Looking to update your tablet for 2022? While the Apple Store almost never discounts Apple products, other authorized Apple retailers aren’t nearly so stingy with their pricing. While we’ve seen frequent sales on MacBooks and AirPods, iPad discounts have tended to be more difficult to find in recent months, possibly due to ongoing supply-chain shortages.
With the exception of the iPad Air, the entire iPad line was updated in 2021. Following the iPad Pros last spring — the first non-Macs to receive Apple’s M1 chip — Apple rolled out the ninth-gen 10.2-inch iPad and the sixth-gen 8.3-inch iPad Mini. The ninth-gen iPad features the A13 Bionic chip, a better front-facing camera, Apple’s True Tone display and a bump in storage capacity. The sixth-gen iPad Mini debuts a new design with rounded edges, the A15 Bionic chip, an 8.3-inch display, a power button with Touch ID and a USB-C charging port.
Check below for the best deals currently available on iPads.
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The basic, 10.2-inch iPad didn’t receive a design overhaul like its Mini cousin, but it does serve up a faster processor, a better front-facing camera and an improved display compared to the previous, eighth-gen iPad. The biggest addition, however, is the storage, which was doubled to 64GB on the base model, and to 256GB on the step-up model. Other than that, the change you’ll most likely welcome in this age of FaceTime and Zoom calls is the front camera going from 1.2 to a wider-angle 12 megapixels. It’s also added Center Stage to keep your mug in the frame during video calls. Unfortunately, most major retailers have matched the price at Apple, and at the moment there are no deals available on the 9th generation iPad.
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Scott Stein/CNET
The iPad Mini received a complete overhaul. The new design has rounded edges, thin bezels and no home button. The power button on the side now has Touch ID, and the Lightning port has been replaced by a USB-C charging port. It runs on the new A15 Bionic chip (same as the iPhone 13) and serves up an improved and slightly larger 8.3-inch display and better cameras from the old, fifth-gen Mini. It is rarely discounted, and the best you’ll do is save $5 on the baseline model at Amazon.
The best price you’ll see on Apple’s 10.9-inch iPad Air right now is at Amazon, which has the silver model available for $539 — a savings of $60. Whether you view it as a fancier everyday iPad or a cheaper iPad Pro, the iPad Air is an excellent deal at its current discount. It happens to be Scott Stein’s favorite iPad.
The new 11-inch iPad Pro features Apple’s M1 chip and comes with storage capacities ranging from 128GB to 2TB. The 128GB model is $50 off at Walmart right now, and the 256GB model is $50 off at Amazon. You can save up to $100 on some of the higher-capacity models at Amazon.
You can save $100 on the larger, 12.9-inch iPad Pro with the M1 chip at Amazon, which matches the biggest discount we’ve seen yet for it. And you can save $100 on higher-capacity models from Amazon.