Black Friday iPad deals live blog: Our pick of the biggest online savings on iPad Pro, Mini and Air right now

There’s a bit of congestion at the more affordable end of the iPad spectrum right now, with the 9th and 10th generation models in Apple’s product lineup.

So which one to choose? The new 10th-gen model ditches the rather dated bezels of its predecessor in favor of an all-screen design and a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display, and gets a speed boost thanks to the A14 Bionic chip.

The new chip promises a 20% increase in CPU power and a 10% boost in graphics over the previous 9th-gen model, which features a 10.2-inch display and packs the A13 Bionic chip.

In terms of connectivity, the iPad 10 gets a USB-C port rather than a Lightning port and supports Wi-FI 6 for faster connectivity. Cellular models are 5G and the new iPad is compatible with a new Magic Keyboard Folio.

This all sounds good, but there’s a catch. If you were expecting the price of the new iPad to be in line with its predecessor, which cost $329/£369, you’re going to be disappointed. The entry-level 64GB WiFI model has a retail price of $449 / £499 which we’re sure we don’t need to point out, it’s a lot more.

However, Black Friday has brought that price down a bit: in the UK you can head to Very to get the 10th-gen iPad for £469. (opens in a new tab)and in the US you can order it from Best Buy for $426 (opens in a new tab).

We’d have to say there’s still some saving to be had on the still pretty good 9th Gen model too – it’s currently £309 in the UK at Amazon (opens in a new tab) and only $270 in the US at Best Buy (opens in a new tab) – but the discount on the 10th Gen (which only came out last month) might at least give you something to think about.

We know you’re here for iPad deals, but you might also like to know that we’ve also been busy hunting down the best savings on MacBooks this cyber season. Head over to our live blog for the best deals on MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models.

A common complaint about iPads is that the entry-level models don’t have much storage (as little as 64GB) and you have to pay what seems like a lot more for higher capacities. Luckily, you can circumvent this problem to some extent with an external SSD – you can access the contents of it (samples, projects, etc.) using the Files app.

All but one of Apple’s current iPads have a USB-C port (the 9th-gen 10.2-inch model is furthest), so plugging in a drive is as easy as plugging in a cable . There are plenty of Cyber ​​SSD savings on Amazon US and Amazon UK – we found this Crucial X6 2TB USB-C model on Amazon UK (with read speeds of up to 800MB/s) for just £106.99, down from an RRP of £211 (opens in a new tab).

Inevitably, the cheapest Cyber ​​Weekend iPad deals tend to be on WiFi models, but we know some of you love the data-driven freedom that comes with owning a table that also has capabilities. cellular.

If you’re one of those people and love the United States, it’s worth stopping by Walmart’s website, where you’ll find deals on the cellphone-compatible 2020 and 2022 iPad Airs.

Older model is the cheapest option – $569 (was $679) gets you a 4th-gen cellular iPad Air with 64GB of storage (opens in a new tab). There’s an A14 Bionic chip hidden inside, so that’s definitely no slouch.

If you’re willing to spend an extra $100, the M1-powered 2022 iPad Air 5th Gen with 64GB of storage is yours for $669 (was $749) (opens in a new tab).

Amazon UK has knocked £50 off the 2022 M2-powered 12.9-inch iPad Pro (AKA the biggest and best iPad you can buy) bringing the price down to a still considerable £1,999 (opens in a new tab). There’s no denying that it’s still a lot of money to pay for a tablet, but if it’s the one you care about, any discount is better than none.

A keyboard case is by no means an essential purchase for the iPad – many people are perfectly fine without it – but if you’re considering replacing your Apple tablet with a laptop or think you’d like to use it for typing once in a while, it’s a good investment.

Amazon is currently offering this Logictech Slim Folio iPad Keyboard Case for just £49.99 (was £89.99) (opens in a new tab), and it is compatible with the “standard” 7th, 8th and 9th generation models. There’s no touchpad, but grab a Bluetooth mouse and that won’t be a problem.

It might ‘only’ have an M1 processor, as opposed to the latest M2, but at $799.99 the 2021 12.9-inch iPad Pro is a great buy at Best Buy (opens in a new tab). For that money, you get a tablet that’s still state-of-the-art with a really big screen, and with the iOS music-making ecosystem now so mature, it might even be able to replace a laptop.

Here’s a bargain on the ‘standard’ 9th-gen iPad – down from $330 to $270 at Best Buy in the US (opens in a new tab) (that’s a $60 savings, numbers fans). OK, it doesn’t have the all-screen design of the other models, but you do get a 10.2-inch Retina display, an A13 Bionic chip, and 64GB of storage. Sounds good to us.

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