by If you are looking for a Black Friday offer on a tablet, you have two options. You can buy an inexpensive tablet or buy an iPad. This year, with the iPad 10.9 (2022)the best iPads step away from the affordable end, and that’s before you add extras like accessories, more storage, and a warranty.
Fortunately, Black Friday iPad deals often give you accessories and other bundles with an iPad, even if you can’t get a price reduction. We’ve broken down every iPad model Apple sells and given our recommendations on which extras you’ll want to get the most out of your new tablet.
Unfortunately, to get the iPad experience you expect, the actual price is much higher. Out of the box, any iPad is an incredibly capable device for playing movies, surfing the web, or making video calls. So are the best android tablets. So are the best amazon tablets.
You paid more for the iPad – hundreds more, but there are more costs to consider. Some iPads come with barely enough storage to handle all the movies and games you’ll want to download. Some iPad Pro features don’t even work if you don’t upgrade storage.
We highly recommend that you purchase the AppleCare+ Extended Warranty for your new iPad. While an iPad is less likely to leave the house than a phone, the larger screen gives you more surface area at risk. The cost of repairing an iPad is a much higher percentage of the value of the device than that of a phone. You may be willing to pay $250 to fix a $1,000 phone, but how happy will you be to pay $250 to fix a $329 tablet?
What accessories are essential? Do you need an Apple Pencil to get the most out of your new iPad? Is the 5G network a worthwhile upgrade? There are plenty of extras available for the iPad, so let’s break down each option and decide which ones are necessary based on the model you’re considering.
iPad 10.9 (2022): requires storage space and a case
| Starting cost: | $449 / £499 / AU$749 |
| Storage: 64 GB; Required: 256 GB | $599 / £679 / AU$999 |
| Apple Smart Folio | $79 / £89 / AU$129 |
| guarantee | $69 / £69 / AU$99 |
| Final cost: | $747 / £837 / AU$1,227 |
The iPad 10.9 (2022) is a brand new device this year, but it still only comes with 64GB of storage. We like having more storage on this iPad so we can download a ton of movies and shows to take with us, instead of relying on Wi-Fi on the road or upgrading to a 5G iPad. A Netflix show is about 1.5 GB of storage, so a 12-episode season will consume almost 20 GB of space.
Most people will be happier with an upgrade, and unfortunately Apple only offers one very expensive upgrade option. For a whopping $150 in the US, you can get four times the storage space, 256GB. That’s way too much for Apple to price its base model on, but we think it’s worth it. is an important upgrade to consider.
iPad Pro 12.9 (2022): requires a pencil and more storage
| Starting cost: | $1,099 / £1,249 / AU$1,899 |
| Storage: 128 GB; Required: 256 GB | $1,199 / £1,369 / AU$2,079 |
| Apple Pencil Gen 2 | $129 / £139 / AU$19 |
| guarantee | $129 / £129 / AU$19 |
| Final cost: | $1,457 / £1,637 / AU$2,477 |
You’re already buying Apple’s most expensive iPad when you start with the iPad 12.9 (2022). You’d think Apple would include everything you need for the best experience, but it’s missing a few upgrades.
For one, even though Apple says you can record ProRes video with this iPad at up to 4K resolution, that capability is disabled on the 128GB model of the iPad Pro 12.9 and iPad Pro 11. need to start at 256GB to record in 4K.
Given that 4K video consumes 7GB per minute, that makes sense, but it requires us to start Apple at a low enough capacity to override the feature.
