You probably don’t remember this now, but Apple released the ninth edition of its “regular” iPad in 2021 at a starting price of $329. The reason you might not recall exactly how affordable the 10.2-inch slate was at launch is of course that it’s become incredibly easy in recent months to buy this product at a considerably lower price.
The iPad 9 was practically permanently reduced to $280 in its entry-level 64GB storage configuration when the vastly upgraded and radically redesigned iPad 10 saw daylight in the fall of 2022, and then as the months went by, better and better deals kept popping up at major US retailers like Amazon. But now the tablet is cheaper than ever after a completely unprecedented $100 markdown from that aforementioned $329 list price.
As (almost) always, Amazon is responsible for this killer new promotion, eclipsing Best Buy’s past and current generosity on both silver and space gray color options of the most affordable iPad (2021) variant. There are no special requirements or strings attached here, and technically, there are no expiration dates listed either, although something tells us this offer will not last forever.
At its new record low price, the Apple A13 Bionic-powered 10.2-inch iPad is probably cheap enough to make you overlook its rather obvious flaws and inherent weaknesses amplified with age. We’re talking about that now-outdated processor and a “bezelicious” design that didn’t exactly look appealing when the ninth-gen iPad made its commercial debut either.
Of course, the now ultra-affordable tablet comes with its fair share of strengths and advantages as well, including a more than respectable Retina IPS LCD screen, excellent battery life (especially for the sub-$250 price bracket), always reliable and popular Touch ID fingerprint sensor, and support for productivity-enhancing Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard accessories (that you’ll obviously need to purchase separately).
It pretty much goes without saying that we’re still recommending you buy the iPad (2022)… if you can afford it, but if you can’t or simply want to minimize your back-to-school spending, the iPad (2021) is an amazing alternative right now.
