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Amazon’s second sales event for Prime members this year is underway, and it’s brought a few noteworthy tablet deals along with it. , as Amazon calls it, includes discounts on various , Amazon Fire slates and the . For your convenience, we’ve rounded up the best iPad and tablet deals we could find during the event below.
Note that not every discount is exclusive to Prime members, and there’s always a chance we see lower prices come Black Friday. Some say that Apple may release new iPads in the coming months as well, with updates possible for the iPad Air and iPad mini in particular. Nevertheless, if you need a new slab right now, here are the best bargains we’re seeing.
The is on sale for $500, which is $99 less than buying from Apple directly. We may see a refresh at some point soon, but for now, the existing iPad Air is the best blend of price and performance in Apple’s tablet lineup. It gets you a similarly elegant design as the iPad Pro for less cash, with an M1 chip that’s powerful enough for work and heavy games, a pleasing 10.9-inch display, a USB-C port and support for the latest and . This model only has 64GB of storage, however, and its display is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate. We gave the iPad Air a last year.
The is down to $249, which is one of the best prices we've seen as it comes in $80 lower than Apple’s list price. This is the budget pick in our , and we gave it a when it arrived in late 2021. It uses Apple’s older design language, so it’s stuck with thick bezels, a Home button, a Lightning port and a non-laminated display. This model comes with just 64GB of non-upgradeable storage as well. That said, it’s still fast enough for casual media consumption, gaming and multitasking, and its display is still a step up from the screens on most cheaper tablets. It can last more than 10 hours per charge, plus it’s the last iPad with a headphone jack. Most importantly, it gets you access to Apple’s wide app library, strong customer support and years of OS updates at the lowest price possible.
The is available for $399, which is $50 off its usual street price. We gave this 10.9-inch slate a last year. It sits in something of a middle ground between the 10.2-inch iPad and iPad Air: It’s not as cheap as the former, but it lacks the laminated display, M-series chip and accessory support of the latter. Notably, it only works with the first-gen Apple Pencil. Nevertheless, it looks and feels almost identical to the Air, it’s far from slow, and its landscape-oriented selfie camera makes it more convenient for FaceTime calls. If you absolutely can’t pay up for the iPad Air, it’s a fine compromise.
The smallest iPad in Apple’s lineup, the 8.3-inch , is currently on sale for $400. That’s $99 below Apple’s list price. This is another iPad that’s due for a refresh, but for now it remains the best compact tablet on the market, with all the usual perks of modern iPads in a design that’s easier to hold with one hand. We gave it a back in 2021. As with the other non-Pro iPads, the big downside is its 64GB of default, non-upgradeable storage.
Amazon’s is down to $60 for the Prime Big Deal Days event, which is $5 more than the tablet’s all-time low but still $40 off its list price. This discount applies to the model with 32GB of storage; if you need more space, the is on sale for $75. Either way, the Fire HD 8 is likely the cheapest competent tablet for most people: It’s slower than the and its display is limited to a 1,280 x 800 resolution, but it’s lightweight, it can last more than 10 hours on a charge and it’s still quick enough for basic streaming and reading. It’s not the best value at its standard going rate, but for $60, it’s hard to do better.
The base Fire HD 8 is good enough for most budget buyers, but if you’re willing to spend a little more, the adds an extra gigabyte of RAM (3GB total) and wireless charging support. It’s down to $70 for a 32GB model, which is $5 more than the lowest price we’ve seen but $50 off its typical going rate. The Plus model still isn’t outright fast or capable of serious gaming, but the extra GB can make navigating Fire OS just a bit smoother. The wireless charging support, meanwhile, is best utilized with , which helps if you want to use the tablet like a .
The 128GB is down to $409, which is $90 off and a new low. The is also on sale for $509. While we think Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S9 purely as a tablet, Google’s 11-inch slate still gets you a sharp LCD display, a speedy chip and an easy-to-hold design that weighs just over a pound. Its big hook, however, is that it can attach to an included charging speaker dock and double as a Nest Hub Max-style smart display. Android still isn’t as optimized for large screens as iPadOS, but if that extra functionality sounds useful to you, the Pixel Tablet is worth a look. We gave it a in June. (The Galaxy Tab S9, meanwhile, isn’t on sale as of this writing.)
The is Amazon’s largest and most performant tablet, with an 11-inch 2,000 x 1,200 resolution display, an aluminum frame, a respectable octa-core processor and 4GB of RAM. It has the same software limitations and lock-screen ads as any other Fire slate, so it’s a tough sell at its usual $230, but now it’s on sale for $150, which matches its all-time low. If you already use a bunch of Amazon services and don’t want to shell out for an entry-level iPad, it could make sense — just don’t expect to get any real work done with it.
