20 best apps for iPad Pro that I recommend installing first. Even the M4 will unleash its power

Three months ago I bought an iPad Pro 11 based on the M4 and since then I have been very disappointed in the advertising husk that Apple, which has been piling on the presentations of its firmware for a year.

The device, unfortunately, could not replace my laptop even by 50% due to the ridiculously cut iPadOS.

But at the moment, when I realized its shortcomings and tried to get the most out of it just like from a tablet, it opened up to me new world. It is the ultimate gadget for planning, quick photo, video and text edits, backup camera, arcade games, healthier lifestyle, reading and learning.

I didn’t come to this conclusion right away. It all comes down to efficient applications, where problems and errors can be found.

Below I talk about pearls The App Store is largely free and is used just like them. You, like me, have already heard about something, another program has become a real discovery.

Best Free Notability Scheduler

There are ten great apps on the iPhone for planning your day and setting goals, but none of them have stuck with me. There are acquaintances who remember and perceive information if it is written down. I guess I’m one of them.

I downloaded different programs for notes, but almost all free versions are limited in tools, create good albums and, importantly, play an important role.

Notability lets you download templates for calendars, diaries, and planners. any size, the tools are flexible, simple and straightforward. There are autoshapes, layer arrangement, smart eraser, unlimited custom colors and . It sounds like a banal set, but not everyone has all this.

The program is also good because it has auto-capture, so you can even make illustrations here along with vector graphics. For example, I drew the sizes of the sensors in this article right here.

For 1,300 rubles per year, we will unlock backup, recognize handwriting and transcribe audio without blocking. But the equivalent version is enough for me.

▸ Download Notability for free

Conveniently create illustrations in Affinity Photo and Freeform

Unlike the almost useless, cropped Photoshop for iPad version of Affinity Photo, it looks like a full-fledged program for deep photo processing.

I didn’t use desktop flow, but the iPad had everything I needed to create illustrations: layers, magnetic snapping of elements, shadow and light effects, selection tools, and so on.

This is a huge application in the entire App Store and has replaced Pixelmator Pro and desktop Photoshop for me. This is so serious that one of the creatures is able to use the full power of the M4 for the first time.

There’s only one downside: it’s included in a one-time bundle of all Affinity tools for $164 for Windows, Mac, and iPadOS all at once. The price just sounds scary, but it beats it out almost immediately compared to the package from Adobe along with Photoshop, which costs me almost 16,000 rubles a year.

There is also a 6 month free trial period.

I’ll immediately mention another free character application, but which can also be used to create illustrations.

Freeform from Apple, introduced a couple of years ago. Not everyone likes it, but I liked it. He did the illustration for this article.

▸ Download Affinity Photo *subscription required, 6 months free trial available

▸ Download Freeform for free

The ideal application for a quick professional colorist Photomator

Although Affinity Photo has all the tools to edit color and include photos, there is a program with a more user-friendly interface, quick, clear and visual access to them.

The creators of Pixelmator Pro, in which I now do almost all the illustrations for our site, launched Photomator on iPhone in 2021 under the name Pixelmator Photo for 749 rubles. I bought it immediately because I had great credit to the developers and understood that the product would develop, ensuring its translation into a subscription model.

The use of one tape (which can be customized) allows you to change almost all the characteristics of photos through curves, levels, selective correction, color replacement, black and white filters, add noise, vignette, invert, add LUT and so on.

There are also masks, AI upscaling, exporting with watermarks, copying and pasting settings, and creating presets. In general, everything you need for batch processing.

The application was indeed upgraded to a subscription, and quite a steep one: for 2,500 rubles per year or 10,000 rubles one-time. Therefore, I really hope that you managed to “destroy” the version while it was still on sale forever. But, if not, in professional work this is all that is needed for immediate delivery, quickly and on a turnkey basis. Postponed by one shot.

Now one version goes directly to iPhone, iPad and Mac. Early adopters with access to the iPhone and iPad versions were worse off upgraded to the discounted Mac version.

▸ Download Photomator *subscription required, one-time purchase only

Capture better quality photos and videos in FCP Camera and Lightroom

Even the newest iPads have iPhone 7-level cameras in terms of hardware, but even on them you can get decent results with the right tools.

To have full control over white balance, shutter speed, light sensitivity, focus and other aspects, for the video corporation there is a free application from Apple Final Cut Pro Camera, and for photos, as it is not clear, Lightroom from Adobe.

