I had a 2018 iPad Pro that had a cracked screen and it was due for a replacement. In the past, I've used my iPad as my go-to device when doing basic things - web browsing, news, email, weather, watching movies and streaming media. Very basic use case that is applicable to most consumers. Since my iPad was cracked, I went back to using my Macbook. I'm glad that I got my new iPad because I can put the Macbook away!
Pros:
1.) It does feel more responsive when multitasking. I've done split screen on the iPad with the browser, Notes, and Messenger. Given that it's an M4, it could probably be a mini-laptop when paired with the extremely expensive Magic Keyboard and a Pencil.
2.) The screen is clearer, brighter, and sharper
3.) The speakers sound a lot better (though I do tend to use Airpods most of the time).
4.) The camera is fantastic and sharp. Granted, I use my iPhone 15 as my day-to-day camera, but I tested out the iPad camera and it puts out high quality pics.
5.) The 5G is great especially on those long car rides, work commutes, or you don't have access to wifi. It's extremely fast, and I can't tell the difference whether I'm on 5G or on a wifi connection.
Cons:
1.) The camera used for FaceID or web-camming on the main screen is now on right-hand middle side of iPad as opposed to the top. I use FaceID all of the time when logging into sites and find that I'm blocking the cam because of the way that I hold the iPad on the sides in portrait mode (as one typically does). This means that you need to do Facetime with the iPad in landscape mode. This will take some adjusting to, but when I Facetime, I'm so used to holding my iPad in portrait mode.
2.) Battery life doesn't feel like it lasts as long as I recall from my previous iPad. It could be a number of factors (running multiple apps, screen brightness, streaming, having WiFi, Cellular, Bluetoon on at the same time, etc.), but I don't use the iPad any differently than I did with my 2018 iPad. I recently used it on a 3h car ride intermittently on 5G on medium brightness setting doing web browsing, mail, and social media, and it burned through the battery life pretty quickly. I need to poke around some more, but I couldn't find an "Optimized Battery" setting on the iPad.
Because of the latter two Cons, I'm giving it a 4, though I'd probably bump it up to a 4.5. Am I glad I got it? Yes. If you have a 2018 or older iPad, I definitely recommend upgrading.