iPad Pro 2022 with M2 chip

It brings a lot of questions to the table.

The most notable thing about this iPad launch wasn't the new hardware, it was in fact more software coming to iPadOS.

The two big ones that I think a lot of people will care about is/are: Davinci Resolve and OctaneX. Even if Resolve is stripped back, if it integrates with the desktop version well and cuts 6k RAW footage like butter then this will be a system seller. Every Resolve group I'm in has like 15 posts hyping it up. I think it's going to be good, but I'm waiting to see. At $1000, a 12.9" iPad Pro could easily become the fastest mobile workstation for Resolve in that price point. Especially considering it's a Micro-LED display with over 2500 local dimming zones, meaning it's capable of actually grading HDR where to my knowledge there are ZERO laptops with this capability. It makes it a very unique value proposition.

There is also no word on software compatibility for M1 and how well that will work out for the iPad Air and iPad Pro 5th gen which contain M1. If it's M2 only (which would be kinda a crappy limitation, but still could happen), it will still be worth it for those that want to run this software.

For people not doing professional workflows, the older iPad Pro may be just fine. My brother 'just' got an 11" 5th Gen Pro and its his favorite piece of hardware in a long time. He is using it instead of a traditional laptop. Most of his work now is writting, emails, communication (text messages, Signal, etc), browsing, watching content, and research. The iPad in general, and Pro in particular is better suited to all those tasks than a traditional laptop, while being smaller, lighter, better than most displays, faster, better battery life, etc. Honestly I'm tending to agree.

For me the move might be getting an iPad Pro, and using it to edit in Resolve and Lightroom while in the field. And only at home have a full desktop to do heavy lifting (currently exploring a 2020 iMac maxed out or Mac Pro). If that's viable, that might be the way to go for me.
 
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UnknownSouljer said:
It brings a lot of questions to the table.

The most notable thing about this iPad launch wasn't the new hardware, it was in fact more software coming to iPadOS.

The two big ones that I think a lot of people will care about is/are: Davinci Resolve and OctaneX. Even if Resolve is stripped back, if it integrates with the desktop version well and cuts 6k RAW footage like butter then this will be a system seller. Every Resolve group I'm in has like 15 posts hyping it up. I think it's going to be good, but I'm waiting to see. At $1000, a 12.9" iPad Pro could easily become the fastest mobile workstation for Resolve in that price point. Especially considering it's a Micro-LED display with over 2500 local dimming zones, meaning it's capable of actually grading HDR where to my knowledge there are ZERO laptops with this capability. It makes it a very unique value proposition.

There is also no word on software compatibility for M1 and how well that will work out for the iPad Air and iPad Pro 5th gen which contain M1. If it's M2 only (which would be kinda a crappy limitation, but still could happen), it will still be worth it for those that want to run this software.

For people not doing professional workflows, the older iPad Pro may be just fine. My brother 'just' got an 11" 5th Gen Pro and its his favorite piece of hardware in a long time. He is using it instead of a traditional laptop. Most of his work now is writting, emails, communication (text messages, Signal, etc), browsing, watching content, and research. The iPad in general, and Pro in particular is better suited to all those tasks than a traditional laptop, while being smaller, lighter, better than most displays, faster, better battery life, etc. Honestly I'm tending to agree.

For me the move might be getting an iPad Pro, and using it to edit in Resolve and Lightroom while in the field. And only at home have a full desktop to do heavy lifting (currently exploring a 2020 iMac maxed out or Mac Pro). If that's viable, that might be the way to go for me.
Click to expand...

Now if Apple could just port Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro...

I have to admit, I occasionally pine for the day when an iPad is robust enough that I can do my job at least as well as I do on a conventional computer, just with a truly touch-native interface (i.e. not Windows' somewhat tacked-on UI) and the flexibility of a tablet. Either that or I get a job where the iPad as-is can do everything.
 
Aurelius said:
Now if Apple could just port Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro...