We also think the iPad Pro experience isn’t complete without Apple Pencil. Even if you don’t plan to write by hand, the Pencil lets you mark up documents, sign important letters, and even control the device with more precision. We’re not sure the new hover features are worth it, but we recommend getting the Apple Pencil 2 with an iPad Pro 12.9.
iPad Pro 11 (2022): Requires keyboard and pencil
| Starting cost: | $799 / £899 / AU$1,399 |
| Storage: 128 GB; Required: 256 GB | $899 / £1,019.00 / AU$1,579 |
| Apple Pencil Gen 2 | $129 / £139 / AU$19 |
| Smart keyboard case | $179 / £199.00 / AU$299 |
| guarantee | $129 / £129 / AU$19 |
| Final cost: | $1,336 / £1,486 / AU$2,276 |
The smaller iPad Pro 11 suffers from the same drawback as the iPad Pro 12.9 – you can’t record video in 4K ProRes unless you upgrade your storage to 256GB. For this particular tablet, the more portable of the two iPad Pro models, this is a significant upgrade.
Of course, the Apple Pencil 2 is a necessity with the iPad Pro. We also think this smaller iPad deserves a keyboard. The smaller design paired with a Smart Keyboard Folio make it a serious MacBook competitor, with all the Apple M2 power to match. Plenty of third-party keyboard options are also available, if you don’t want Apple’s corresponding kit.
iPad Air (2022): requires a 5G network and a pencil
| Starting cost: | $599 / £569 / AU$929 |
| Storage: 64 GB; Required: 256 GB | $749 / £719 / AU$1,159 |
| Wi-Fi + 5G connectivity | $899 / £869 / AU$1,389 |
| Apple Pencil Gen 2 | $129 / £139 / AU$199 |
| guarantee | $69 / £69 / AU$99 |
| Final cost: | $1,097 / £1,077 / AU$1,687 |
The iPad Air (2022) is the thinnest and lightest, ultra-portable of the bunch, so we think it needs some serious attention. We love this tablet with 5G network connectivity, and if we’re going to connect any iPad to cellular, it’s going to be the iPad Air. Having a network connection on such a thin and light tablet makes it easy to watch shows or even share its connection through a hotspot with your other devices.
Having a network connection might mean you download fewer movies and shows, but the paltry 64GB of storage on the iPad Air is really embarrassing, especially at this price. We hate to put up with such an expensive storage upgrade, and the 4X capacity jump really costs too much. Still, we have to say that iPad Air is better with 256GB of space.
We also like using a pencil with this tablet, and the Apple Pencil 2 works just as well with this as it does with an iPad Pro. Unlike the iPad 10.9, the iPad Air can use the new Apple Pencil and charge it magnetically.
iPad mini (2021): Requires a 5G network and a case
| Starting cost: | $499 / £479 / AU$749 |
| Wi-Fi + 5G connectivity | $649 / £619 / AU$979 |
| Apple smart folio case | $79 / £89 / AU$129 |
| guarantee | $69 / £69 / AU$99 |
| Final cost: | $797 / £777 / AU$1,207 |
Having an iPad mini with a 5G connection would be a great road trip, and it can handle a lot more than just streaming movies. It’s a great device for maps and directions, as well as simple planning and journaling. Just make sure you have nice coverage to protect it, and invest in AppleCare warranty in case anything goes wrong.
Having an iPad mini with a 5G connection would be a great road trip, and it can handle a lot more than just streaming movies. It’s a great device for maps and directions, as well as simple planning and journaling. Just make sure you have nice coverage to protect it, and invest in AppleCare warranty in case anything goes wrong.
iPad 10.2 (2021): Requires a case and AppleCare
| Starting cost: | $329 / £319 / AU$499 |
| Apple smart folio case | $79 / £89 / AU$129 |
| guarantee | $69 / £69 / AU$99 |
| Final cost: | $477 / £477 / AU$727 |
If you opt for last year iPad 10.2 (2021), you will always find a great tablet. We won’t try to sell you expensive storage or a high-end keyboard. Instead, consider a protective case like the Apple Smart Folio Cover. The Apple Cover has built-in magnets that let the iPad know when it’s open and closed.
We also strongly recommend the warranty, especially for this device. You’ll have a lot more fun with your big-screen tablet if you don’t mind breaking it into pieces. Otherwise, the iPad 10.2 is still by far the best deal of the iPad bunch.
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