Save $100 on the iPad Air M1, our favorite student tablet
This powerful iPad Air M1 is under $500 at Amazon.
Looking for a powerful tablet for work or play? This iPad Air M1 deal at Amazon might be just the ticket.
The iPad lineup is in a strange spot right now - there's the base iPad pairing of ninth and tenth-generation models, and while both are among the best tablets for students, they offer dated design or an inflated price respectively.
Then there's the incredibly powerful iPad Pro, including the new iPad Pro M2 that has the same chip M2 as Apple's latest Mac Mini. It's a fantastic machine, but it's not got anything to do with all its power - and it comes at a hefty cost.
Thankfully, sitting snugly in the middle (alongside the iPad Mini) is the iPad Air M1 which offers the best value for an iPad right now.
While there's likely to be an M2 version coming at some point, for now, the M1 version will handle anything you throw at it - and you can save $100 on it right now at Amazon. The retailer has dropped the price of the tablet's 64GB variant down to just $499.99, making it even better value than before.
iPad Air M1 - Was $599.99, now $499.99 at Amazon
Save $100 on the iPad Air M1 tablet and get Apple Silicon and the full iPadOS experience for less.
The iPad Air offers a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display with a pin-sharp resolution of 2360x1640 - perfect for working on creative projects like photo edits, or for scrolling social media and watching Netflix.
In fact, with iPadOS' new Stage Manager feature, you can do both. Stage Manager offers resizeable windows, much closer to a laptop setup, and while Apple's continuing to tweak the feature, it's getting more solid day by day.
There's only one USB-C port for charging and data transfer, but the iPad Air's M1 chip is more than comfortable connecting to docks and external displays. It's the same chip that kickstarted Apple's own lineup of silicon, and it's more than powerful enough for the latest games and graphical showcases like Genshin Impact.
In our 4.5-star iPad Air M1 review, we called the iPad Air M1 "the ultimate student tablet", stating that "The iPad Air M1 feels uniquely placed to be a more accessible tablet than the much more expensive iPad Pro. Its lightweight, looks great, has a stunning display, and offers excellent value for money."
It's worth noting that while the iPad Air M1 supports the Apple Pencil (Second Generation) and Apple's Magic Keyboard attachment, both are sold separately. Still, if you have a Bluetooth keyboard, you can hook it up with ease. Still prefer a more traditional laptop experience? Be sure to check out our list of the best laptops for students.
iPad Air M1 - Was $599.99, now $499.99 at Amazon Best Buy
Save $100 on the iPad Air M1 tablet and get Apple Silicon and the full iPadOS experience for less.
iPad Air M1 - Was $599.99, now $499.99 at Amazon Best Buy
Save $100 on the iPad Air M1 tablet and get Apple Silicon and the full iPadOS experience for less.
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Lloyd Coombes freelance tech and fitness writer for Live Science. He's an expert in all things Apple as well as in computer and gaming tech, with previous works published on TechRadar, Tom's Guide, Live Science and more. You'll find him regularly testing the latest MacBook or iPhone, but he spends most of his time writing about video games as Gaming Editor for the Daily Star. He also covers board games and virtual reality, just to round out the nerdy pursuits.