Apple’s new M5-powered iPad Pro is certainly impressive, but if you just need a reliable tablet for streaming, taking video calls, note-taking, and light work, you don’t need to spend north of $1,000. Apple’s latest entry-level iPad can handle everyday tasks with ease — and it’s currently matching its all-time low of $279 ($70 off) at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy ahead of Black Friday.
Apple’s latest base-model iPad nails the essentials and delivers speedy performance thanks to Apple’s A16 chip, which provides enough power for streaming, reading, and even playing casual games like Dredge and Tiny Wings. It provides twice the base storage as the prior model (128GB vs. 64GB), and at 11 inches, it offers the largest screen of any entry-level iPad to date. It also offers up to 10 hours of battery life, so you should be able to get through an entire day without having to top it off.
That said, there are a few things you’ll have to do without. The 11th-gen iPad doesn’t support Apple’s AI-powered Apple Intelligence features, and it doesn’t work with accessories like the Apple Pencil Pro, so you’ll have to make do with the Apple Pencil USB-C. Apple’s latest stylus lacks creative tools like pressure sensitivity found in the Pro, though it’s still perfectly fine for note-taking and doodling.
Fret not, though. If you really want to leverage Apple’s latest AI tools or prefer something with a bit more horsepower for more demanding work, Black Friday is also bringing steep deals on the latest iPad Air and iPad Pro. The M3-powered iPad Air is down to $449 ($150 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, while the M5 Pro is on sale at Amazon in its 256GB / Wi-Fi configuration starting at $899.99 ($100 off). Both discounts drop the tablets to their best prices to date, making now a great time to pull the trigger if you’ve been waiting to step up.
