Playing some triple-A games on an iPad has been a mixed bag in recent years. Despite Apple showcasing the likes of Resident Evil 4 and Assassin's Creed: Mirage on its phones and tablets, the reality has not matched up with the dream. Low frame rates, PlayStation 2-quality graphics, and more have hindered the experience. However, the company's newest devices, such as the iPhone 17 Pro line and now the M5 iPad Pro tablets, feature chips that make triple-A gaming a far more pleasant experience.
In a new video by MrMacRight, which you can check out further down the page, the YouTuber showcases five games running on the M5 iPad Pro: Resident Evil 4, Death Stranding, Hitman: World of Assassination, Assassin's Creed: Mirage, and Divinity: Original Sin 2.
The majority of these games now hold a stable 30 fps frame rate or more, such as Death Stranding and Resident Evil 4 Remake. The YouTuber showed a comparison of three iPad models, with an M1 iPad Pro running RE4 at 19 fps, an M4 iPad Pro at 47 fps, and the M5 iPad Pro hovering around 55 fps. That suggests that the latest Apple tablet might now be the best iPad for gaming in town.
It's a huge jump, but it's still not an ideal experience. MrMacRight also revealed how RE4 and Death Stranding run at a low resolution of 540p, which is upscaled to 1080p. This means you're likely to see plenty of graphical artifacts and blocky textures on the iPad's high-resolution screen, as he saw during his playthroughs.
Still, playing some of the best iPad games at a less-frustrating framerate is a win regardless for those thinking of upgrading their iPad to the M5 model. With the iPhone 17 Pro Max also showing similar results, it seems like Apple is quickly improving upon the graphics side of its custom-made chips. But with these games being shown at a less-than-ideal resolution, lower than even some of the best retro consoles, it's clear the company still has work to do.
However, now that the M5 iPad Pro can connect to an external display with 120Hz support, this feature could also help bolster playing some games on bigger displays at even higher frame rates. But again, it's dependent on the type of games you're playing and whether the M5 chip can run some titles at 120 FPS. So, if you play a bunch of games on your old iPad and you've had enough of seeing Leon in Resident Evil 4 walk like a Microsoft PowerPoint slideshow, the M5 iPad Pro could be your next purchase.
But if you're curious about how games could fare on Android instead, check out our guides to the best Android phones and the best mid-range phones. Or, if you're looking for something just to play games on, take a look at our list of the best handheld consoles.