2023 10.5" iPad Pro Review: How It Stacks Up For Mobile Gaming in 2023
As an avid mobile gamer, the iPad has always held a special place for me as a premium gaming tablet. And when the 10.5” iPad Pro first launched in 2017, it looked like a mobile gaming powerhouse.
Packed with Apple’s blazing fast A10X chip, gorgeous 120Hz ProMotion display, and stellar quad speakers, it seemed poised to deliver console-quality gaming.
But it’s now 2023 and mobile processors have come a long way since then. Can this aging tablet still game with the best of them? I took a critical look at how the 10.5” iPad Pro from 2017 holds up across today’s most demanding mobile games. Read on for the full analysis!
A Premium Design That Shows Its Age When Gaming
Let’s kick things off with the hardware itself. The iPad Pro ushered in a new modern design for iPads back in 2017. Razor thin bezels and a nearly edge-to-edge screen immersively filled your vision with the game world. It felt futuristic for the time.
But coming back to it in 2023, that design doesn’t quite have the same wow factor. The hefty forehead and chin bezels feel outdated next to my 12.9” iPad Pro and its uninterrupted display. And the flat industrial edges lack character and ergonomics.
My biggest gripe is how easy the surface picks up scratches. A few unprotected drops can leave clearly visible scrapes along those chamfered metallic edges. Since I play intensive PUBG Mobile and Genshin Impact sessions, not having a protective case leads to rapid accumulation of battle scars.
And don’t get me started on the camera bump constantly causing wobble. Having the iPad rock back and forth on a table while toggling virtual joystick controls is endlessly annoying.
To be fair, some aspects like the home button hold up well for mobile gaming. Touch ID logins are super convenient, and the solid button presses lend well to virtual shoulder triggers. But overall the aging design lacks the refinement and durability expected of a modern gaming tablet.
Display and Audio Deliver Flagship Gaming Performance
If there’s one area where the 10.5” iPad Pro unequivocally succeeds as a gamer’s tablet, it’s the stellar display and speaker combo. These deliver an immersive sensory experience on par with modern iPads.
That starts with the gorgeous 1668×2224 Retina display. Packing nearly 3.1 million pixels into 10.5 inches gives you tremendous detail and sharpness. Icons and HUD elements have crisp definition, while expansive game environments render beautifully.
Textures, particles, and other in-game assets showcase remarkable fidelity. Seeing the life-like stone floors, flickering torch fire, and swaying trees in Genshin Impact pop on this screen is a treat compared to cheaper tablets.
But what really elevates gaming is the silky smooth ProMotion 120Hz refresh rate. Animations and camera movements pan across the screen with extreme fluidity unmatched at standard 60Hz. There is almost no discernable latency during fast-paced swipes aiming down rifle sights or slashing fiery swords.
This fluidity extends to gameplay as well with on-screen response feeling snappy. Whether dodging spells in Epic Seven or chaining jumps in Geometry Dash, the 120Hz display keeps up with zero lag or blurring. I’ll take buttery smooth 120Hz visuals over OLED contrast any day for gaming.
And the four speaker audio completes the sensory experience. Filling up a room with powerful sound adds an extra layer of immersion. You get startling directional gunfire in PUBG Mobile, bone crunching hits from FIFA Mobile clashes, and epic orchestral music swelling at climatic Genshin scenes.
It may be aging hardware, but the 10.5” iPad Pro’s display and audio still deliver sensational multimedia for mobile gaming that competing budget tablets can’t match. It’s a joy to view and hear games play out on this hardware.
A10X Performance Showing its Age in Demanding Titles
So the 10.5” iPad Pro clearly excels on the sensory experience front. But mobile gaming is meaningless without the raw performance to deliver those pixels and audio flawlessly. How does Apple’s A10X silicon hold up by 2023 standards?
Well, the results are decidedly mixed depending on the games tested. For casual titles like Angry Birds 2 and Tetris Beat, the A10X laughs them off without breaking a sweat. Animations stay locked at 60FPS with quick load times keeping the gaming experience snappy.
When pushing into more intermediate 3D games like Asphalt 9 Legends and Genshin Impact at medium settings, small cracks start to emerge. While achieving mostly smooth gameplay, occasional hiccups make themselves known. The tablet will suddenly drop a few frames mid-race in Asphalt 9 when rendering complex backgrounds. And exploring dense forests in Genshin introduces sporadic choppiness.
But fire up latest cutting edge titles like Apex Legends Mobile with maxed out settings, and this silicon really starts to show its age. Complex firefights with explosions, particle effects, and fast aiming movements send frame rates tumbling well below 30 FPS. Intense sessions get especially ugly with lengthy loading screens to respawn and major framerate instability.
Clearly the A10X, while powerful for its time, strains under the weight of newer gaming engines pushing more triangles, textures, and post processing effects. Even at medium settings, achieving reliable 60 FPS gameplay requires compromises.
I suspect the 4GB RAM limitation also rears its head here when juggling multiple apps and games at once. Keeping Chrome tabs, YouTube, and Spotify running alongside graphically intensive games often forces reloads despite iOS memory optimization attempts.
