Apple's new M5 iPad Pro is awfully close to the MacBook hybrid we've always wanted

The latest iPad Pro strikes a healthy balance between power and portability for most users.

- BY MAHMOUD ITANI

In their early days, the iPad and MacBook were distinct devices that served completely different purposes.

The iPad Pro's M5 chip enables better graphics and AI processing.

Recently, Apple began blurring the lines between the two, with the tablet gaining power-user features once exclusive to laptops.

The latest iPad Pro with the M5 chip (fave.co/47YXxxU) marks another milestone in this transition, featuring upgraded technology that allows more users to actually use it as a practical MacBook substitute. At this point, the iPad Pro is thinner, lighter, and more portable than a MacBook Air (fave.co/4p1F2Re)and even surpasses it in performance and so many other aspects.

PERFORMANCE: M5 POWER, WITH MORE AI

When buying a new computer, you typically look into its processing power first. You wouldn't want the operating system to lag or apps to crash while you get everyday work done. While, for good reason, one would assume a MacBook Air is more capable than a tablet, the latest iPad Pro just changed the game.

The new iPad Pro packs Apple's latest M5 chip, currently exclusive to it, the 14-inch MacBook Pro, and the second-gen Vision Pro. According to Apple, the 10-core CPU's multithreaded performance is up to 15 percent faster than that of its predecessor. Similarly, the M5's 10-core GPU's peak performance can surpass the M4's by up to 30 percent. That's not to mention the all-new Neural Accelerators embedded in each core, which supercharge Al-centric, on-device workflows.