This Black Friday Deal Makes Apple’s 10th-Gen iPad Worth a Closer Look

Apple’s entry-level iPad is now among the oldest “current” devices the company is still selling. With a refresh around the corner, it’s hard to recommend buying the two-year-old iPad at its regular price, but Amazon has a Black Friday deal that might tip the scales.

Right now, you can get the 64 GB iPad for only $249.99 once you add the coupon. It’s listed for $259, which is already a great price, but the $9.01 coupon brings it down to the lowest price we’ve ever seen.

The 10th-generation iPad won’t support the latest and greatest Apple Intelligence features, and it still has a somewhat awkward relationship with the Apple Pencil, but it’s still a great tablet for watching Netflix and YouTube, surfing the web, and even providing a big screen for casual gaming. It supports FaceTime and Zoom and can be paired with a Bluetooth keyboard like any other iPad, so it makes for a very affordable laptop replacement for family members who just want to keep in touch with friends and family by video, email, or chat. It was also the first iPad to move the camera to the long edge, which makes it much more suitable for those family video calls.

It can also be paired with a stylus for drawing or note-taking. You won’t get the advanced features of the Apple Pencil Pro or even the second-generation Apple Pencil, but the new USB-C Apple Pencil is an ideal match for basic note-taking. It lacks the pressure sensitivity of the original first-generation Apple Pencil, but that won’t matter as much unless you’re a budding artist, and it has the advantage of magnetically attaching to the side of the iPad and charging over USB-C.

Sadly, the Apple Pencil (USB-C) isn’t available new at Amazon right now, but you can find it at Best Buy for $69, which is $10 off the normal price. Sadly, the iPad is $279 at Best Buy, so you won’t get one-stop shopping if you want the most savings.

On the other hand, Amazon has a great 40% off deal on the Apple Pencil (1st Generation), knocking the price down to $59. This older stylus still pairs up with the 2022 iPad just fine and offers the pressure sensitivity needed for more artistic sketching and drawing. However, it uses a Lightning connector to charge, and you won’t be able to attach it to the iPad unless you opt for a case with a built-in Apple Pencil holder.

If the rumors are accurate, Apple will launch the eleventh-generation iPad sometime in the spring. The new model isn’t expected to bring any significant changes to the design, display, camera system, or Apple Pencil compatibility, but instead focus on upgrading the processor to add support for Apple Intelligence. If Apple follows its usual playbook, the new iPad will have the same $349 starting price as the current model, although it’s possible Apple will bump the base storage up to 128 GB. However, we don’t expect any early deals on that new model, which makes today’s deal on the 10th-generation iPad pretty compelling.