Apple built the latest iPad Pro with serious power. You get the M5 chip, fast storage, and enough graphics strength to rival older desktop Macs. Yet when you try using it as a real computer, the limits appear fast. The hardware wants to run, but iPadOS pulls it back. That tension defines the iPad today, and it shapes every task you try to push beyond the basics.
Here’s what Snazzy Labs highlighted in his long investigation. He compared the iPad Pro to older Macs and found a consistent pattern. The tablet wins on raw performance tests, then loses the moment real work starts. Even my own notes from Jason Snell, blended into his analysis, underline that same frustration. The iPad always looks ready, but it never feels free.
The Jettison Problem
Snazzy Labs showed that the iPad’s biggest weakness starts with how it handles memory. Earlier, it looked like iPadOS did not support swap at all. That is not fully true. On M-series chips running iPadOS 16 or later, swap technically exists. However, its role is very limited compared to macOS.
On a Mac, swap acts like a safety net. The system pushes background apps and idle processes to disk so active tasks can keep running. Performance slows, but your work survives. iPadOS takes a stricter path. It uses swap mainly to give the active foreground app more breathing room, especially in Stage Manager. At the same time, it still aggressively terminates background apps when memory pressure rises. Instead of paging them to disk like macOS, it removes them entirely.
This is why heavy tasks fail on the iPad even when hardware headroom exists. The OS refuses to behave like a true desktop system. It protects smoothness over flexibility, and that policy forces apps to shut down instead of adapting. The result stays the same for you. The iPad feels powerful, yet unreliable when real workloads push its limits.
Curated Limitations
The second issue comes from Apple’s strict rules. Games and pro tools get fewer controls on the iPad. Death Stranding proved that clearly. It runs at a blurry internal resolution even when the iPad can push far more. Developers hide settings because Apple tells them to keep things simple and safe.
Snazzy Labs tested Hitman on the iPad and found the same pattern. You get three settings. They do not use the full strength of the hardware. The game leaves performance on the table because the OS does not want users changing anything meaningful. On a Mac, you would raise resolution, tweak shadows, or push effects. On the iPad, you accept presets.
The Foundation Gap
The last problem runs deeper. Pro apps on the iPad never match their Mac versions. DaVinci Resolve looks complete at first. Then you try editing common formats like MKV or RED RAW and the gaps appear. Apple still blocks too many file types. Developers like Blackmagic and Red support the Mac, Windows, and Linux, but iPadOS sits outside their real plans.
Final Cut Pro shows the same weakness. Its iPad version misses core tools. You cannot round-trip projects properly. You miss color tools, plugin support, and advanced audio features. At that point, the iPad stops feeling like a computer.
Conclusion
The iPad Pro is powerful, but iPadOS locks that power away. Snazzy Labs proves it with numbers, games, and pro apps. After a decade of updates, the device still behaves like a big phone. Many users will keep reaching for a Mac because the iPad cannot replace it. And until Apple changes the foundation of iPadOS, this problem will remain permanent.
