Whether you're an artist in search of a multi-tasking tablet or an avid reader who wants more functionality than your standard e-reader might offer, iPads can serve a multitude of functions.
They are, however, not the cheapest tablets on the market, which is why waiting for a sale like next week's Prime Big Deal Days (otherwise known as October Prime Day) has a certain strategic appeal. However, if you don't want to wait for the two-day sale's official Oct. 7 kick-off, checking out early deals is always an option.
As of Oct. 2, iPad deals are just OK — while just last week, plenty of the Apple tablets were down to record-low prices, most have jumped back up to more modest discounts. With that in mind, we've gathered up the best deals so far, but if you were hoping for steeper price cuts, we recommend checking back — we'll be updating this list up to and through Prime Big Deal Days.
Best iPad deal
Why we like it
When it comes to iPads, there are plenty of options to choose from, but sometimes sticking to the basics makes the most sense. The A16 iPad is nothing flashy, but it's an excellent budget option that still has enough juice to power you through taking notes, watching your favorite shows, and reading books and articles. While we don't necessarily recommend it for anyone who wants their tablet to double up as a laptop, it'll more than do the job for most tablet-oriented everyday tasks.
While this isn't the best discount we've seen on this model, it's comparatively better than the other iPad deals available, helped out by its lower full price.
iPad deals
iPad Air deals
Apple iPad Air, 11-inch (M3, WiFi, 128GB) — $537
$599(save $62)Apple iPad Air, 11-inch (M3, WiFi + cellular, 128GB) — $693.02
$749(save $55.98)Apple iPad Air, 13-inch (M3, WiFi, 128GB) — $733.65
$799(save $65.35)Apple iPad Air, 13-inch (M3, WiFi + cellular, 128GB) — $869
$949(save $80)
iPad Pro deals
Apple iPad Pro, 11-inch (M4, WiFi, 256GB) — $899
$999(save $100)Apple iPad Pro, 11-inch (M4, WiFi + cellular, 256GB) — $1,083.49
$1,199(save $115.51)Apple iPad Pro, 13-inch (M4, WiFi, 256GB) — $1,196
$1,299(save $103)Apple iPad Pro, 13-inch (M4, WiFi + cellular, 256GB) — $1,382.92
$1,499(save $116.08)
Bethany Allard is a Los Angeles-based shopping reporter at Mashable covering beauty tech, dating, sex and relationships, and headphones. That basically means she puts her hair through a lot, scrolls through a lot of dating apps, and rotates through a lot of different headphones. In addition to testing out and rounding up the best products, she also covers deals for Mashable, paying an especially obsessive amount of attention to Apple deals and prices. That knowledge comes in handy when she's covering shopping holidays like Prime Day and Black Friday, which she's now done for three years at Mashable.
