A question I get asked a lot – especially around Black Friday and Christmas – is “Which iPad is best for me?” Taking into account all the deals I have seen over the past few days, I think the answer is quite clear.
Now, I will make something clear – the iPad I recommend to most people isn’t necessarily the Best iPad in terms of specs and features. If it was a question purely based on that, then the iPad Pro with an M4 chipset and glorious OLED display would be the clear winner.
Would I recommend each and every one of go out and spend upwards of £1000/$1000 on an iPad? No, I probably wouldn’t.
While the iPad Pro is fantastic, cheaper iPads offer many of the same features at far more tempting prices. There are very few exclusive iPad Pro features, especially within the software, so unless you want the best display then there’s better value to be had elsewhere.
The iPad 10 is a great all-round device
While the iPad Pro is the priciest new iPad, the iPad 10 is the most affordable. And the price has dropped further as part of the Black Friday 2024 sales.
You can now grab the tablet, in all four colours (yellow, silver, blue and pink), for £289 from Amazon – a 12% discount on the £329 RRP you’d pay if you walked into an Apple Store and picked one up off the shelf. It’s even more tempting in the States, where the $349 RRP has been chopped down to $250.
Even though it’s the cheapest iPad, the iPad 10 (or iPad 10th generation) is still impressive when it comes to specs, performance and features. It includes all the following:
- 10.9-inch display
- Touch ID for secure unlocking
- 2x 12MP cameras
- 64GB storage (you can pay more, for more)
- A14 Bionic chip
A great tablet, but the price rise is a shame
Pros
- The design is a massive upgrade
- USB-C is far more convenient than Lightning
- Smart front camera placement
- Unbeatable tablet apps and software
Cons
- Huge price jump, especially in Europe makes its position in Apple’s iPad range confusing
- Odd Apple Pencil integration
- 64GB isn’t enough (256GB probably too much)
As you can see above, one of our biggest criticisms was the price – with this Black Friday 2024 saving that’s less of an issue.
If you’re after a table for watching Netflix, browsing, some gaming and the like this is really the best option – you don’t need to spend more. You can read my full, in-depth iPad 10 review for more information.
What about the iPad Air?
Sitting in between the iPad 10 and iPad Pro, is the Air. There are fewer iPad Air deals this Black Friday, likely because it’s much newer – having only been released earlier in 2024.
The iPad Air has a few benefits over the cheaper model, like support for the newer Apple Pencil Pro and a much faster chip inside. But, I think that the differences aren’t quite worth the extra price – especially when the Black Friday difference is taken into account. You can read my iPad Air M2 review for more information.