Apple iPad Pro Apple 2021 11-inch iPad Pro, Wi‐Fi, 256GB, Silver Review

So you're looking at the 2021 iPad Pro with the M1 chip. This is the tablet that made everyone stop asking if iPads could be real computers and start wondering why they'd need anything else. It's a weird spot now—it's technically a few years old, but that M1 chip inside is still shockingly powerful. For $495, you're getting what was once Apple's absolute flagship tablet.

This thing is for people who want a premium screen and desktop-class speed in a super portable package. Think artists sketching in Procreate, students taking notes while running ten browser tabs, or someone editing a quick video on the train. It's not really for the casual ebook reader or someone who just wants to watch Netflix. The scores back that up: it's a 73 for productivity and a 71 for art and design, but only a 53 for reading. That tells you everything about its priorities.

What makes it interesting today is the price. At under $500 for a renewed model with 256GB, you're getting insane value on paper. But there's a catch. This is the 11-inch model, and its screen scores in just the 31st percentile against all tablets. That doesn't mean it's bad—it's a beautiful Liquid Retina display with ProMotion. It just means bigger, newer screens have passed it by. And that single USB-C/Thunderbolt port? That lands it in the 16th percentile for connectivity. So you're trading some modern conveniences for raw, discounted power.

Let's talk about that M1 chip. Its CPU and GPU both sit in the 82nd percentile. In plain English, that means it's faster than roughly four out of five tablets out there, including most new Android models. Real-world, apps like Procreate and DaVinci Resolve fly. One customer reviewer said they installed all three of those apps and called the M1 'an absolute beast,' and they're not wrong. You can have a dozen layers in a complex illustration or scrub through a 4K timeline without a stutter. The 8GB of RAM helps here, though it's only in the 70th percentile, so very heavy multitasking might hit a limit before the CPU does.

The benchmarks confirm this isn't a gentle slowdown. It's a workhorse. But performance has a cost. The battery life percentile is a middling 48. That's the trade-off for all that silicon muscle in a thin chassis. You'll get a day of mixed use, but if you're pushing it with video editing or 3D design, you'll be reaching for the charger by the afternoon. It's not a deal-breaker, but it's a real consideration if you're planning long sessions away from an outlet.

Here's the big question: is $495 for a renewed 2021 iPad Pro a good deal? On pure specs, absolutely. You're getting an M1 chip, 256GB of storage, and a premium Apple build for the price of a mid-range Android tablet. The storage alone is a win—it's in the 74th percentile. Compared to buying new, you're saving hundreds.

But value isn't just about specs per dollar. You have to look at what you're giving up. For that same $500, you could get a brand new base model iPad with a newer chip but less storage and a worse screen. Or you could look at Android options like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE, which might offer more ports and a different software experience. This iPad Pro's value is hyper-focused: maximum processing power for professional creative apps at a steep discount. If that's your need, it's a steal. If you want a more balanced, modern tablet experience, the value proposition gets fuzzy.

The most direct competitor is the newer 13-inch iPad Pro with the M5 chip. That one will have a much better screen, more ports, and a faster chip, but it'll cost you three or four times as much new. The trade-off is simple: budget vs. bleeding-edge. For most people who aren't making money directly with their tablet, the 2021 M1 model offers more than enough power.

Then there's the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+. It'll likely have a stunning OLED screen, better multitasking with Dex mode, and more connectivity options. But its chip might not match the M1's raw performance, especially in sustained workloads. It's a choice between a more flexible 'laptop-like' experience and Apple's walled-garden optimization. The Microsoft Surface Pro is another angle—a full Windows PC in tablet form. It'll run desktop software without compromise, but it'll be heavier, probably have worse battery life, and the tablet app ecosystem isn't as polished as iPadOS. This iPad Pro sits in a sweet spot of being better for touch-first creative work than a Surface, but more powerful than most Android tablets.

So, who should buy this? If you're an artist, designer, or student who needs serious power for apps like Procreate, Affinity Designer, or Lumafusion, and you're on a tight budget, this is a fantastic choice. The renewed market makes the M1's power accessible. The praise from customers using it for photo and video editing is real. Just be ready for the single-port life and know that the screen, while great, isn't the best anymore.

Who should skip it? If your main uses are reading, web browsing, and media consumption, look elsewhere. That low reading score doesn't lie. Also, if you need to connect multiple peripherals or use it as a true laptop replacement without dongle hell, the connectivity score is a major red flag. And if having the absolute latest screen tech matters to you, the newer iPad Pros or high-end Android tablets will be worth the extra investment.