The best iPad for Procreate leads to amazing creations! It is a graphics-intensive application. So, whenever you are buying a tablet for using it you should go for the best performing iPad or tablet for artistic illustration available.
No one likes to use some kind of graphics-intensive application on their tablet and experience lag every time you click something. Yeah, we all know that it can be annoying. This is a problem faced by every other person. But not anymore, from now onwards you won’t come across this kind of problem because we will guide you about everything necessary while considering a tablet and will also tell you about some of the best tablets or iPads available for artists.
Top 6 iPads for Procreate Artists: Good Enough for Digital art
As a Procreate enthusiast, you want to get your art to the next level. With the right pick, you’ll feel a laptop-like experience n design and performance. iPads released after 2015 are compatible with the Procreate app. We rank them from best to worse. Have a look!
What to look for in choosing the best iPad for Procreate?
iPads might be a great option. We go over the best Apple iPads. Whenever you are buying an iPad for Procreate you should consider the below-given parts for a buttery smooth experience.
- Performance parameter: First of all, the most important thing that you should consider is the processor. By the processor of an iPad, you can determine how fast and responsive the device will be. The performance of a processor can be judged by comparing its benchmark score with other processors.
- RAM: It is another important component of a device, more RAM will make you able to use multiple tools of the Procreate at a time. With more RAM, Procreate iPad will be more powerful and able to handle multiple program threads at a time.
- Stylus: Another thing I mention here is that you should consider if an Apple Pencil or some kind of external pencil is compatible with it or not.
- Capacity and Display: Finally, the capacity and display are two major components of an iPad. A larger capacity will make you able to store more data and on the other hand, a good display is more color accurate and less stressful on your eyes.
1. New Apple iPad Pro for Procreate
Our Editor’s choice, first iPad pick for Procreate is the New Apple iPad Pro. Apple launched the iPad pro-2020 on 25th march. This iPad was launched in 4 storage capacity options and two colours.
The new iPad 2020 is packed with some brilliant components. The processor installed is an A12Z Bionic which is considered one of the best CPU available. The operating system is another plus point of Apple devices; iPad Pro also has the new iPad OS 13.4 compatible with Procreate app. moving on the display side this iPad has a 12.9-inch display panel with a resolution of 2732 x 2048 and an improved refresh rate of 120Hz.
Another amazing component installed on this iPad is its camera. On the rear side of this iPad, you will find a 12MP wide and 10MP ultra-wide camera and on the front side, there is a 7MP sensor installed. The rear camera of this iPad supports 4k up to 60 FPS video recording. The battery of this iPad can probably be considered as one of the best batteries in Apple’s iPad line up. This iPad is packed with a 36.71 watt-hour battery which is great for working for long hours to polish artistic skills.
iPad Pro 2020 comes with a strong chassis and very narrow bezels around the screen. The dimensions of this tablet are 11.04 x 8.46 x 0.23 inches and on the other hand, it only weighs 1.42 pounds. On the upper, you will find a magnetic strip that is used for attaching the new Apple pencil. As far port selection is considered you will only find one USB type C port on the bottom side.
iPad pro comes with an A12Z Bionic chip which is an 8 core processor and this processor is made for graphics-intensive work. On Geekbench 5, the multi-core score of this iPad was 4720 and the single-core score of this iPad was 1126. Therefore, we can observe that it surpasses all the previous generations of iPads in performance.
The 36.71watt-hour battery installed can easily give you around 10 hours of battery life. The battery life will come down if you do graphics-intensive work.
2. iPad Air: Artists Trusted
iPad Air is an amazing product to use Procreate, launched on 18th March 2019. Like other Apple products, you can also get this device in many configurations.
First of all, this iPad has a 10.5-inch retina display (resolution 2224 x 1668) which also comes with the technology of true tone. IPad Air is powered by an A12 Bionic chipset which is based on 64-bit architecture. As far as the storage capacity is concerned you have two options, a 64 GB option, and a 256 GB option.
