journalism. Nice and short, yet also the treatment of the topic is deep. Perfect.

Very helpful video, Straight to the point. THANK YOU!

I use this iPad as a second screen for work. I travel a lot but I’m used to two screens and the iPad works seamlessly as a second screen that I can easily carry around with my Mac.

I adore Marques iPad reviews, The way he does it is like no other

I can’t lie I waited on the 2020 iPad Pro and honestly for my daily workflow it was wayyy more power then I expected. It was is my first iPad ever so I can’t compare to m1 or m2 iPad pros but I have never felt like my device has lagged or anything. 2 years later and it has been nothing but smooth. Honestly if you have a iPad Pro from 2018 or newer iPad just by first glance upgrading is hard to justify unless it’s to a different display size.

Your videos bring smiles to my face. Always so good with just the right dash of comic relief!

Man your videos just keep getting better and more entertaining from intro to outro ❤

3:14 I spilled my coffee. LOL 🤣😆

Giant display...a lot of performance... absolutely loved it ❤️🔥

Thank You ! I have been shopping iPad Pro's for art applications. You answered the exact question I was curious about along with your wit about why. Highest Regards

Always with the perfect intros!

I literally had the M2 iPad in my cart - thank you for helping me remember that I don't always need the "best" but rather what is "best" for my workflow.

I’m “pro” user! I bought iPad Pro m1 12.9 only for Netflix, RU-vid, Games and browsing the internet. I’m totally confident that most users did the same. ….typed from iPad Pro …😅

I just got a 2018 iPad Pro 12.9 for sheet music (I’m a music student in college) and it’s phenomenal. I can take all my notes for other classes, it handles games easily, and batter life is good. It’s like $400 cheaper (I found mine i for $500nwith 512gb). I’m glad ppl are realizing how capable these machines are and I hope apple gives us a way to harness the power they’ve released in the m1 and now m2 chips.

extremely like the twin skit, very cool way to show the differences between old and new, would like to see more of it!

The last iPad I bought was the original iPad Pro 9.7 and it still blazes through anything I use it for (mostly Netflix and reading and the occasional game). So given the long cycle of usage I am able to get out of it, I bought the new iPad Pro 11 2022 edition with the M2. I wanted the M1, but the price difference was $50. So I hope to get another 7 years of usage from that. After a long line of cheap Android tablets, this is the one apple product I don't mind spending cash on.

Marques deserves that many subscribers because his way of describing the tech is simply amazing and fully informative which can make us decide whether to go for a specific device/tech or not. Good job Marques Brownlee!

This video was very well done. Thank you, it was very informative. You have gained a new subscriber

Glad to hear that you're still using the 12Z/ 2020 Ipad Pro. I've also been using mine for 2.5 years and I've looked at every ipad launch since, but I just don't see a good reason to upgrade. Arguably I underuse my Ipad, using it mainly for note taking, reading and watching RU-vid, but unless there is a major improvement to the Apple Pencil, the battery or the Ipad eventually becomes a worthy laptop/desktop replacement I'll be using my 2020 Ipad Pro untill it dies.

5:22 I was fooled thinking the video was gonna end with that music

I've been waiting for this review!!! Thanks =)

The update from the A-processor to the M1 was a *massive* upgrade on the iPad Pro, an upgrade worth doing. My M1 iPad Pro benchmarks higher and has noticeably better 3D graphics than my 11th Gen Intel i7 laptop (without a discrete gpu) that was bought around the same time (and cost more). Most people could legitimately replace their laptop with an iPad Pro, especially if they would narrow the gap between MacOS and iPadOS. I use my iPad more than my laptop for basic tasks. The only thing it is missing is the app support, which keeps it feeling more like a tablet and less like a computer, even though the performance and specs of the iPad are way more like a computer than a tablet. The M2 update feels like a typical Apple update. Most the stuff is the same, but new processor and a couple gimmicky features. Not really enough to justify an update for a reasonable person, but there are so many Apple fanatics out there who simply must have the newest thing, so they’ll sell a ton.

Wow these Marques’ dialogs are getting so smooth I even forget it’s a montage. Excellent video! BTW I’m an artist and this Apple Pencil hover is A WHOLE DEAL in our world. It almost made me switch from my M1 iPad Pro. I’m just not gonna get one because I’m protesting it not having changed the camera to the middle side and basically not changing anything else

That twin stuff was super incredible. You have honestly nailed it to such a natural point!

Thanks for being you. Been watching since you started ❤

Love the last couple of word plays at the end

So entertaining to watch two marques go at it! Super useful insight too, exactly what I considered when watching the new event.

