I’ve spent the past three weeks testing the 13” M5 iPad Pro alongside the 11” M4. I forced myself to return one of them.

But honestly? This didn’t feel like a victory. It felt like a compromise.

Let me show you why.

On paper, the choice seems simple: buy the 13-inch for ‘real work’ and the 11-inch for consumption. But in practice, I found myself constantly switching between both for the wrong reasons.

Each size delivers a completely different user experience. This is one place in Apple’s lineup where screen size fundamentally changes what the device is.

The 11” is a much better tablet. It’s portable, perfect for handheld use, but it sort of pretends to be a laptop.

The 13” is the obvious productivity choice. But the moment I picked it up to work on the couch, it felt ridiculous. Like I should have just grabbed my laptop instead.

I was productive but uncomfortable on one, and comfortable but limited on the other.

Here’s the truth: The 13-inch is a productivity powerhouse that demands a desk, while the 11-inch is the best tablet that struggles to be a laptop. You have to decide.

When you see them side by side in the Apple Store, the size difference seems obvious but manageable. “Sure, one’s bigger,” you think. “But they’re both iPads, right?”

Wrong.

Living with them made it clear: the 11-inch feels like a completely different product category. It feels almost miniature compared to the 13”. Sometimes in a good way, sometimes like a toy.

The typing experience on the 13” is dramatically better:

On the 11”, I constantly run out of trackpad space mid-gesture. I find myself lifting and repositioning my fingers multiple times just to scroll through a long document.

Here’s what surprised me most: The 13-inch doesn’t feel “too big.” It feels right-sized for a computer. The 11-inch, despite being a fantastic tablet, makes too many compromises when you try to work on it seriously.

If you’re buying an iPad primarily to use with the Magic Keyboard, the size difference isn’t just noticeable. It’s essential.

I never thought I’d say this, but the 13-inch iPad Pro has become one of my main gaming devices. And not just for mobile games or Apple Arcade.

I’m talking about Old School RuneScape. Every single night.

Yes, this is probably the most expensive way you could possibly play OSRS. But hear me out. The experience is actually incredible.

Why the 13” excels for gaming:

The 11” works, but everything feels cramped. The UI elements are smaller. The trackpad feels insufficient.

What this taught me: The 13-inch iPad Pro excels when you’re doing one thing for an extended period. Whether that’s gaming, video editing, or writing, the bigger canvas makes the experience feel premium rather than compromised.

The 11-inch is great for variety and quick tasks. The 13-inch is for depth.

For years, I’ve wanted the iPad to replace my MacBook. I’ve tried it multiple times. I’ve convinced myself it was “almost there.”

After living with both these iPad Pros, I’ve realized something:

I was asking the wrong question.

Technically, yes. The iPad could replace my laptop. The M5 chip is powerful enough. iPadOS has come a long way. I can edit videos, manage files, write scripts, and run my entire productivity workflow.

But here’s what I finally admitted to myself: I don’t actually want it to.

The compromises are still there:

More importantly, I already have a Mac. And the more I tried to make the iPad behave like a Mac, the more I lost what makes the iPad special.

Here’s my realization: There’s something unique about the iPad interface that I don’t want to lose. The touch-first interaction. The simplified focus. The tablet experience.

Years ago, I thought I wanted the iPad to become a Mac. I was wrong. I like that it’s different. I like that it occupies its own space in my workflow.

The iPad doesn’t need to replace my laptop. It needs to complement it.

Let’s talk about money. Because regardless of which size you choose, these things are not cheap.

The breakdown:

Total packages: $1,598 vs. $2,248

That $650 price gap is significant. For that money, you could buy an iPad mini, get a decent monitor, or put it toward a MacBook Air.

The question isn’t whether the 13-inch is better. It objectively is for productivity. The question is whether it’s $650 better for your use case?

For me, this came down to honesty. Not what I thought I would use, but what I actually used over these three weeks.

The 13-inch lived on my desk. It replaced my MacBook for writing sessions and those OSRS moments.

But when I wanted to check email in bed, read articles on the couch, or sketch ideas around the house? I reached for the 11-inch every time.

I kept the 11-inch M4 iPad Pro.

Not because it’s better. It’s not. But because for my actual usage, the portability and versatility matter more than the productivity gains.

The 13-inch is an incredible machine, but it demanded I change my workflow to accommodate it. The 11-inch adapts to me.

Your answer might be different. If you work at a desk most of the time, if you’re coming from a laptop and want a hybrid device, if you do serious creative work, the 13-inch might be worth every penny of that premium.

But if you want a true tablet that can occasionally be a computer, the 11-inch is still the sweet spot.

What’s your take? Are you team 11” or team 13”? Hit reply and let me know. I’d love to hear how you’re using your iPad.

You can check out the full video on YouTube here: