We’re finally into August, which means that stores everywhere are starting to throw back the curtains on their yearly back-to-school sales. Very few of these sales are actually limited to students, so even if you’re not heading to class this fall, now is a great time to start hunting around for laptop deals, iPad deals, and other bargains on high-ticket items you need but obviously don’t want to pay full price for.
If you’re in the market for a new tablet, then the iPad is still the one to buy and ongoing back-to-school iPad sales are your chance to score one on the cheap. We’ve already done the work to sort through online retailers and bring you a list of all the best back-to-school iPad deals below, with discounts to be had on the new 10.2-inch iPad, iPad Air, iPad Mini, and premium iPad Pro. Read on:
Today’s best back-to-school iPad deals
- Apple iPad Mini (64GB, Wi-Fi) — $350, was $399
- Apple iPad Mini (256GB, Wi-Fi) — $500, was $549
- Apple iPad Air (256GB, Wi-Fi) — $550, was $650
- Apple iPad Mini (256GB, Cellular + Wi-Fi) — $629, was $679
- Apple iPad Air (256GB, Cellular + Wi-Fi) — $680, was $780
How to choose a new iPad
Choosing a new iPad is fairly straightforward, and if you’ve made it this far, there’s a good chance you already have a particular model in mind. For most people, the standard seventh-generation 10.2-inch iPad is still the best choice, and it’s also the most affordable (back-to-school iPad deals are also a great opportunity to score one for even cheaper). Note that we don’t recommend going for the sixth-gen 9.7-inch model in 2020 — the new one is cheap enough, especially when on sale, that the savings aren’t worth it.
In the midrange price bracket lie the new 10.5-inch iPad Air and the 7.9-inch iPad Mini. If you’re willing to pay more for some upgrades over the standard iPad, the iPad Air offers a lot of bang for the buck — so much so that you might find yourself asking if the iPad Pro is worth the extra money at all. The aptly named iPad Mini is superb, too, but whether or not you spring for that will obviously come down to whether or not you value that smaller 7.9-inch display for its portability.
Lastly, the iPad Pro — now in its third generation — is the one to buy if you’re after the best and most powerful Apple tablet on the market. It’s gorgeous (in both its 11- and 12.9-inch iterations), it’s beefy, and it works great as a 2-in-1 laptop when paired with an Apple Smart Keyboard folio. The iPad Pro is also the only instance where we still recommend the last-gen 2018 model, as these are still great devices by today’s standards and can often be found for much less than the updated 2020 Pro. As the iPad Pro is by far the most expensive member of Apple’s tablet family, this is where you’ll want to look for the biggest discounts when shopping these back-to-school iPad sales.