Your October Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our coverage. Shop the on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for . Learn about on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on for your car, garage, and home, and find to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at
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Note that not every discount is exclusive to Prime members, and there’s always a chance we see lower prices come Black Friday. Some say that Apple may release new iPads in the coming months as well, with updates possible for the iPad Air and iPad mini in particular. Nevertheless, if you need a new slab right now, here are the best bargains we’re seeing.
Apple iPad Air
The is on sale for $500, which is $99 less than buying from Apple directly. We may see a refresh at some point soon, but for now, the existing iPad Air is the best blend of price and performance in Apple’s tablet lineup. It gets you a similarly elegant design as the iPad Pro for less cash, with an M1 chip that’s powerful enough for work and heavy games, a pleasing 10.9-inch display, a USB-C port and support for the latest and . This model only has 64GB of storage, however, and its display is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate. We gave the iPad Air a last year.
Apple iPad (9th gen)
The is down to $249, which is one of the best prices we've seen as it comes in $80 lower than Apple’s list price. This is the budget pick in our , and we gave it a when it arrived in late 2021. It uses Apple’s older design language, so it’s stuck with thick bezels, a Home button, a Lightning port and a non-laminated display. This model comes with just 64GB of non-upgradeable storage as well. That said, it’s still fast enough for casual media consumption, gaming and multitasking, and its display is still a step up from the screens on most cheaper tablets. It can last more than 10 hours per charge, plus it’s the last iPad with a headphone jack. Most importantly, it gets you access to Apple’s wide app library, strong customer support and years of OS updates at the lowest price possible.
Apple iPad (10th gen)
The is available for $399, which is $50 off its usual street price. We gave this 10.9-inch slate a last year. It sits in something of a middle ground between the 10.2-inch iPad and iPad Air: It’s not as cheap as the former, but it lacks the laminated display, M-series chip and accessory support of the latter. Notably, it only works with the first-gen Apple Pencil. Nevertheless, it looks and feels almost identical to the Air, it’s far from slow, and its landscape-oriented selfie camera makes it more convenient for FaceTime calls. If you absolutely can’t pay up for the iPad Air, it’s a fine compromise.
Apple iPad mini
The smallest iPad in Apple’s lineup, the 8.3-inch , is currently on sale for $400. That’s $99 below Apple’s list price. This is another iPad that’s due for a refresh, but for now it remains the best compact tablet on the market, with all the usual perks of modern iPads in a design that’s easier to hold with one hand. We gave it a back in 2021. As with the other non-Pro iPads, the big downside is its 64GB of default, non-upgradeable storage.
Amazon Fire HD 8
Amazon’s is down to $60 for the Prime Big Deal Days event, which is $5 more than the tablet’s all-time low but still $40 off its list price. This discount applies to the model with 32GB of storage; if you need more space, the is on sale for $75. Either way, the Fire HD 8 is likely the cheapest competent tablet for most people: It’s slower than the and its display is limited to a 1,280 x 800 resolution, but it’s lightweight, it can last more than 10 hours on a charge and it’s still quick enough for basic streaming and reading. It’s not the best value at its standard going rate, but for $60, it’s hard to do better.
Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus
The base Fire HD 8 is good enough for most budget buyers, but if you’re willing to spend a little more, the adds an extra gigabyte of RAM (3GB total) and wireless charging support. It’s down to $70 for a 32GB model, which is $5 more than the lowest price we’ve seen but $50 off its typical going rate. The Plus model still isn’t outright fast or capable of serious gaming, but the extra GB can make navigating Fire OS just a bit smoother. The wireless charging support, meanwhile, is best utilized with , which helps if you want to use the tablet like a .
Google Pixel Tablet
The 128GB is down to $409, which is $90 off and a new low. The is also on sale for $509. While we think Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S9 purely as a tablet, Google’s 11-inch slate still gets you a sharp LCD display, a speedy chip and an easy-to-hold design that weighs just over a pound. Its big hook, however, is that it can attach to an included charging speaker dock and double as a Nest Hub Max-style smart display. Android still isn’t as optimized for large screens as iPadOS, but if that extra functionality sounds useful to you, the Pixel Tablet is worth a look. We gave it a in June. (The Galaxy Tab S9, meanwhile, isn’t on sale as of this writing.)
Amazon Fire Max 11
The is Amazon’s largest and most performant tablet, with an 11-inch 2,000 x 1,200 resolution display, an aluminum frame, a respectable octa-core processor and 4GB of RAM. It has the same software limitations and lock-screen ads as any other Fire slate, so it’s a tough sell at its usual $230, but now it’s on sale for $150, which matches its all-time low. If you already use a bunch of Amazon services and don’t want to shell out for an entry-level iPad, it could make sense — just don’t expect to get any real work done with it.
Your October Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our coverage. Shop the on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for . Learn about on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on for your car, garage, and home, and find to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at
Console Bang News!