Tablets are a fantastic addition to any videographer’s toolkit, and the best iPads for video editing offer some of the smoothest user experience, as well as fast editing, colour grading and video rendering.
Paired with a Magic Keyboard, these slick slates are almost as good as a laptop, depending on which of the iPad generations and models you’re using. To help you choose, we’ve run various benchmark tests and used them for our own video projects to identify the best options for different needs, from more affordable to high-performance options.
Thanks to its M4 chip inside, which boasts either a 9 or 10-core depending on configuration, this iPad leaves the others in the dust. If you can afford it, it will future-proof your video editing setup. Read more below
While it's no M2, the A14 Bionic chip powering this iPad is more than capable, and we love its large, bright screen. It can handle CPU-hungry and GPU-intensive tasks without breaking the bank, though it's only available with 8GB RAM. Read more below
With its upgraded M2 chip, the iPad Air is surprisingly affordable compared to the 2022 iPad Air 5 series. It offers 50% faster performance than the M1 thanks to an upgraded CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine. Read more below
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Faster, thinner and more beautiful than ever before, the new iPad Pro 13 (M4, 2024) features several improvements that make it a fantastic pick for video editing. Its OLED screen technology offers improved contrast, and the slate will be compatible with the new Apple Pencil Pro. Plus, its powerful M4 chip looks set to offer enough power to easily handle more demanding tasks like video editing.
Despite its thin, 5.1mm frame, this is a robust tablet that will provide an excellent surface for video editing, though it's a little larger than some of its less powerful siblings. However, with that size comes the greatest boon; that beautiful Tandem OLED display, which sandwiches two OLED panels and offers, according to Apple, 1,000 nits of standard brightness and 1,600 nits of HDR brightness, the same as with the 2022 model. However, based on our initial hands-on inspection, we think the Ultra Retina XDR OLED display looks even crisper than its predecessor.
With a refresh rate of up to 120Hz, it's also incredibly responsive and especially shines when paired with the new Apple Pencil Pro. This new stylus introduces its own benefits; namely, how its new rotating barrel can quickly change the orientation of pen and brush tools, and the ability to squeeze the stylus to access a quick menu with tools and settings.
We haven't yet completed our full review, but based on our initial hands-on experience, we think it's the best iPad for video editing available today.
The latest iPad has had a massive upgrade in specs, thanks to the A14 Bionic chip that’s now powering it, and the larger, brighter screen. Both contribute to taking the original iPad line from being the iPad for most users to being one of the most capable tablets out there that can handle CPU-hungry and GPU-intensive tasks… like easier video editing workloads, for example.
That’s right; the previously underestimated, often overlooked iPad is now capable of seeing students and fledging video editors through their demanding creative process. We’ve witnessed this first-hand in our iPad 2022 review. And, you need not spend more than $750 / £750 for it either (although be warned, it went up in price when it got its new chip).
Due to its limitations in RAM – you can only get an 8GB one – we cannot confidently recommend it to professional video editors. Time is money, after all. But, if you’re just starting and still honing the craft, this one’s a money-saving ace.
The redesigned iPad Air is available in 13-inches for the first time.
Specifications
Processor: Apple M2 Chip
Storage: 128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB
Screen size: 11 and 13-inches
Resolution: 2360x1640 (11-inch) 2732x2048 (13-inch) at 264 ppi
Dimensions: 247.6mm x 178.5mm x 6.1mm (11-inch) 280.6mm x 214.9mm x 6.1mm (13-inch)
Reasons to buy
+
Powerful M2 Chip
+
USB-C charging
+
New Ultra Wide landscape camera
Reasons to avoid
-
The new iPad Pro M4 is lighter and thinner
Although the specs of iPad Air models won't ever quite live up to more recent versions of the larger slates, we think the iPad Air (M2, 2024) offers great value for money, making for a capable workstation without the need for pro-level power. It has a 13-inch display option, which is great if you want enough power and space to edit videos especially while on the move.
Plus, the inclusion of the M2 chip means the new iPad Air offers 50% faster performance than the M1 model thanks to its upgraded CPU, GPU and Neural Engine. There's also the new landscape 12MP Ultra Wide front camera, which has been repositioned to more naturally suit video calls, should you also need to use your new slate for connecting with friends, family or colleagues, too.
With its advanced power, the most recent iPad Air is also capable of handling AI tasks, and it's even compatible with the newly announced Apple Pencil Pro and the Apple Pencil USB-C too, if you don't want to get your screen grubby.
While it's far from cheap (check out our dedicated guide to the best iPad Air 5 prices for all the details on these deals). We've yet to review the new iPad Air, but we'll update this space soon.
All the other iPads on this list have nice big screens, which is great for video editing. But if portability is key, then you'll be pleased to know that the small iPad mini still gives great performance.
Yes, the 8.3-inch screen is a little poky, but that does make this iPad extremely easy to take around with you. The Liquid Retina display with 2266x1488 resolution at 326 pixels per inch is impressively crisp and detailed. The A15 Bionic chip provides enough power to run video editing apps. And you get USB-C support and 5G connectivity into the bargain. Read more in our full iPad mini (6th gen) review.
Can an iPad actually handle serious video editing?
Certainly! In particular, the latest iPad Pros with the M2 or M1 chip can handle video editing using apps like LumaFusion or DaVinci Resolve for iPad with ease. Video editing tasks can also be done smoothly on other types of iPad, although in general you get what you pay for. So basically, the more you spend on an iPad, the faster and more responsive your experience will be.
Can I turn my iPad into a laptop?
The Magic Keyboard transforms your iPad into something akin to a laptop by adding a physical keyboard and trackpad. Note that it's not quite the same as a MacBook, though, because you'll still be running iOS, rather than macOS, so you won't be able to run full Mac software such as Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro. Also note that you have to buy it separately and it's not cheap. For more affordable alternatives, read our roundup of the best iPad keyboards.
What video editing apps work best on an iPad?
The most powerful video editing app for iPad is arguably Da Vinci Resolve thanks to its combination of video editing and colour correction in one software tool. There are plenty more to choose from, though, and each has something unique to offer. So check out our full list of video editing apps to find the right fit for you.
How to choose the best iPad for video editing
How do you choose between the best iPads for video editing? Well, that's largely down to price. If money's no object, then you can't go wrong with the iPad Pro M2, the number one pick on our list. Otherwise, you're basically balancing how much you want to spend with the speed and power of the tablet. On the whole, iPad Pros are more powerful than iPad Airs, and the basic iPad is at the bottom of the list. Similarly, every time you go back a year from 2022, you'll step down in both price and power.
There's only one other major consideration when it comes to video editing: the size of the screen you're looking for. Most people will prefer a larger one in order to see more picture detail, but that will also make your tablet larger and less portable. So if you want something easy to carry, you may prefer to go in the opposite direction and opt for an iPad mini.
How we test iPads for video editing
Finding the best iPad for video editing is partly about assessing specifications, partly about machine testing, and partly about how each model performs in practice, at actual video editing tasks. So while we use benchmark tests like Geekbench to measure processing muscle, we also import and render actual 4K footage to see how smoothly each iPad performs when editing complex projects. We also assess the brightness, colour accuracy and HDR capabilities of the screen, battery life, and audio quality from the speakers.
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Los Angeles-based Michelle is a writer and photographer. She regularly writes for TechRadar, Steve's Digicams and Techlicious, and is currently a freelance SEO and Production editor for TechRadar.