I have to admit, I occasionally pine for the day when an iPad is robust enough that I can do my job at least as well as I do on a conventional computer, just with a truly touch-native interface (i.e. not Windows' somewhat tacked-on UI) and the flexibility of a tablet. Either that or I get a job where the iPad as-is can do everything.
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I've been using an iPad Pro + magic keyboard as a kind of laptop replacement for about 3 years. I started with the 11" and moved to the 12.9" when the CPU was switched to the M1. The most demanding apps I use are Word, PowerPoint and Excel along with media consumption. Main reason I upgraded was the XDR miniLED screen.

When I tried the new M2 Air, I kept touching the screen to launch an app or scroll through websites. It's tough to give up the touch screen once you get so used to it. Ended up returning the Air. Now, I'm looking forward to what the 14" iPad Pro has to offer.
 
Aurelius said:
Now if Apple could just port Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro...
Click to expand...
Not sure they ever will. It seems that they are content to leave it at iMovie and GarageBand.

The irony is, on iPad, Apple seems to be pushing users to move to third-party software. So long as there is access to fully featured NLEs, there will be people willing to make the switch.
Aurelius said:
I have to admit, I occasionally pine for the day when an iPad is robust enough that I can do my job at least as well as I do on a conventional computer, just with a truly touch-native interface (i.e. not Windows' somewhat tacked-on UI) and the flexibility of a tablet. Either that or I get a job where the iPad as-is can do everything.
Click to expand...
There is the rub. If your software is supported, I honestly think we are there now. Getting access to Photoshop and Resolve was probably the last two barriers for a lot of people who do photo video work and want a lightweight solution. For people that do music, there have been tons of NLE’s and synths that work on iPad as well as interfaces that allow midi on iPad as well. If you prefer iPad for music production, I think that’s been possible really for at least 4 years. It’s only necessary to use a traditional setup for mastering at this point. But if you’re a small single operator, iPad is probably “good enough”.

The only issue is if you want the 16 GB of RAM, you’re forced into buying the 1 TB model. And after you buy a keyboard and an Apple Pencil, you’re looking at the cost of a 14 inch MacBook Pro with M1 max (north of $2000).

So, you kind of have to be really sold on the touch interface of iPadOS and be OK with it’s limitations. Otherwise from a cost perspective, the computing power of Apple’s own laptops still make more sense.

Is it possible to have a full laptop replacement now? Yes more than ever before. Especially if the M1 iPad Air is sufficient. It only starts to become questionable when comparing top spec iPad Pros versus MacBooks.
 
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Just a new tidbit, Darryn Mostyn a YouTuber/Editor/Colorist who went to "ResolveCon(?)" stated that it will ONLY be the iPad Pro equipped with M2 that will be able to run Resolve. His reasoning is that the M2 has specific ProRes accelerators needed to run Resolve. While I won't go as far to say his word is Gospel, I will say he is reliable.

So, it's either bite the bullet and get a new iPad Pro or wait until the M2 hits other iPads like perhaps the iPad Air. Or alternatively buy an M1/M2 Macbook Air instead. I still think the iPad Pro is a compelling option IF 16GB of RAM isn't necessary to have best performance. Meaning that it would be possible to run Resolve on a $1000 ultra portable device.
 
The base M1 chip has no media accelerators whereas the base M2 chip has ProRes accelerators. While I have a relatively ancient 3rd generation iPad Pro 12.9" I'm holding out for the M3 before considering an upgrade as I think the M2 was rushed (my opinion only).
 
The only options with 16GB RAM are the 1TB options... again.

I want those damn ProCreate layers
 
Full update from BM Design: https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/release/20221020-02

Fremont, CA, USA - Thursday, October 20, 2022 - Blackmagic Design today announced DaVinci Resolve for iPad, so creators can extend video workflows in new ways and new places. Optimized for MultiTouch technology and Apple Pencil, DaVinci Resolve for iPad features support for cut and color pages providing access to DaVinci’s award winning image technology, color finishing tools and latest HDR workflows. And Blackmagic Cloud support allows creators to collaborate with multiple users around the world. DaVinci Resolve for iPad will be available in Q4 2022 from the Apple App Store as a free download, with an upgrade to DaVinci Resolve Studio for iPad also available as an in-app purchase.


