You’ve seen the marketing. It’s "impossibly thin." It’s got a chip that’s basically a supercomputer engine. But after the initial hype of the iPad Pro 11-inch M4 died down, a lot of people started asking if this thing is actually worth the $999 entry fee—or if it's just a very expensive Netflix machine.
Honestly? It's both. And that's what makes it so frustrating.
The 11-inch model has always been the "middle child" of the Pro lineup. For years, if you wanted the best screen, you had to buy the massive 12.9-inch version. But with the M4 generation, Apple finally stopped punishing people who prefer a smaller tablet. They crammed the same Tandem OLED tech into the 11-inch frame, and it is, without hyperbole, the best screen you can carry in a backpack.
But there are some weird quirks and "gotchas" with the M4 chip and the new accessories that might make you want to stick with your M2. Let’s get into what’s actually happening under the hood.
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The OLED Screen is a Game Changer (Mostly)
The biggest deal here is the Ultra Retina XDR display. Apple uses two OLED panels stacked on top of each other. Why? Because a single OLED panel large enough for an iPad usually can't get bright enough without burning out. By stacking them, you get 1,000 nits of full-screen brightness.
If you’re coming from the M2 11-inch, which used a standard LCD, the difference is night and day. Black levels are actually black, not that murky dark grey you see in a dark room.
- ProMotion is still here: 10Hz to 120Hz. It’s buttery.
- The Glare Issue: If you spend the extra cash on the Nano-texture glass, just know it's only available on the 1TB and 2TB models. It kills reflections but sort of "mutes" the vibrant punch of the OLED.
- Grain concerns: Some early users on Reddit reported a slight "grainy" texture on the OLED at low brightness. It’s barely noticeable for most, but if you’re a digital artist, you might want to look at it in a store first.
That M4 Chip: Is it Overkill?
Yes. Absolutely.
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The M4 is built on a 3nm process. It's faster than most laptops. In Geekbench 6, we’re seeing single-core scores around 3,700. To put that in perspective, the M2 was hitting about 2,500. That’s a massive jump. But here’s the reality: iPadOS 18 (and the upcoming iPadOS 19) still feels like a mobile operating system.
You’ve got all this power—hardware-accelerated ray tracing, a 16-core Neural Engine—and you’re mostly using it to scroll Twitter or maybe edit a 4K video in LumaFusion. The chip isn't the bottleneck; the software is.
One thing to watch out for is the RAM. If you buy the 256GB or 512GB model, you get 8GB of RAM and a 9-core CPU. You have to jump to the 1TB model to get the full 10-core CPU and 16GB of RAM. For 99% of people, the 8GB version is plenty, but it’s a sneaky way for Apple to up-sell you.
The Accessory Tax
This is where it gets annoying. If you upgrade to the iPad Pro 11-inch M4, your old accessories are basically paperweights.
- Apple Pencil Pro: The M4 uses a different magnet alignment. Your old 2nd Gen Pencil won't work. The new Pro pencil adds a "squeeze" gesture and haptic feedback, which is cool, but it’s another $129.
- Magic Keyboard: The new version has a function row (finally!) and a larger trackpad with haptic feedback. It makes the iPad feel much more like a MacBook. But again, your old Magic Keyboard won't fit the thinner M4 chassis.
Real-World Battery and the "Thinducer"
Apple says the battery lasts 10 hours. In real life, if you’re cranking the brightness on that OLED screen to watch HDR content, you’re looking at closer to 7 or 8 hours.
There was a lot of worry that making the iPad so thin (it’s only 5.3mm!) would make it "bendable" or kill the battery. In practice, the structural integrity seems fine, but the thinness is mostly just for aesthetics. It doesn't make it much lighter than the previous generation, though every gram counts when you're holding it one-handed to read.
The Speaker "Downgrade"?
Surprisingly, there’s been a lot of chatter on the Apple Support communities about the speakers. Because the device is so thin, there’s less resonance chamber space. Some users swear the 2018 and 2020 Pros sounded "fuller" or "punchier." It’s not that the M4 sounds bad—it’s still a four-speaker system—but it might lack the low-end bass of the older, thicker models.
Actionable Next Steps
If you're sitting on an M1 or M2 iPad Pro, don't feel pressured to rush out and buy this unless you are dying for that OLED screen. The performance gap in daily tasks is almost zero because the software doesn't know what to do with the M4's power yet.
However, if you are a professional photographer or someone who works outdoors, the 1,600 nits peak brightness is a legitimate reason to upgrade. It makes the screen readable in direct sunlight, which the older 11-inch models just couldn't handle.
Before you buy:
- Check your storage needs: Remember, the 1TB model is the only way to get 16GB of RAM.
- Test the Pencil: If you don't care about the "squeeze" feature, the USB-C Apple Pencil is a cheaper, albeit less featured, alternative.
- Look for refurbished M2s: If you don't need the OLED, an M2 Pro is still a beast in 2026 and will cost you half as much.