There are two cameras installed on this laptop, on the rear side of the tablet you will find an 8 MP camera that is capable of recording in 1080p. On the front side, there is a 7 MP camera. This iPad is also compatible with a smart keyboard or a Bluetooth keyboard and you can also use an apple pencil with it. In total three colors are available for this IPad, space gray, silver, and gold.
This iPad for Procreate is pretty sleek and slim; easy to hold iPad while working with Procreate where comfort means a lot. It also looks very stylish in hand. the dimensions of this device are 9.8 x 6.8 x 0.24 inches and it only weighs exactly one pound. On the bottom side of this product, you will observe a lightning port, two speakers, and a normal home button with Touch ID enabled. This tablet also looks pretty good when you attach the smart keyboard with it.
As you know it is powered by an A12 bionic processor which simply is a powerhouse. As a result of this processor, this tablet is smooth in daily use and it literally is a beast when it comes to heavy works. On Antutu benchmark iPad Air scores around 142000 to 150000. On the other hand, this chipset is not just powerful but also very power efficient which provides this device longer battery life.
The battery life of this laptop is also very good. You can get up to 6 hours of battery life if you just stream YouTube or Netflix on it. It probably will last less if you do graphics-intensive work on it.
3. iPad Pro 11-inch
Our second option for Procreate is the iPad Pro. Apple released iPad Pro 11 inches on March 25, 2020. This product is launched in different configurations, you can choose the one that fits your budget and preference.
iPad Pro 11 inch is powered by an A12Z bionic chip which is a top-notch processor. The display installed in this tablet is an 11-inch retina display with the support of true tone and promotion technology. On the other hand, it is packed with some powerful cameras.
On the rear side of the iPad Pro, you will find a 12 MP wide and a 10 MP ultra-wide camera which is capable of recording 4k video up to 60 FPS. Similarly, on the front side, you will observe a 7 MP camera. As far as storage capacity is concerned, it is optional you can get this tablet in 128 GB, 256 GB, 512GB, or 1TB of storage. You can also get this tablet either only in WIFI or in WIFI + cellular configuration. Colour options available in this tablet are space grey and silver.
iPad Pro 11 inch comes with a strong chassis and very narrow bezels around the screen. The dimensions of this tablet are 9.74 x 7.02 x 0.23 inches and on the other hand, it only weighs 1.04 pounds. On the upper, you will find a magnetic strip that is used for attaching the new Apple pencil. As far port selection is considered you will only find one USB type C port on the bottom side.
iPad pro comes with an A12Z Bionic chip which is an 8 core processor and this processor is made for graphics-intensive work. On Geekbench 5, the multi-core score of this iPad was 4720 and the single-core score of this iPad was 1126. Therefore, we can observe that it surpasses all the previous generations of iPads in performance.
This device comes with a decent battery you can easily get up to 10 hours of battery life if you watch videos on it and if you are using this tablet for web surfing then you can get up to 9 hours of battery life.
With such configuration, this iPad has great worth for Procreate artists.
4. Apple iPad (10.2-inch)
Apple released this device on 15th September 2020. Two variants of this device were released, a base variant with WIFI only, and on the other hand the more expensive variant has both cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity. iPad is abundant with great graphics that are highly appreciated by Procreate illustration artists.
Apple iPad comes with a 10.2-inch retina display with a resolution of 2160 x 1620 and it also provides a brightness of 500 nits. On the other hand, it has a monstrous chipset named A10 Fusion chip which is based on 64-bit architecture. Looking into the camera scenario you will find an 8 MP rear camera that can record a video at 1080p with up to 30 fps.
On the front panel, you will come across a 1.2 MP selfie camera which is more than enough for a normal user. The operating system guiding this device is iPad OS 14 which is very smooth and reliable in its operation. The support of an external keyboard and Apple pencil is also available. A hefty battery is also installed in this device.
This table very stylish and sleek looking especially when you carry it around. As far as the dimensions and weight are concerned it only weighs 1.07 pounds and its dimensions are 9.8 x 6.8 x 0.29 inches. On the bottom side of this product, you will observe a touch id enabled home button and a lightning port for charging and data transfer.
iPad 10.2 inch is silky smooth in its daily operation and you will not feel any lags or stutters. According to Apple the chipset installed in it will give 40% more CPU and 50% more GPU power as compared to the last-gen iPad. So because of this performance boost, we can play most of the games at high and ultra-settings. The Geekbench 5 score of this tablet is 2685.