The battery also drains faster during such demanding loads. I measured around 25% total battery drain per hour at max brightness while running games like Call of Duty Mobile and Genshin Impact. That’s nearly double the power consumption rate of mixed usage including web browsing and video streaming. While still averaging about 4.5 hours play time, having juice left for productivity apps after long gaming stretch remains challenging.
Now that’s not to say the A10X performs poorly across the board. In well optimized titles like Epic Seven and Dead Cells that leverage Apple’s Metal graphics framework rather than pushing Unreal Engine too far, it delivers perfectly competent mid-tier gaming performance. Just have realistic expectations around running every new title at max settings.
Table 1: Gaming benchmarks
| Game Title | Graphics Preset | Avg FPS | Stability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genshin Impact | Medium | 45 FPS | Occasional dips during combat |
| Apex Legends Mobile | Medium | 25 FPS | Frequent instability and lag |
| Asphalt 9 Legends | High | 50 FPS | Smooth overall but some hiccups |
| PUBG Mobile | Smooth Extreme | 40 FPS | Dips significantly during shootouts |
Accessories Enhance iPad Gaming Experience
Beyond evaluating the metal of the 10.5” iPad Pro itself, I spent some time testing it with various gaming accessories as well. And getting the right peripherals can really take the gaming experience to the next level.
I‘ll start with game controllers since touch controls still can‘t match physical buttons and sticks for competitive gaming. Connecting my trusty Xbox Elite controller via Bluetooth transforms FPS titles like Apex Legends with precise aim and movement. Landing quick flick headshots and dodging between cover feels extremely natural and intuitive with console-grade controls.
The same goes for platformers like Oddmar and Rip Them Off where having a tactile d-pad and buttons to more accurately time jumps reigns superior over flailing a finger across glass. And hardcore racing/flying games handle better steering wheel or flight stick inputs over sloppy touch overlays.
If going all-in on controllers, grabbing a tablet grip and stand like the Xbox Mobile Gaming Clip nicely elevates the iPad into a Switch-like formfactor. This brings better ergonomics over flat on a table while giving your hands something solid to grasp. And having the freedom to position the screen at different angles helps dial in visibility.
For multiplayer games, I had great fun connecting multiple Bluetooth gamepads for local co-op and versus action. Titles like Beach Buggy Racing 2, WWE 2K, and Asphalt 9 all support split-screen multiplayer with individual controller inputs. Makes for great couch gaming sessions!
As far as other accessories, I skip the overpriced flimsy iPad Smart Keyboard cover. But I did enjoy testing some gaming focused tablet cases like the Gamevice Minecraft Earth rigid cover. This retro styled case with integrated shoulder buttons and cross-shaped d-pad gives a novel way to hold the tablet Switch-style even without a Bluetooth controller sync‘d.
And a major advantage over rivals is Apple Pencil support in select titles like FNaF AR and Art of War 3. Being able to directly interact with virtual worlds through poking, swiping, drawing etc opens unique gameplay opportunities not found on Android or console. Definitely enhances the experience for supported titles.
Long Term Viability the Big Unknown
Overall if you set proper expectations around graphical compromises in super demanding games, the 2017 iPad Pro still delivers satisfying high-end mobile gaming in 2023. The outstanding 120Hz display and speakers paired with controller support result in an immersive experience across popular titles.
But there is a big question mark around long term viability. With the iPad Pro likely ending official iOS updates within a year or two, inevitable game compatibility issues loom.
Modern engines like Unreal 5 won‘t run on this aging silicon. And upcoming cloud streaming services will leave the local hardware behind. Support periods for existing games will also start fading out over time without current iOS APIs.
I definitely worry that the resale value will rapidly deteriorate past 2024 as the tablet ages without future iOS versions. And the prospects of playing latest release titles even at medium settings feels precarious.
Of course Apple could always shock us with extended support for these higher performance A series chips. But more realistically, the clock is ticking on this tablet’s gaming lifespan. Just don‘t expect to play the coolest new photo-realistic mobile games at 60 FPS come 2025.
Still a Great Way to Game on a Budget
As we shift into 2023, the 10.5” iPad Pro unsurprisingly shows signs of aging particularly around graphical horsepower. Modern mobile games really push tablets to the limit, exposing the boundaries of what now nearly 6 year old silicon can handle.
But if you shop around for used/refurb units available now under $200, it still represents an amazing value gaming machine. That immersive display and speaker combo paired with crisp iOS interface remains a supremely refined way to game on the go.
For gaming focused buyers sans budget limits seeking the ultimate future proof performance, I would still recommend spending up for the M2 iPad Pro or even waiting to see what the rumored A17X brings later this year. Face ID, 5G connectivity, and more memory headroom may prove worthwhile long term investments for enthusiasts.
Yet with tempered expectations around max settings gaming, the 10.5” iPad Pro strikingly still satisfies my personal needs for playing top mobile titles at modest graphical compromises. And finding tablets that can game at this competent level for under $200 in 2023 is nearly impossible.
So for gamers on a budget, don’t sleep on picking up Apple’s 2017 pro tablet powerhouse while supplies last! When handled care, it still delivers fluid 120Hz gaming with immersive sights and sounds for an exceptional value. Just be prepared that its glory days living on the cutting edge are likely numbered.