I’m a student at Uni and I just bought it! Best purchase I’ve ever made, I really love it! I think it all comes down to how you’re gonna use it… I personnally replaced my 15’ MacBook Pro I was using. So far, so good!

Dudeee. You totally brighten my day. I love listening to you talk tech, even if I’m not even into the tech you’re talking about 😂 you are my RU-vid guru. I’m 50 years old ! ❤ respect 💯

I have the original iPad Pro and it got me through highschool and is still very convenient for note taking and some design stuff in college

I use my iPad Pro for my job every day. I do inspections for roofing and use the iPad for my measurements and presenting options to clients, signing contracts, and taking payments/credit checks. Beyond that, I use the iPad Pro as my main computer for music production (where the iPad is definitely is capable of pro level sound), gaming, video editing home videos, etc. it is definitely pro. Having that extra power, better displays, and storage absolutely are worth it for me.

Impressive alliteration at the end there. It was ingenious in its implementation. Instantly incredible and important information. 👍

Still using the 2018 11” iPad Pro and cant imagine how any of the new iPads could do anything more other than just allow external monitor support For stage manager

I am still using my 2018 iPad pro and love it. Back than it was totally worth the upgrade

Love you videos, keep it up!

I love the MKBHD vs MKBHD, the duo I never thought I would need! Personally I use my M1 for administration and Some media consumption. So much power for something an a12 would do flawlessly.. its the appeal of having too much power and not needing it right now but hoping and secretly expecting for more pro usage

I am still using the 1st 12.9" ipad pro and that was not long ago dec 2015. This new pen feature is really good idea, preview the shape or location before touching is great idea!

For me,, buying current M2 Pro came from upgrading out of my older first gen 2016 Pro. While it still works and runs Procreate fine enough, it had started to chug just a bit while running Clip Studio; not to mention running either of those apps had by now started to tank the battery so I couldn't get a longer drawing session than about 2 hours before it needed to get plugged in. Thus as a very rare splurge, I finally decided to just pull the trigger and upgrade while figuring that if I am going to do it now, i'll go all in. Whatever big jumps will happen right after, well, they'll happen - so be it.

The intro was 🔥

The two things I wished it had are the Surface-style keyboard and the horizontal-oriented camera they just gave to the base-model iPad. The hover feature is something I'm a little surprised it didn't already have, it's good they added it.

Affinity designer for the iPad Pro replaced my use to design on my MacBook Pro 14 10core 1tb. Let’s you know you don’t need a Mac and we can just use the iPad for day to day uses. It’s really about what apps to use.

With all these iPad Pro upgrades over the years, I’m so incredibly happy with the purchase with my 2018 11 inch pro at launch

That Enthusiastic User vs Professional User breakdown is exactly me. Lol. I have the iPhone 14 Pro, AirPods Pro, and iPad Pro because I like the higher end shiny thing but I have the MacBook Pro for my actual work. It’s wild how much you nailed that.

I think this is in line with the dynamic island approach. Slowly making things better without feeling the need to make it all at once in a bundle.

Great review. I've been fortunate enough to have both an iPad Pro M2 and a MB Air M1 and I agree, I only bought the M2 because: A - it was available and I had the money and I assumed it would hold its valuel longer B- I didn't expect any big differences between the two iPads. Would I / Could I use a Pro as my only computer? Could I sell my MB Air? Nope. As the two OS's come closer together, it's still not a valid replacement for some of the things I do on both, but I really prefer the MB Air keyboard. It's also lighter than carrying the Pro & Magic Keyboard. The "Magic" keyboard is not a replacement for a laptop keyboard, both because of the weight and keystrokes are not as good. BUT, I would say that for many people, the iPad Pro is a valid replacement for couch surfing, email reading, and light duty spreadsheets etc. If cost is an issue, then the air is cheaper. If flexibility is an issue, (i.e. reading music on stage, larger replacement for using an iPhone, then the iPad Pro is a great idea.

I don't even know if Apple will ever read my opinion, but I'll say it anyway... I hope they add the top-bottom version of the multi-app screen. I mean, sure in landscape mode the side by side multiscreen will work well, but they should also realize the the top-bottom option for portrait will also bring more possibilities as to how the iPad can be utilized. Especially for the 12.9 inch. I personally would want to experience the top-bottom multiscreen when I can only lay the iPad on a smaller desk.

I’m still loving the current forms of the phones and iPads, hope they don’t change them.