Normal web surfing and video streaming via an iPad tripod stand will give you an optimum experience. It has up to 12 hours and 57 minutes of battery life. But in contrast, the charging speeds are not that great you only get 14% of the charge in 30 minutes.
5. iPad mini (7.9-inch)
Apple released this product on the 18th of March 2019. In total two variants of this device were released. You can choose any one of them according to your budget and style. iPad has a larger community that use Procreate app for creating illustrations beyond imaginations.
iPad mini comes with a bright and vibrant 7.9-inch retina display with true tone technology. Secondly, this device is powered by a fantastic CPU known as A12 bionic which is also based on 64-bit architecture like other apple devices.
On the other hand, in the camera department, it is also pretty good. On the rear side, you will find an 8 MP camera that can record a video up to 1080p. similarly, a 7MP selfie shooter is installed on the front side of the device. The support of an external keyboard and apple pen is also available; though it will cost you way more if you opt for it. The battery installed in this iPad is also a pretty amazing one and it can easily last for a whole day giving artists a cool environment for creating with Procreate.
iPad mini is very stylish in its looks and its futuristic design makes it a dream device to room around with. As far as weight and dimensions are concerned, it weighs only 0.66 pounds and the dimensions of this device are 8 x 5.3 x 0.24 inches. On the bottom side of this device, you will come across some speakers, a lightning port, and a home button.
This device is powered by a powerful chipset known as A12 bionic. Because of this chipset, it is a beast in multitasking and power-intensive work. The optimized operating system installed in this device also helps it to be smooth and snappy in daily use. As a result of this unbelievable combination of chipset and software this device scores 11541 pints in multi-score Geekbench.
iPad mini comes with 3 cell lithium polymer battery which can last up to 10 hours on moderate use.
6. Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1
At the end of our list, this is a Samsung device, you cannot get Procreate directly but with the help of third-party apps and software, you can install it.
This Tablet is a great alternative to an iPad with this you can greatly improve your Procreate experience. Samsung released this device on the 26th of April 2019. Three variants of this device were launched based on the inbuilt storage capacity.
Samsung tab comes with a 10.1-inch LCD display with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 and this panel is also protected with a corning gorilla glass 3. On the other hand, it is powered by an amazing CPU known as the Exynos 7904, which is an 8 core CPU clocked at 1.8 GHz. Similarly, a fantastic GPU is also installed in it which named Mali-G71. It also comes with a 2 GB of DDR4 ram.
In the camera section, it has a 5 MP selfie camera and an 8 MP camera on the rear side of it. This product is available in three storage configurations, 32 GB,64GB, and 128GB. As far as colours are considered you can choose from black, silver, and golden. Finally going towards the battery, this device has a power-efficient and long-lasting battery.
It comes in a sleek and stylish case. Easy to hold and navigate. The dimensions of this device are 0.3 x 5.88 x 9.65 inches and it only weighs 3.48 ounces or 460g. as far as the sides of this tablet are concerned you will come across a headphone jack on the top side of the case, on the bottom side there is a USB type C port and two speakers and on the right side, you will see a power button, volume rocker, and a card slot.
This device is a monster when it comes to performance. The Exynos chip installed in this device can easily handle any graphics-intensive work or any multitasking. On Geekbench 4.4 this Tab scores 4017 points.
This tab comes with a single cell lithium polymer battery which can easily last up to 10 hours.
Procreate: Great Tool to Start Digital Art
Procreate is an app designed for Apple iPads. The purpose of this app is to facilitate those people who love to draw, sketch, paint, and create visual arts. This app is user-friendly and you can use a stylus tool with it as a result that an artist gets the same experience of a pencil and paper. You will observe a lot of tools when you click on this app.