With optimized performance for Apple Silicon, DaVinci Resolve delivers 4x faster Ultra HD ProRes render performance on the new iPad Pro with M2. HDR is also supported for customers using an 12.9-inch iPad Pro with the M1 chip. Creators can send a clean feed grading monitor output to an Apple Studio Display, Pro Display XDR or an AirPlay compatible display. This lets customers use the external display to quickly create grades on set or color correct clips in post production directly from their iPad.


The new DaVinci Resolve for iPad will open and create standard DaVinci Resolve project files which are compatible with the desktop version of DaVinci Resolve 18. Supported file formats include H.264, H.265, Apple ProRes and Blackmagic RAW, with clips able to be imported from the iPad Pro internal storage and Photos library, or externally connected iCloud and USB-C media disks.

DaVinci Resolve for iPad will be available in Q4 2022 from the Apple App Store as a free download, with an upgrade to DaVinci Resolve Studio for iPad also available as an in-app purchase.

About DaVinci Resolve

High end professionals working on feature films and television shows use DaVinci Resolve more than any other solution! That’s because it’s known for incredible quality and creative tools that are light years beyond the competition. Customers get DaVinci’s Emmy™ award winning image technology with 32‑bit float processing, patented YRGB color science and a massive wide gamut color space for the latest HDR workflows. Customers also get the legendary quality of Fairlight audio processing for the best sound in the industry! With DaVinci Resolve, customers get the same tools professional colorists and editors use every day to finish blockbuster feature films and television programming!

DaVinci Resolve is the only solution that lets customers grow and build their own multi user post production studio! The newly redesigned project libraries are built for real time local and remote collaboration. While the new Blackmagic Cloud lets customers host and access their projects from anywhere in the world. Now customers can collaborate with editors, colorists, visual effects artists, and sound engineers all working together at the same time. Best of all, customers no longer have to import and export files, translate projects, lose work, or conform and manage changes. DaVinci Resolve is the only application in the world that lets everyone work together in parallel on the same project and at the same time!

The cut page is a revolution in editing and has many new innovations that make editing much faster than before. That's critical when editing content for social media, fast turn music videos, television commercials and corporate videos. The cut page has also been co-designed to work with a hardware panel such as the DaVinci Resolve Speed Editor, which is also supported on the DaVinci Resolve for iPad. This means you get an editing solution that’s not "dumbed down", as it's a true professional editor that’s focused on introducing new innovations in speed!

The DaVinci Resolve color page is Hollywood’s most advanced color corrector and has been used to color and finish more high end feature films and television shows than any other system! It’s also approachable with features designed to make it easier for new users to get great results while they continue to learn the advanced tools. For example, new primary control sliders will be familiar to anyone who’s used image editing software, making it easy to adjust contrast, temperature, midtone detail, saturation and more. The color page has an incredible range of primary and secondary color grading features including PowerWindows™, qualifiers, tracking, advanced HDR grading tools and more!




“DaVinci Resolve for iPad is truly a revolution for post production, " said Grant Petty, Blackmagic Design CEO. “Customers will have the power of Hollywood post production tools for editing and color correction literally in their hands, creating a whole new generation of creative editors and colorists. Compatibility with DaVinci Resolve 18 and Blackmagic Cloud, mean that customers can collaborate on the same timeline with other editors or colorists as well as audio engineers and VFX artists from literally anywhere in the world. I think it will be exciting to try out the new iPad version and I can’t wait to see how our customers use it, their creativity will be mind blowing."

DaVinci Resolve for iPad Features​

  • Cut page for editing and the color pages are optimized for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro display.
  • Up to 4x Ultra HD ProRes render performance improvement with the M2 chip.
  • Supports Apple Neural Engine features in DaVinci Resolve Studio for iPad.
  • Compatible with DaVinci Resolve 18 project files.
  • Supports multi-user collaboration via Blackmagic Cloud.
  • Supports H.264, H.265, ProRes and Blackmagic RAW media files.
  • Supports clips from iPad storage, Photos library and iCloud.
  • Import clips from external USB-C disks.
  • Works with Apple Pencil, Magic Trackpad, Magic Keyboard and Smart Keyboard Folio.
  • External monitoring via Apple Studio Display, Pro Display XDR or an AirPlay display.
  • Supports HDR display on 12.9-inch iPad Pro with the M1 chip.
  • Compatible with iPadOS 16 or newer.

