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 iPad 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.
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 (A16): March 2025
- iPad Air (M3): March 2025
- iPad mini (A17 Pro): October 2024
- iPad Pro (M4): March 2024
When will Apple launch new iPads?
The next update is likely to be the iPad Pro later in 2025. It’s expected that the iPad Pro will get an M5 chip in September or October 2025.
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 (A16, 2025): Buy now or wait?
BUY (but consider an alternative)
- Last updated: March 2025
- Is now a good time to buy? Yes. But keep in mind that there are Apple Intelligence features you won’t be getting now, or in the future, so a different iPad might be a better choice.
The current 10-inch iPad arrived in March 2025.
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. Another reason to choose the iPad mini or iPad Air is that the standard iPad doesn’t support Apple Intelligence, which could mean missing out on features coming to the iPad in the future.
iPad mini (A17 Pro, 2024): Buy now or wait?
BUY
- Last updated: October 2024
- Is now a good time to buy? Yes. We don’t expect an update until 2026 or later.
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 (M3, 2025): Buy now or wait?
BUY
- Last updated: March 2025
- Is now a good time to buy? Yes. We don’t expect an update until 2026 or later.
The iPad Air with M3 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.
iPad Pro (M4, 2024): Buy now or wait?
BUY
- Last updated: March 2024
- Is now a good time to buy? Yes. The iPad Pro will probably get a M5 chip later in 2025, but we don’t think that’s a reason to wait.
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.
There’s thought to be a new iPad Pro coming later in 2025 but this will only be a chip upgrade from M4 to M5 and the M4 is plenty good enough.
