How well does the M5 iPad Pro, touted as Apple’s most powerful tablet to date, handle console-level (AAA) games? A detailed review by YouTuber MrMacRight sheds light on this question, and the results demonstrate significant improvements in performance and thermal management, although some game ports still need improvement.
M5 Leads in Sustained Performance
The 16GB M5 model, featuring a 10-core CPU, was pitted against the M4 and older M1 versions using demanding AAA games like Resident Evil 4, Death Stranding, and Assassin’s Creed Mirage. For a fair test, all games were run at the same settings through their native iPad or App Store ports.
Shiftdelete.netThe M5’s biggest victory came in sustained performance. In long-term stress tests, the M5 maintained smooth frame rates and lower temperatures for significantly longer than the M4 thanks to improved cooling and efficiency.
- Resident Evil 4: Frame rates generally hovered between 50 and 60 FPS on balanced settings, while the M4 remained in the mid-40s, while the M1 struggled to reach 20 FPS.
- Death Stranding: This game delivered even more impressive results. Even at very high settings, it ran at a stable 30 FPS at native 1080p resolution. Lowering the settings to balanced mode increased the frame rate to 60 FPS. While the images appeared sharp, a small amount of ghosting was noticeable on the larger screen.
The biggest disappointment of the test was Assassin’s Creed Mirage. The game was locked to 30 FPS regardless of the settings. Frequent stuttering and fixed resolution scaling negatively impacted the experience. This clearly demonstrates that the problem lies not with the M5’s hardware limitations, but with the game’s poor optimization.
In conclusion, the M5 iPad Pro proves that Apple’s latest chip can handle serious gaming loads without any difficulty. But as this test makes clear, the bottleneck isn’t hardware anymore. Until developers fully optimize AAA game ports, Apple’s powerful tablet will remain one step away from becoming a true console alternative.
