Just in time for the back-to-school shopping rush, Amazon has slashed the prices of the 11th generation Apple iPad (A16) and the iPad Air M3 by 20% and 25%, respectively.
While not the biggest discounts ever, this much of a price cut represents a great deal for current-generation Apple products, especially when outside of the bigger sale events like Black Friday or EOFY.
Our review of the 11th-gen iPad praised its performance, with the A16 processor allowing the device to run iPadOS 18 and most apps smoothly. And despite this upgrade, the base model with 128GB of storage didn’t get a price bump, making it a great value option for an iPad. We reckon it would suit most students as it performs well enough to handle tasks like homework, media consumption and some gaming on the side.
If you’re looking for a laptop replacement that can do a lot more, then the current-generation iPad Air fits the bill. The inclusion of the M3 chip places this device on par with previous-generation MacBooks (provided that you get a Bluetooth keyboard or keyboard folio to replicate that experience), and has 8GB of RAM to make it a better choice for multitasking over the base iPad (which has 6GB).
For a bigger screen, the iPad Air is also available with a 13-inch screen (compared to the base model’s 11 inches), and a larger battery capacity of 9,705mAh (compared to 7,606mAh for the 11-inch) means it will last all day whether at school, uni or work.
If you want to read more about how these two iPads compare and make your decision a bit easier, take a look at our full head-to-head matchup. In the meantime, get a wriggle on if you want an iPad for less as we don’t know how long these offers or stocks will last.
While the above listings are the best iPad deals right now, there’s one more offer that might be worth considering. The only reason it’s relegated as an alternative is that it’s not as big a discount as the aforementioned options. And that’s the current-gen iPad mini. If you’re looking for something more compact and portable, there’s a small but not inconsiderable 13% discount.
Speaking of the Apple Pencil, the USB-C model is discounted on Amazon as well at AU$117, or 16% off. This will work on all the iPads listed above. If you’re more partial towards the newer Apple Pencil Pro, JB Hi-Fi has it for AU$169 (23% off the RRP).
Unfortunately we did not spot any deals for the Apple Magic Keyboard for the iPad and iPad Air, but you can consider cheaper alternatives from third-party brands if you’re not too fussed about matching everything.
