No tablet platform has arguably done more as a connected device offering thanApple’siPads, which come in various shapes and sizes since their inception back in 2010. Nearly fifteen years later, the iPad remains a household name that offers one of the best UIs in the business even as it integrates incredibly well with Apple’s existing hardware offerings in 2025.
On the power front, Apple’s silicon continues to impress and the Cupertino-based giant’s ability to leverage its desktop and laptop CPUs, such as its newest M-series offerings, translates to an iPad that canhold its own againstsome of the fastest CPUs and GPUs in the market.
Some might argue that Apple’s iPad Pro lineup is considerably more pricey than the competition and does therefore limit availability at least to users that are willing to splurge a minimum of $1000 to get an entry-level SKU of the same. But sales offered by Apple and other retailers sweeten the deal.
This is where the Apple iPad Air, in its latest iteration, shines. Starting at just $599, it delivers excellent performance thanks to a powerful M2 Chip that offers an 8-core CPU configuration in addition to a 9-core GPU and a 16-core neural engine under the hood.
With anadditional $100 discount on Amazonin play, Apple’s newest iPad Air offering seems like a no-brainer, costing just $500 for what is essentially a full-fledged computer running iPadOS while being considerably more powerful than comparable laptops at the same price point.
It offers a plethora of advantages over the latter too, including a large 7606 mAh battery that allows it to be used all day without needing a recharge and a gorgeous 11-inch Liquid Retina display (264 PPI with a 2360-by-1640-pixel resolution) that offers 500 nits of brightness, True Tone and a wide color gamut (P3).
The Apple iPad Air (11-inch) comes equipped with what is arguably one of the best displays consumers can find in its price range in 2025.
The latter, which offers the same color space as the film industry’s current standards, allows the iPad to be used for a variety of tasks as it supports both Apple’s new Pencil Pro and prior generation Pencil units for users planning to use it for productivity or creativity needs.
With support for Apple Intelligence built into the new iPad and dual 12mp cameras (front and rear) while supporting 4K video recording from the primary, the iPad Air 11-inch offers both a capable AI-capable computer on the go and an excellent device for consuming and creating media.
Is This A Good Deal In 2025?
Apple’s iPad units generally do stick to MSRP, especially in the more price-inelastic sub-$500 price bracket, making it harder to find a deal for the iPad Air versus its Pro SKUs, especially when you consider that the Air was launched less than a year ago. Users might not be impressed by the 128GB of storage that the new Air offers for the base model ($500), but the deal on Amazon stacks a $100 discount on all variants of the iPad Air,up to the 1TB model(which runs at $1000 after the discount is factored in).
This does still make the latter cheaper by as much as $400-500 on average versuscomparable iPad Air Pro offeringswith the same capacity and screen size. The latter comes with a more powerful M4 chip, a larger battery, and as much as 16GB of RAM for the 1TB (and 2TB) model, making the iPad Air arguably the best value-centric iPad deal for creators andpower users alikein 2025.
