Black Friday season is officially here, and for iPad fans, the deals are looking good. Lots of iPads are on sale for their lowest-ever prices. Whether you’re hunting for a dependable workhorse, a powerful all-rounder, or a pro-level device, the iPad deals hitting the market shouldn’t be ignored.
The budget-friendly iPad is now 20% off, making it a steal for students, casual users, or families. Meanwhile, the sleek M3 iPad Air is discounted by an amazing 25%, bringing high-performance efficiency at an even more tempting price. And for creative pros, the brand-new M5 iPad Pro is also seeing an early discount — a rare opportunity to grab cutting-edge power and graphics capabilities without paying full retail.
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Best Black Friday iPad deals for 2025
An iPad offers a versatile blend of portability, performance and ease of use that makes it a powerful tool for work, creativity and entertainment. Its lightweight design and long battery life make it ideal for travel and everyday mobility, while the high-resolution display is well suited for reading, video, drawing and photo editing.
With a wide range of apps optimized for touch — and optional accessories like the Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard — an iPad can function as a digital sketchbook, productivity device, or even a laptop alternative. Seamless integration with the Apple ecosystem also ensures smooth syncing across iPhone, Mac, and iCloud, making the iPad both convenient and flexible for users in many different roles.
All three types of iPads are on sale in these pre-Black Friday deals:
- iPad 11 (with A16 chip): The right tablet for students and casual users
- M3 iPad Air: The Goldilocks tablet
- M5 iPad Pro: The best tablet for artists and other professionals
- Black Friday deals on useful iPad accessories
iPad 11 (with A16 chip): The right tablet for students and casual users
Photo: Apple
Choosing an entry-level iPad is a smart move for many reasons. First, it delivers all the core features Apple is known for — a gorgeous display, smooth performance and long battery life — at an affordable price point, making it ideal for students, families, and anyone who just needs a reliable tablet for everyday tasks.
The iPad 11, released early this year, is a noticeable jump over previous models (see our hands-on review). Its A16 chip runs up to 30% faster than the prior model, making multitasking, photo/video editing and gaming feel snappy. Plus, the tablet comes with more storage (starting at 128 GB) and 6 GB of RAM, improving multitasking and keeping apps running smoothly. Despite the performance boost, battery life remains strong — you can expect at least 10 hours. And don’t overlook that the 11-inch display is larger than previous budget iPads.
The iPad 11 ordinarily goes for $349, but a Black Friday deal cuts that way down to $279. That’s $70 in savings. But don’t go to the Apple Store looking for this discount — it’s on at Amazon and Best Buy.
Apple's entry-level tablet gets a solid upgrade, with a welcome boost to the base model's storage. It's a great option for watching videos, checking emails, surfing the web and more.
- A16 processor
- Ultra Wide 12MP front camera supports Center Stage
- Storage starts at 128GB
- Does not support Apple Intelligence.
M3 iPad Air: The Goldilocks tablet
Photo: Apple
If the entry-level iPad isn’t enough tablet for you, but the iPad Pro is out of your price range, there’s the M3 iPad Air (read our hands-on review). It is ideal for someone who wants real power and a premium feel without paying top dollar for an iPad Pro. It’s “Pro-ish” in many ways but more practical for most users than the premium model and more capable than the entry-level iPad for serious work… or serious gaming.
The latest model, which debuted in spring 2025, packs an M3 chip, giving it a real boost in speed and capability compared to the standard iPad. The processor is more than powerful enough for photo editing, creative work and multitasking. Benchmarks show that Air models’ performance often rivals that of Pro models.
The 11-inch variant usually retails for $599, but a generous 25% Black Friday deal drops that way down to $449. You really can’t complain about $150 in savings from either Amazon or Best Buy. But again, don’t check the Apple Store for this deal.
The midrange iPad is the perfect all-around tablet for students, work and casual living room use.
Pair with the Magic Keyboard for a laptop-style keyboard and trackpad. Works with Apple Pencil (USB-C) and Apple Pencil Pro.
