Episode 87 - We review the Apple iPad M4 Pro and M2 Air

Solid State Podcast

It’s no secret, we’ve talked a lot about iPads lately… first it was what did we want Apple to announce… then it was what did Apple actually announce… and now, today, we’ve spent the last two weeks hands-on with those very devices and guess what… we still don’t feel we’ve got the whole story…

I’ll cut to the chase… these devices are great. They’re thin, light, fast, rock incredible displays and in every measurable (physical) way… they’re the best iPads ever made. But then something funny happens… you actually start using the device. Apps might load just a little bit quicker. My favorite streaming shows might be just a little more vibrant. The battery life… is still “fine”. But it is, at the end of the day, still an iPad. I still can’t load the applications I want, drag windows where I want them, or come up with a single thing to actually make this M4 processor break a sweat. Because… it’s still an iPad.

It’s entirely possible that’s exactly how Apple wants it, too. For us to keep strolling through the walled garden, downloading apps and paying for more iCloud storage until the end of time. But if that’s the story, then why do some of these models exist in the first place? Do you need an M4 processor to play Candy Crush? Or an aluminum-decked keyboard with haptic touchpad to scroll through Facebook?

There remains a contention here, between what we know full-well these devices seemingly can do and what they’re actually (and artificially), able to do…

WWDC looms just a few short weeks in the distance, and with it hopefully some answers. In the meantime though, the products have shipped, they’re in our hands, and the only question we can actually pose now is, was it worth it?