The new iPad Pro with the M4 chip was the highlight of Apple's Let Loose event. The iPad is powered by a very capable M4 chipset, based on 2nd generation 3-nanometer chip manufacturing. Apple claimed that the M4 is twice as powerful as the M2 chip in CPU processing and is AI-ready to run generative AI models. With the chip out, its benchmarks have started to appear on the internet. Interestingly, benchmark leaks have revealed that the M4 iPad Pro is more powerful than the Mac Studio with the M2 Max chipset which costs around $2,000. M4 Vs. M2 Max vs. M1 MaxNow, a 5.1mm thick iPad Pro has a more powerful CPU than a Mac Studio equipped with an M2 Max processor pic.twitter.com/BVoUrMZfuI— INIYSA (@lafaiel) May 9, 2024

M4 vs. M2 Max vs. M1 MaxNow, a 5.1mm thick iPad Pro has a more powerful CPU than a Mac Studio equipped with an M2 Max processor pic.twitter.com/BVoUrMZfuI— INIYSA (@lafaiel) May 9, 2024

A 5.1mm thin device that outperforms an entire computer is a feat in itself that Apple deserves some applause for, but can you really harness this power? Well, not until iPadOS is just as capable.

Before the arrival of the M-series chips, Apple considered iPads to be an extension of iPhones. The company lost out on the iPad's position in its catalog and with the same chipset as the iPhones (sometimes overclocked), the iPads were just iPhones with a larger screen. But with Apple Silicon, things changed drastically for iPads. The M1 chip in the debuting iPad Pro was a game changer. Not only was it 50% more powerful than the previous generation iPad, but it absolutely smoked the MacBook Pro with an Intel i9 processor.