- Powerful, desktop-class M3 chip
- Lightweight, all-screen design
- Optional keyboard and Apple Pencil accessories
- Does not have Face ID
You can also save $150 on the 13-inch variant. It’s $649 thanks to Black Friday deals from Amazon and Best Buy. The larger screen improves almost everything about using a tablet, whether relaxing with an ebook or game or sketching out your ideas. On the other hand, it’s slightly less portable.
iPad Air is powerful, versatile, and features the incredible performance of the M3 chip built for Apple Intelligence. This version also sports a stunning 13-inch Liquid Retina display.
Other highlights of the tablet include Touch ID, advanced cameras, blazing-fast Wi-Fi 6E and a USB-C connector.
- As large as the biggest iPad Pro without the hefty price tag
- Speedy M3 processor
- Lacks Face ID
M5 iPad Pro: The best tablet for artists and other professionals
Image: Apple
An iPad Pro delivers exceptional performance thanks to its new M5 chip, which is optimized for demanding creative workflows like video editing, 3D rendering and high-end gaming. Plus, its OLED display is top-of-the-line, offering very high brightness, deeper blacks and better HDR performance. ProMotion (120 Hz) gets you ultra-smooth scrolling and responsiveness. Third, the M5 iPad Pro features Thunderbolt / USB 4 connectivity, allowing blazing-fast data transfer and use with high-speed external storage, monitors and other pro-grade accessories.
While the iPad Pro Black Friday deals aren’t quite as generous as the ones for other Apple tablets (so far), it’s amazing there are discounts at all on a tablet that only launched a few weeks ago. You can pick up the 11-inch variant at 10% below the usual cost, lowering it to $899.
Apple's pro tablet upgrade for 2025 features the M5 processor for maximum performance.
- Midsize Apple tablet with big-time performance
- 11-inch Ultra Retina XDR display with 120Hz ProMotion and antireflective coating
- 4x peak GPU compute compared to M4 iPad Pro
- Pricey
- Nano-texture glass only available on 1TB and 2TB models
You can also save $100 on the 13-inch variant, which is undoubtedly the absolute premium Apple tablet.
Apple's pro tablet upgrade for 2025 features the M5 processor for maximum performance.
- Apple's biggest, most powerful tablet
- 13-inch Ultra Retina XDR display with 120Hz ProMotion and antireflective coating
- 4x peak GPU compute compared to M4 iPad Pro
- Pricey
- Nano-texture glass only available on 1TB and 2TB models
Black Friday deals on useful iPad accessories
Don’t overlook the accessories, especially the Apple Pencil.
Apple Pencil Pro
Image: Apple
The Apple Pencil Pro is the best iPad stylus on the market — it’s a powerful tool packed with features that many artists depend on (here’s our hands-on review). A Black Friday deal knocks 23% off the regular cost. That means you can get an Apple Pencil Pro from Amazon or Best Buy for $99. That’s 23% off.
The best stylus for new Apple tablets: the M4 iPad Pro, the M3 iPad Air and M2 iPad Air, plus the iPad mini 7. We gave it the maximum rating in our hands-on review, and found that its pro features are worthy of the price.
- Advanced features like the new squeeze gesture, haptic feedback and support for hover.
- Excellent for note-taking, image editing and artistic endeavors.
- Finally works with Apple's Find My network.
- Only works with latest iPads.
- High-end stylus comes with high-end price tag.
Apple Pencil (USB-C)
Photo: Apple
Not everyone needs all the bells and whistles of the Pencil Pro. For a solid premium iPad stylus that does all the basic tasks like signing documents, note-taking and sketching, there’s the Apple Pencil (USB-C) (here’s our review). A deal at Amazon and Best Buy makes it even more affordable: $69, which is 13% off.
This is the Apple Pencil for the rest of us! In some ways, Apple's new budget stylus is better than the more expensive premium version, which is aimed at serious digital artists. If you need a capable iPad stylus for handwriting and sketching, this is the one for you.
- Pairs and charges via USB-C
- Attaches magnetically
- Pixel-perfect precision with low latency
- Works with most newer iPad, iPad Pro and iPad Air models.
- Can’t get power directly from iPad
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