Both allow you to select ProRes and RAW, if available on your iPad, and get content that can even be used professionally.

▸ Download Final Cut Pro Camera for free
▸ Download Lightroom for free

Mount in LumaFusion and CapCut

LumaFusion is more or less an analogue of desktop Final Cut Pro and Premiere Pro. I used to doubt its outcome, but in the fall of 2024, motion control via curves was added to the additional application, and it became an advanced editor for those who like to have full control over the movement of objects in the frame.

In addition, the application has precise color correction, visibility, size, mask, LUT overlay, stabilization, blur effects, green screen and so on. The only thing missing is creating nested materials to animate multiple beds as one object. In many ways, this currently prevents us from completely switching to an iPad for installation.

The free CapCut program for iPad is no different from the versions on the iPhone and is suitable for quick editing with effects, animation, stickers and automatic subtitles. I use it much more often than LumaFusion.

It would be cool to someday see CapCut Desktop on the iPad, which even has file attachments. Hopefully it’s a matter of time.

Minus one. Any videos and audios you upload and download to CapCut can be used by the developer for their own purposes. Their developer is ByteDance, owner of TikTok. So you understood everything yourself.

An alternative to CapCut is VN Video Editor, they are similar in functionality.

As an alternative to LumaFusion, consider Final Cut Pro for iPad (subscription is not available in a Russian account) and DaVinci Resolve for iPad, but both programs are greatly reduced compared to desktop ones and at the same time ask for a subscription every month. I didn’t try.

▸ Download LumaFusion for 2490 rubles
▸ Download CapCut for free

Drawing tips in Procreate, Artset and Concepts

Owners of Apple Pencil developers are receiving a lot of attention. The App Store limits drawing apps, but I chose more convenient, understandable and non-invasive ad versions, if any.

I’m not an artist, but I can’t distribute such things. I tried a lot personally.

Only the lazy have not heard of Procreate; it is the default application for beginners and practicing artists. The toolkit of brushes is large, there are color coding and effects options, wide customization and user communities. But, in my opinion, the paint simulation engine is rather weak.

In this regard, Arset was surprised. Oil, acrylic, watercolor and pencil mix with each other and create a set of tools that looks more beautiful than in all other applications. For visibility, an immersion is made, as if you were actually holding a pastel, brush, charcoal and spatula in your hands. The free version generously gives you the opportunity to play with this simulation.

I would call concepts an application to free drafting. You can draw there, but it is more strict on the brush and in the interface, although it is a useful type of bindings, transforming objects, reference layers, and shapes. I liked the palette of standardized shades according to the Japanese COPIC system.

▸ Download Procreate for 999 rubles
▸ Download Artset for free
▸ Download Concepts for free

Four more super apps for development and entertainment

I will briefly cancel the program for teaching programming, sports and reading.

Apple’s Swift Playgrounds helps you understand the basics of the Swift programming language. Completely free and replicating the functionality of the desktop version, it looks like a great way to get into the topic.

Fitness is also from Apple and the Fitness+ service built into it continues to be considered the best in this cheapest application for sports with workouts and flexible choice for yourself.

Panels turned out to be the best reader for comics with convenient import and no advertising in even a decent version. It sounds weird, but the rest of the apps are just terrible. This is a gem.

Yandex Books was called Bookmate a month ago. After the price of the service went up, Yandex Plus became part of the main subscription and turned out to be quite a rich library of interesting books and comics. Considering that on Plus signed almost a second family in Russia, decided to include it in the recommendations. I immediately found the Boys, Write-Abridge in the new edition and Pelevin’s new Cool, for example.

A short list of favorite iPad games

I use games such as meditation, brain chewing gum instead of YouTube and TikTok. Possibility of switching on in single mode. Therefore, the inability to install Crossover on the more capable iPad Pro hardware on the M4 was disappointing. For example, I can’t launch Hitman, Cities Skylines, Baldurs Gate 3.

Fortunately, addictive options were eventually found in the App Store. If you, like me, love stick in simulators or action games, format Outlanders 2, Pocket city 2 (review), Dead Cells+, Stardew Valley, Townscaper.

And, of course, I recommend playing with the RetroArch emulator. A program with extensive monitoring capabilities and support for popular consoles for PlayStation 1.