Are Apple's new iPads good for musicians?

Apple held their iPad focussed Let Loose event recently and announced new iPads, new accessories and big updates to their Pro Apps, Final Cut and Logic Pro.

Should iPad music makers be excited?

M4 iPad Pro

Boasting an all new super thin design, top tier “Tandem OLED” screens and Apple’s new M4 chip, this is the biggest update to the iPad Pro in years.

It’s exciting, it’s fresh and if you use your iPad for music production in GarageBand for iOS for example you probably shouldn’t buy this.

When it comes to music production It is nigh on impossible to hit the performance cieling on any iPad Pro model from the last couple of years. This is true especially if your main DAW is GarageBand and even if you plan on moving on to Logic Pro or Loopy Pro for example.

Now having said that, if you use your iPad for other creative tasks like illustration, animation or video editing the power of the M4 coupled with the iPad Pro’s new OLED screen means you’ll probably be able to make the most out of what the new iPad Pro has to offer.

If you currently have an M1 or M2 iPad Pro or M1 iPad Air, you don’t need to upgrade to this M4 powered model.

If you’re coming from an older iPad model, or want to upgrade from a base model then the M4 iPad Pro is a more sensible proposition. This is the best iPad experience money can buy and you’ll definitely notice a large difference in performance.

And a large gaping hole in your wallet…

These new iPad Pro’s are even more expensive than the previous models. In the UK for example, the base model 256gb 11″ M4 iPad Pro costs £999, up from £899 for the previous model and the 12.9” M4 iPad Pro starts at a whopping £1300.

That’s a big old chunk of change, though note that the base storage has doubled since the last iPad Pro models were released.

With all of that said, I’m still really excited to see what these new iPads are capable of and how Apple will make use of all that power in the future.

iPad Air

Apple led their Let Loose event with the new iPad Air and it’s easy to see why. This is definitely the best iPad for most people.

This is essentially the previous iPad Pro model only it’s cheaper, comes in two sizes, has more colors, has a new camera placement and is missing some ‘pro’ features.

Specifically, the new iPad Airs lack the wide angle camera that the M2 Pro iPads had, only have 60hz refresh rate screens, max out at 8GB of RAM and the bigger one has the basic Liquid Retina display instead of the 12.9” M2 iPad Pro’s LED display.

Performance wise, the M2 chip is ridiculously fast. I use an M2 iPad Pro currently and it has dealt with anything and everything I’ve thrown at it without breaking a sweat.

The base model 11” iPad Air is £599 here in the UK and the larger 13” iPad Air starts at £799.

These new models come with increased storage as well, starting at 128GB. Depending on your usage and whether you have an iCloud Drive subscription or not, that may well be enough for you. If you’re a AUv3 hoarder (like me) you may want to shell out for more storage.

If you make music in GarageBand or any iOS DAW really and want a brand new iPad direct from Apple, this is the one I recccomend you go for. Spend the money you’ve saved vs the new iPad Pro models on some shiny new recording gear.

iPad 10th gen

While it didn’t receive any updates, Apple dropped the price of the iPad 10th gen to £349, bringing it down to the price point it really should have been at launch.

If you’re on a tighter budget but still want a new iPad direct from Apple, you could go for this, though the slightly aging A14 Bionic chip and 64gb base storage option may mean you’ll find yourself looking to upgrade a lot sooner than you may realize.

For iOS musicians on a budget, I’d instead recommend looking at Apple’s refurbished store and seeing if you can grab yourself a good deal on an M1 iPad Pro or M1 iPad Air.