iPad Pro: Apple's Powerhouse Held Back by Limited Software

Apple’s iPad Pro: A Powerhouse Held Back by Limited Software

Apple’s (AAPL) latest 13-inch iPad Pro is a marvel of engineering.

The company has packed its latest M4 processor with up to 10 CPU and 10 GPU cores, more than you’ll find in its current MacBook Air and at least one version of its MacBook Pro, into a tablet thinner than Apple’s iPod Nano.

Oh, and then there’s the new Ultra Retina XDR display. Apple says the screen combines two OLED panels to boost its overall brightness while offering the same exceptional benefits you’d get out of a normal OLED display.

Software hangups

Over the years, the iPad has made progress toward offering more Mac-like capabilities.

You can run multiple apps at the same time, connect to an external display for a larger workspace, group apps together, and more.

But iPadOS still holds back the iPad Pro from its true potential.

A laptop killer by almost every measurement

The new iPad Pro blows away most super thin laptops on the market.

Its massive touch screen is fantastic, the Magic Keyboard is as responsive and comfortable to type on as a standard MacBook, and its trackpad is spacious and offers haptic feedback when you click it.

On top of that, it’s got a new camera on the right side that, when you’re using the iPad Pro in landscape mode, acts as a solid front camera that automatically keeps you in frame via its Center Stage feature.