Look, don’t tell anyone over at our sister site Macworld, but I have to confess: the iPad is pretty great. And that’s coming from someone who’s been an Android die-hard since the Nexus One! Truth be told, I’ve got a fourth-gen iPad Air on my desk that never turns off.
And you know what? Right now, Amazon is offering a fantastic deal on an even newer model: the 2024 iPad Air M2 is $100 off.
For just $499, you can get the 11-inch iPad Air, powered by the M2 processor, with 128GB of storage and in four color options. It’s a rare discount on one of Apple’s most popular tablet models — in fact, I’d be surprised to see it go any lower even on Black Friday.
The physical design of the iPad Air hasn’t changed a whisker since 2020, back when the iPad lost its physical home button and moved its fingerprint sensor to the power button. But to be fair, it’s not as if it needs any big changes. While you could hope for the OLED screen upgrade seen on the latest iPad Pro, you won’t find any such new OLED tablets in this price range.
The upgraded M2 processor is the biggest deal if you’re coming from an older iPad Air. The CPU has the same Arm-based design that goes into some models of the MacBook Air and Pro laptops and the 2023 Mac Mini, but it’s using a newer and more efficient 9-core GPU. That means it should be able to handle just about any game or media app you can find on the App Store without breaking a sweat.
Amazon is also offering a similar $100 discount on the 512GB and 1TB models of the 11-inch iPad Air M2, bringing their prices down to $799 and $999, respectively. That’s a lot for a tablet, but it’s still cheaper than the cheapest iPad Pro of the same size and capacity. If your budget is tight, though, you won’t be disappointed by the 128GB for $499.