This video was top-notch, the expressions, choice of words, acting, everything phenomenal

I’m actually about to start taking advantage of that “pro” power on the iPad. I have a section of my business where I take care of the logistics for other pop up shops and pop up vending businesses. Essentially what I’m working on is where I 3d scan all of the physical products like sunglasses, hats, back packs, soaps, oils, etc. that give me the perfect dimensions then I preplan everything in 3d, how much inventory, the different skus etc. Working with blender and fusion 360 currently but some of these files I want to use can be upwards of 750MB-1.5gb and that’s huge for loading up. Still have some work to do but I want all these 3d renders to be accessible mobile and the iPad is the best way. Still have a lot of work on this project but I can’t stop geeking out over the power that’s coming out that can run all these 3d assetts I’m developing so smoothly.

Well done! Entertaining and educational, love your videos, keep em coming! I just bought the ipad Pro 12.9, kind of wish I'd waited for the new one that's coming out soon but I was too impatient. Enjoyed the video, take care!

loved the creativity

Love love love love the Intro. Bang on!!!

4:00 Hang on a second. Is that what Samsung Galaxy S4 users were enjoying back in 2013? It was called Air View -- when you hovered your finger over the email or notification to see the preview. I'm missing it so much now. But, hey! Since Apple has just reinvented it again, there is a chance to get it back on Galaxy too!

I have to say Marques - this intro right here was one of the best, if not THE BEST intro I’ve seen so far from you - amazingly represents what you say and mean at the same time with it, love it! And well done to you and your team!

I still have my original 2018 iPad Pro 11inch which I bought in 2019. Runs beautifully still, minus minor dip in battery life but won’t buy another iPad for some time

The hover thing is not similar to some professional tablets but it first came out on the samsung note phones and the samsung tab tablets

I’m rocking a 2018 iPad Pro 11” with the A12X CPU and it still feels blazing fast even though it’s quickly approaching the half-decade mark. Minus battery degradation (it’s like 6 hours now), it still renders 4K video editing in LumaFusion from both GoPro and my iPhone via AirDrop really well. I truly believe Apple’s tablets are about as future-proof as you can get in this industry!

Every time I am having a tech dilemma, Marques comes out with a video that just hits the nail on the head! I am in the market for an iPad for school, and I found an amazing deal on the 4th gen 12.9 in ipad pro from 2020, but here I am thinking "it's almost 3 years old, is it still gonna be any good??" But sounds like it's still perfectly capable!! Take my money!! Lolol

Thank you for this video! really helpful!

Excellent video content as usual. But was there some rendering issues? some stutters?

Honestly you can imagine my reaction when I waited for this model instead of buying the M1 version for 18 months only for it to be the same

Love the videos where your twin brother comes to debate you man. You should get him on the channel more often

I am a field technician for a communications company. I use the M2 iPad Pro (11”) on a daily basis while on the job. I use apps like Notability to mark up layout drawings and product drawings, as well as getting all daily notes and excel sheets upgraded. That Pencil is amazing. I don’t doubt that the M1 would serve me just as well, but this is the one my company decided to get and I am very thankful for it.

For me it comes down to two important things: 1. What are you gonna use it for? 2. How much are you willing to pay? I’m very satisfied with my 4th gen iPad Air and I’ve had it since 2020. I do a lot with it and I’ve had zero problems. If I ever upgrade to a pro version it would solely be because of the screen size, since I draw a lot and use it as my main note-taking device. There’s no need to pay more for something you know you won’t really need.

I think you’re bang on with this analysis. I am an illustrator and designer and its been the most amazing thing as a daily driver and digital sketchbook. I do use it for clients and my work flow as well but i do wonder what most people use it for.

Here is one noticeable difference, Marques. I use LumaFusion a lot for content creation. On my iPad Pro (4th gen) I couldn’t go higher than 50mbps bit rate. So, I had to convert videos from my Fuji XT-4 in order to scrub them on the timeline. Now, I can use 200mbps 4K 60fps and they play smoothly evem with some effects on. I would love to hear if M1 could do that because 4th gen 2020 couldn’t.

I just bought mine on Friday (Upgrading from the second gen iPad Pro from 2020) !

Love the alliteration at the end 👌🏻

I adore my Galaxy Tab S7+. Pencil included and doesn't need charging and everything is immaculate.

I think the ipad pro is the perfect back up product for true professionals but also a great product for starting independent creators. I do most of my professional work on it. I personally don’t like laptops anymore and im from the 90ties 😅 with the pencil and a pair of good wired headphones there is no excuse to not be creative/productive if you have a couple of minutes to spare. The machine has zero limitations great videos photos and audio productions grafic design, architecture etc all in the palm of your hand! Thats magic

you're the only youtuber I've watched who uploads videos with honest opinions and straight up 100% true facts.

Nice to see Marques collaborating with small creators like MKBHD.