This story is part of Holiday Gift Guide 2019, your source for the season’s best gifts and deals, hand-picked by the experts at CNET.
Today Best Buy is offering a $100 discount on this year’s iPad Air, bringing it to the lowest price we’ve ever seen, $400. Many retailers have been selling it for $469 during the past few months — a price that was $30 lower than the one you’d find at the Apple Store — but the additional $70 markdown makes the iPad Air a much more palatable option.
That noted, this year’s 10.2-inch model is the best choice for most people — especially when it’s on sale. And it’s on sale today. It has an A10 processor, Pencil support and a smart connector for a smart keyboard (sold separately), and a slightly bigger screen than its 9.7-inch predecessor.
Best Buy and Target currently have the best price on the 10.2-inch iPad, $250. It’s not quite as low as the the $230 Cyber Monday deal — but it’s pretty darn good, and likely to be the lowest price we’ll see until next year.
Otherwise, Best Buy is still offering a $150 discount on every version of the 11-inch model. B&H has the best price on the 12.9-inch model at $899, though we’ve seen it regularly on sale for closer to $850.
The discounts on the newer iPad Mini remain negligible. We’d recommend waiting for the next round of deals to come through before buying it. And the discontinued 9.7-inch iPad seems to have now disappeared almost entirely.
Note that we’re focused on the Wi-Fi versions of the iPad here. Using LTE on a tablet is cool but, for most people, not worth the additional cost — for the device and the monthly service — especially when you can easily tether your phone for free.
Apple iPad discounts, compared
| Model | List price | Best price (current) | Best price (all-time) |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPad 2019 (32GB) | $329 | $250 | $230 |
| iPad 2019 (128GB) | $429 | $330 | $329 |
| iPad Mini 2019 (64GB) | $399 | $384 | $359 |
| iPad Air 2019 (64GB) | $499 | $400 | $400 |
| iPad Pro 11 (64GB) | $799 | $650 | $649 |
| iPad Pro 12.9 (64GB) | $999 | $899 | $850 |
| iPad Pro 12.9 (256GB) | $1,149 | $1,149 | $950 |
Óscar Gutiérrez/CNET
The smallest model in the current iPad lineup comes with the smallest discount. You can find the iPad Mini at most retailers for $384 — that’s $15 off the Apple Store list price. Read our iPad Mini review.
Watch this: First look at Apple’s 10.2-inch iPad
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Originally published earlier this year. Regularly updated to reflect new prices.
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