The new iPad Pro 2022 is the first Apple tablet to sport the company’s M2 chip. You'd think that alone would make it the obvious choice over its predecessor, the M1-powered iPad Pro 2021. And while it will likely earn a place on our best tablets and best iPads lists once we're finished reviewing it, does the iPad Pro 2022 completely obliterate last year’s model?
Now that our iPad Pro 2022 review in progress is live, we wanted to share our benchmark results and show you how the new tablet fares against the iPad Pro 2021 in a range of tests, including overall performance, graphics and video rendering. And for good measure, we’re also comparing it to the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8, which is one of the best Android tablets out there.
As you’ll see below, the new iPad Pro outperforms its predecessor and its Android rival in certain categories but strangely falls behind in others. It’s no surprise that the new tablet excels in terms of performance, but its battery life is comparatively shorter.
Without further delay, here’s how the iPad Pro 2022 stacks up in our benchmark tests.
Geekbench 5 (overall performance)
| Header Cell - Column 0 | iPad Pro 2022 | iPad Pro 2021 | Galaxy Tab S8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single Core | 1,862 | 1,722 | 1,208 |
| Multi Core | 8,500 | 7,298 | 3,228 |
On Geekbench 5.4, which measures overall performance, the iPad 2022 scored 1,862 on the single-core portion and 8,500 on the multi-core test. In contrast, the M1-powered iPad Pro scored 1,722 and 7,298, respectively. These values absolutely crush the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1-driven Galaxy Tab S8 (1,208 single-core, 3,228 multi-core).
3D Mark Wild Life Unlimited
| Header Cell - Column 0 | iPad Pro 2022 | iPad Pro 2021 | Galaxy Tab S8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Score | 25,259 | 18,263 | 9,549 |
| Frames per second | 151 | 109 | 57 |
When it comes to graphics, the iPad Pro 2022 scored 25,259 and hit 151 frames per second on the 3D Mark Wild Life Unlimited test. Conversely, last year’s slate scored 18,263 and 109 fps on the same test. If you like gaming on an iPad, this is the new top-tier device.
By comparison, the Galaxy Tab S8 was nearly 100 fps behind.
Adobe Premiere Rush
| Header Cell - Column 0 | iPad Pro 2022 | iPad Pro 2021 | Galaxy Tab S8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time (seconds) | 23.22 | 21.96 | 0:48 |
In our Adobe Premiere Rush video transcoding test, the new iPad Pro took 23 seconds to transcode a 4K video to 1080p.
Oddly, the previous iPad Pro needed only 21 seconds, while the M1-powered iPad Air 2022 took 22 seconds. We will be retesting with a larger file size to see if that makes a difference in performance.
Battery life (web surfing test)
| Header Cell - Column 0 | iPad Pro 2022 | iPad Pro 2021 | Galaxy Tab S8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battery | 10 hours, 39 minutes | 10 hours, 47 minutes | 12 hours, 52 minutes |
On the Tom’s Guide battery test, which involves continuous web surfing at 150 nits of screen brightness, the iPad Pro lasted for 10 hours and 39 minutes over Wi-Fi. This is a hair lower than the 10 hours and 47 minutes of last year's model. However, the Galaxy Tab S8 outlasted them all with its 12 hours and 52 minutes of battery life.
Bottom line
The new iPad Pro isn’t a revolutionary tablet. Besides the M2 chip and exclusive iPadOS 16 features like Apple Pencil hover preview, it’s almost indistinguishable from the iPad Pro 2021.
As our testing revealed, the main thing the new tablet has over its predecessor is processing power. If you’re a professional artist or video editor, then perhaps you need a tablet that can handle heavy workloads. But if you’re an average user who mostly consumes streaming content or engages in video conferencing, the iPad Pro 2021 with its M1 chip will more than suit those needs.
You should also enjoy a sizable gain in graphics performance with the new iPad Pro M2, especially compared with the best Android tablets.
However, it’s interesting that the new iPad Pro was slightly behind last year's model on video transcoding. And while the iPad Pro M2's battery life is strong, it doesn't surpass its predecessor.
Even if the iPad Pro 2022 doesn’t offer groundbreaking features, it’s still a solid device overall. If you have the previous model and mostly use it for everyday tasks, then you have little reason to upgrade. But if you need a tablet with maximum power for demanding tasks, you won’t go wrong with Apple's premium slate.
We’ll have a detailed iPad Pro 2022 vs iPad Pro 2021 comparison for you in the coming days. In the meantime, be sure to check out our iPad Pro 2022 vs iPad Pro 2021: These are the biggest upgrades as your guide.
