We’ve all been there. You decide to pick up a shiny new device, so you head to the shops and return home with your expensive purchase; all is well with the world. Then a week later a newer, better version is released, and you’re left wondering whether you’ve wasted your money.
In this article we show how to avoid this trauma by explaining when it’s the best time to buy an iPad.
If you’re struggling to decide which one is the right device for you, incidentally, you should also take a look at our iPad buying guide.
When is the best time to buy an iPad?
It’s not so easy to say when the best time to buy an iPad is because there is no clear schedule to when Apple will update any of the iPad models. However, since Apple doesn’t tend to update iPads as regularly as it does iPhones and the Apple Watch, you can be reasonabl.y condident that is the iPad is less than a year and a half old it probably isn’t about to be updated.
Safe in the knowledge that an update isn’t due soon, you might be wondering if the price might change. Rather than wait for Apple to drop the price, which happens very rarely, our recommendation would be to look for deals from retailers. We see deals throughout the year, but the best tend to happen during Amazon Prime Day (July ad October) or Black Friday (November).
The best time to buy an Apple Watch isn’t necessarily when a new model launches. If you wait a month or two you might be able to take advantages of sales and price drops from resellers. During October and November we see lots of sales events, such as Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday, and you can expect to get some money off at these events. Apple doesn’t discount its products at its own stores, but it does offer vouchers with new purchases from time to time–and Black Friday is one of those times. For advice on where to buy, read our roundup of the Best iPad deals.
Looking for a Black Friday deal: See Best Black Friday 2024 Apple deals and Best Black Friday iPad deals.
How often is the iPad updated?
Life would be a bit easier for the iPad fanbase if you could always rely on the latest update to your preferred model appearing in September, as is the case with the iPhone. Instead, Apple updates its iPads on a less predictable schedule, with new models tending to appear around September/October or April, and often with a gap of two or more years between updates.
Here’s a list of the iPads on sale today and when they were last updated:
- iPad (10th generation, 10.9-inch): October 2022
- iPad Air (M2): March 2024
- iPad Pro (M4): March 2024
- iPad mini (A17 Pro): October 2024
As you can see, it’s been a few years since the standard iPad was updated, and we do expect that Apple will be updating it in 2025. The iPad mini update in October 2024 came three years after the last update, which happened at the end of 2021.
When will Apple launch new iPads?
We probably won’t see Apple update the iPad Air or iPad Pro for a while. We don’t expect either to be updated in 2025.
The iPad mini now runs on a processor compatible with Apple Intelligence, so it is also future-proofed for a few more years.
The iPad on the other hand still features an older A15 chip that won’t run Apple Intelligence, so it is likely that Apple will bring it into line with those requirements in 2025. Read about Apple’s plans for the 11th gen iPad.
Is now a good time to buy an iPad?
Here’s our breakdown of the four types of iPad that Apple currently sells, and in each case whether you should buy now or wait.
iPad (10th gen, 10.9-inch): Buy now or wait?
- Last updated: October 2022
- Is now a good time to buy? No
The current 10-inch iPad arrived in October 2022.
This is the cheapest iPad, with a starting price of $349/£329, and as such it is an easy model to recommend for those who don’t care about the latest flashy innovations and instead want a reliable, mid-size tablet in fun colors, for general use.
However, if size isn’t important, you may be better off with the smaller iPad mini, which starts at $499/£499, but offers double the storage at the entry level, 128GB rather than 64GB. Alternatively, wait until spring 2025 when we expect Apple will update the standard iPad model.
iPad mini: Buy now or wait?
- Last updated: October 2024
- Is now a good time to buy? Yes, you can buy now: a new model was launched in October 2024 and it’s great!
As we mentioned above, the 2024 iPad mini now offers 128GB storage at the entry level, rather than a measly 64GB. This is a definite point in its favor. In addition, the 2024 model features a chip compatible with Apple Intelligence features, so it will be nicely future-proofed for a while (and it’s likely to be a few years until Apple updates it).
There is a choice of color options, as there are on the iPad and iPad Air. The iPad mini has pale blue, purple and starlight in contrast to the bolder color choices on the Air and standard iPad.
iPad Air: Buy now or wait?
- Last updated: March 2024
- Is now a good time to buy? We don’t expect that Apple will update the iPad Air until 2026, so now is a great time to buy one.
The iPad Air with M2 chip is a stunning machine at a comparatively affordable price. It has some competition from the iPad Pro (which has a more meaty M4 chip), and it’s no longer the thin, light offering it once was now that the iPad Pro is just as slim.
Like the iPad Pro the iPad Air now comes in two sizes, so you can choose either a 11-inch or 14-inch display. It’s the iPad Air that has the fun color palette though, available in blue, pink, yellow or silver, while the Pro has a more professional color scheme.
It is unlikely that the iPad Air will be undated before 2026. So, if you want to buy one now is a good time.
iPad Pro: Buy now or wait?
- Last updated: March 2024
- Is now a good time to buy? We don’t expect that Apple will update the iPad Air until 2026, so now is a great time to buy one.
As the flagships of Apple’s tablet range, the iPad Pro 11-inch and 14-inch are highly desirable devices that boast incredible levels of performance. These features don’t come cheap, though, so you’ll want to be careful when considering when to buy.
The good news is that they were last updated in the spring of 2024, with Apple furnishing them with the M4 chip, which at that point hadn’t even debuted on the Mac, means Apple is extremely unlikely to launch a new Pro in the immediate future.
Author: Karen Haslam, Managing Editor, Macworld
Karen has worked on both sides of the Apple divide, clocking up a number of years at Apple's PR agency prior to joining Macworld more than two decades ago. Karen's career highlights include interviewing Apple's Steve Wozniak and discussing Steve Jobs’ legacy on the BBC. Having edited the U.K. print and online editions of Macworld for many years, more recently her focus has been on SEO and evergreen content as well as product recommendations and buying advice.