The online Apple Store might not be the best place to buy the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Place an order for 2021’s hottest tablet on Apple.com on Wednesday and you could wait a month or more to have it shipped to you. But other stores have the device in stock now.
Why wait?
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Online Apple Store requires patience
For many, the online Apple Store is the default place to buy an iPad. But a base model 12.9-inch iPad Pro with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage ordered June 16 won’t be delivered until sometime between July 16 and July 30 — a month away. And that doesn’t change for other configurations of the 12.9-inch model.
The situation is different with brick-and-mortar Apple stores. The company seems to be scattering its available stock of 2021 iPad Pro units to its retail locations. A check of random cities around the U.S. found the base model in some of these, but certainly not all.
For example, an Apple Store in Dallas has the 12.9-inch tablet in stock, but the next nearest option is in Austin. There are none of the base model in stock in Atlanta or Portand. But those who live in Los Angeles have multiple locations to choose from.
Note that the long wait times don’t apply to the latest 11-inch iPad Pro. Apple can ship that before the end of June. But ths smaller version doesn’t have a mini-LED display, which is causing much of the delay in the 12.9-inch model.
Maybe get your 2021 iPad Pro from Amazon or Best Buy
Those who aren’t lucky enough to live near an Apple Store with the top-tier iPad Pro in stock don’t have to wait until mid-July. Order the base model from Amazon on June 16 and it’ll be delivered June 20.
And use the Best Buy website to order the 12.9-inch iPad Pro with 128GB of storage on June 16 and and it’ll arrive on June 18. And many of this retailer’s brick-and-mortar stores have the tablet in stock.
On the other hand, B&H apparently doesn’t have any and doesn’t know when it’s get any in stock. It can’t even give a ship time for 2021 iPad Pro orders placed today.
Don’t be concerned about paying a premium. None of these retailers is charging more for the tablet than Apple does.