Availability and Price​

DaVinci Resolve for iPad will be available later in 2022 as a free download from the Apple App Store. Customers can upgrade to DaVinci Resolve Studio for iPad using an in-app purchase.
 
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Just to follow up:
Misconception, the M1 is capable of running Davinci Resolve. However the M2 is significantly faster. Darren Mostyn looks like he raced to get at least a preliminary video showing the difference between the two, here on "launch day".



So while the M2 is probably not worth it for most people to pay the premium on, if you wanted use an iPad Pro to grade and edit on specifically, there are tangible gains (30-50% in most cases). As Resolve on iPad Pro continues to add features and "pages" such as Fairlight and Fusion, I expect that lead to only increase.
He also didn't talk about HDR and what that is like to use on the 12.9" iPad Pro, which as a display is a significant upgrade.
 
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UnknownSouljer said:
Just to follow up:
Misconception, the M1 is capable of running Davinci Resolve. However the M2 is significantly faster. Darren Mostyn looks like he raced to get at least a preliminary video showing the difference between the two, here on "launch day".



So while the M2 is probably not worth it for most people to pay the premium on, if you wanted use an iPad Pro to grade and edit on specifically, there are tangible gains (30-50% in most cases). As Resolve on iPad Pro continues to add features and "pages" such as Fairlight and Fusion, I expect that lead to only increase.
He also didn't talk about HDR and what that is like to use on the 12.9" iPad Pro, which as a display is a significant upgrade.
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Sounds about right. Like Apple's "Pro" Macs, if you can actually benefit from the added performance... you'll already know. I'd say the iPad Air M1 is plenty for everyday users who are serious about the iPad, and you only really need the iPad Pro if you're either a serious creative or just can't live without a 12.9-inch screen.
 
Aurelius said:
Sounds about right. Like Apple's "Pro" Macs, if you can actually benefit from the added performance... you'll already know. I'd say the iPad Air M1 is plenty for everyday users who are serious about the iPad, and you only really need the iPad Pro if you're either a serious creative or just can't live without a 12.9-inch screen.
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I perhaps didn't word it right. The previous 12.9" M1 iPad Pros have (as far as I know) the same displays as the new 12.9" M2 iPad Pros. What I meant to say is that this is the first time the HDR capable display has become relevant from a color grading perspective. So whether on the older M1 or newer M2, there was no thoughts about specifically the display and grading on either.
Although I suppose in theory that if you used the display using Sidecar you could've already been doing HDR grading in tandem with a Macbook Pro (or whatever you grade on).
 
Aurelius said:
If you can get a particularly good deal on the 2021 version, maybe. If it's only modest, though, I'd rather get the latest version and know that it'll last that much longer. The M2, Pencil hover and other features can add up.
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Target had the 128GB 11" M1 iPad Pro for $549 the other day, was considering getting it again.
I bought one a few months ago but ended up returning it after a couple of weeks since I wasn't using it as much as I thought I would, and I realized this model came out in May or June of 2021 and not 2022.
Figured the new model would come out soon and didn't want to pay near retail for the last gen so I took it back.
It is a very impressive piece of hardware and has amazing sound, it's hard to believe something so thin can produce sound that is so full, rich, and loud.

IMG_2472.JPEG
 
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Zepher said:
Target had the 128GB 11" M1 iPad Pro for $549 the other day, was considering getting it again.
I bought one a few months ago but ended up returning it after a couple of weeks since I wasn't using it as much as I thought I would, and I realized this model came out in May or June of 2021 and not 2022.
Figured the new model would come out soon and didn't want to pay near retail for the last gen so I took it back.
It is a very impressive piece of hardware and has amazing sound, it's hard to believe something so thin can produce sound that is so full, rich, and loud.

View attachment 530487
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In a lot of ways as a consupmtion device the 12.9" iPad is near perfect. I have a habit of watching stuff in bed or reading in bed and between this and a nice pair of Bluetooth headphones (say the Sony WH-1000XM5's) it's probably one of the nicest experiences you could have. Literally HDR in the palms of your hands. Most people's desktop displays can't touch the gamut the iPad Pro is capable of producing.
 
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