Apple iPad Pro 11 (2025) Review: Unboxing, Features, and Value Concerns

Unboxing and Initial Impressions

• 📦 The 11-inch iPad Pro is presented as surprisingly light and thin, with pull tabs on the box that remove cleanly.
• 💸 A critique is raised about Apple not including a charger in the box, especially given the device's high cost and the additional expense of accessories like the Apple Pencil.
• ✨ The device feels nice in hand, with a compact size and what appears to be a perfect 11-inch form factor, though the bezels are noted as larger compared to some competitors.

Display and Build Quality

• 💡 The screen is described as Ultra Retina XDR with Tandem OLED technology, offering high brightness, infinite contrast, and a 120Hz refresh rate, supporting HDR10 and Dolby Vision.
• 📉 A point of disappointment is the 1,600 nits peak brightness for a Tandem OLED, with comparisons made to Samsung's higher nits on standard OLED.
• ⚠️ A significant concern is the flex and wobble in the display, where tapping the screen causes visible deformation, suggesting potential build quality issues or a flimsy feel.
• 🛡️ Features like scratch-resistant glass and an oleophobic coating are mentioned, though the effectiveness of the anti-reflective coating is questioned.

Performance and Software

• 🚀 The tablet is powered by an Apple M5 processor, delivering extremely fast performance, though it's noted that these are slightly toned-down versions of laptop chips.
• 🚫 A major drawback highlighted is the continued use of iPadOS instead of macOS, limiting versatility despite the powerful M5 chip, with speculation that this is to push users towards the App Store and Apple's revenue model.
• ☁️ The App Store is seen as a limitation, preventing direct installation of applications like on macOS, which allows for downloading DMG files and bypassing Apple's cut.

Storage, RAM, and Pricing

• 💾 The iPad Pro comes with 12GB of RAM standard, expandable to 16GB, and 256GB of storage, expandable up to 2TB.
• 💰 Storage prices are deemed extortionate, with a significant markup for upgrades compared to standard NVMe SSD prices, making it more expensive than comparable laptop storage.
• 📈 The M5 chip configuration varies with storage tiers, with higher storage models featuring more CPU and GPU cores, a pricing strategy that is criticized for obfuscating performance differences.

Accessories and Cameras

• 📸 The rear camera is a 12MP sensor capable of 4K video at 60fps, including 4K ProRes, while the front-facing camera is also 12MP but limited to 1080p video.
• 🛗 The device includes LiDAR for 3D scanning, a niche but available feature.
• ⌨️ The Magic Keyboard is described as premium, solid, and made of aluminum with minimal flex, featuring a typical Apple keyboard feel and a decent trackpad with manageable mouse smoothing.
• 🖊️ The Apple Pencil Pro is confirmed to work with the device, despite not being officially listed, offering haptic feedback and full functionality.

Overall Value Proposition

• 💸 The iPad Pro 11 is considered ridiculously overpriced, especially when opting for higher storage configurations, with the value proposition questioned against actual computers.
• 👍 If the price is disregarded, it's a powerful device with overkill specifications, decent battery life, fast charging, and a good display, though the screen flex is a notable downside.
• 🤔 The Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil Pro add to the premium experience, but the overall cost makes it a questionable purchase for many, particularly when compared to more versatile laptops.