Procreate is considered as the game-changer in the world of sketching because before this everyone was going towards powerful computers and expensive apps. As a result of this app now artists can easily use Photoshop-like app on their iPads which are portable, easy to use, and flexible. Another interesting thing about procreates is that Savage Interactive built this app.
Pros of Procreate
You can easily organize and share your precious work with other devices. Furthermore, you can use the zoom in and zoom out feature to edit your work. Similarly, layer adjustment and moving between apps is another spectacular feature that comes with it. On the other hand, you also get a lot of options as far as your brushes, pens, eraser and many other tools are concerned.
Professional’s opinion about Procreate
The best way to judge something is by considering the opinion of professionals about that specific thing.
A blog released by some of the best designers in the world suggested Procreate and they also talked about some of the different ways in which you can use this app. Emma Berger works said that she uses a combination of Photoshop and Procreate for her drawings on iPads. Similarly, Trudi Castle utilizes Procreate for sketching and roughing ideas. On the other hand, Nicholes Kole uses Procreate for all his artwork.
The opinion of these amazing art workers suggests that in the world of designing, sketching, and illustration Procreate is considered as one of the best option available.
Getting started with Procreate: A Beginner’s Tutorial
First of all, you have to select a canvas to work on. When you open Procreate, you will come across a gallery where all your previous work is saved. Now click on the right upper corner of the screen to select the screen size. While you have entered into this option, now you will see three categories of tools. There are a lot of tools in these categories but we will talk about some of the basic and important tools out of them.
Actions
The wrench option on the left upper corner is used for adjusting your tools and canvas. You can adjust them the way you prefer.
Quick Menu
You can tap and hold anywhere on the screen to bring up the quick menu. You can easily customize this menu and can add quick actions that you need so one can say that it is a shortcut to save your time.
Procreate Brushes
In the toolbar option, you can select ‘brush icon’, there you will find a lot of different types of brushes. Usually, they are arranged in two sections on the base of shape and grain.
Smudge Tool
This icon is right next to the brush icon. A smudge tool is used to blending and softening brush strokes.
Erase Tool
As the name suggests it is used for removing mistakes. You will find a lot of different shapes and sizes of this tool. Another advantage of this tool is that it can be used for blending.
Layers
To the right of the eraser tool, you will find the layer icon. This tool helps in the separation of different effects applied. So you can easily create many layers and perform modifications that you need.
Colour
After layers, you will observe a colour dot that is used for selecting a colour for your pencil.
Undo and Redo
In the left sidebar, you can find two buttons that are used for undoing or redoing something to your work. Similarly, you can perform some gestures to achieve this effect like tapping your screen with two fingers will perform the undo feature, and tapping with three fingers will perform redo.
These are probably all the basic tools that you need to know about when you are getting started with Procreate. These above-mentioned tools will help you to get your first work done and as you become more familiar with this app you will be able to explore other options also.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is my iPad supported by Procreate?
IPad Pro (1st to 4th generation), iPad (5th to 8th generation), iPad mini (4th and 5th generation), iPad Air (2rd and 4th generation), and iPad Air 2 all these devices are supported. So, with these compatible iPads you can freely work on Procreate.
What is the cost of Procreate?
Procreate costs around 10 dollars on the apple app store.
How can we learn about the different features of Procreate?
Procreate YouTube channel has many tutorials that will help you to know about most of the features available in Procreate and to use them on an iPad.
Can I backup my work?
If you want to backup your data, you have to backup your iPad using your computer. Similarly, you can save individual files as. Procreate file.
How can I get more brushes?
In the Procreate Portfolio community, you can get thousands of custom made brushes.
Conclusion
All the above-mentioned options are perfectly fine the best iPad for Procreate. No doubt these can easily handle power-intensive applications. With all the Apple devices you can get an Apple Pencil that will assist you in making drawings. You can consider any of the iPad for Procreate drawing, and sketching mentioned above according to your preference and budget.
I love all of the points you have made here. Thanks for writing this. Thumbs up! I like the helpful information you provide in your posts.
I am extremely pleased to discover this piece of information. I was not sure about my iPad pick. Now its done. Thanks