The iPad Air is already back at its Prime Day price, but should you wait for Black Friday?

iPad Air deals
(Image credit: Future)

iPad Air deals remain some of the most popular offers around this time of year, and November may well hold some record low prices on this middle child Apple tablet. However, we're already seeing the 64GB model at its lowest price yet and we're still a couple of months away from the main event. 

You can pick up the 2022 model for just $499.99 at Amazon right now (was $599.99) for a full $100 off the M1 device. That's excellent value, and a return to a rate we last saw in July's Prime Day iPad deals. Whether the retailer is gearing up for its second wave (Amazon Big Deal Days, running October 10-11) or the age of last year's release is catching up to it we can't say. This is still a great price on a hardy device - one of the best gaming tablets in fact. 

There's a but here. Black Friday is coming, and this $499 sale price has been creeping back onto the shelves regularly throughout the last few months. The iPad Air seems to be fairly comfortable at $500, then, which could speak to further discounts heading our way in November. 

iPad Air (64GB) | $599.99 $499.99 at Amazon
Save $100 -

iPad Air (64GB) | $599.99 $499.99 at Amazon
Save $100 - The iPad Air is looking particularly strong at $100 off right now, with Amazon dropping that $599.99 MSRP all the way down to $499.99. That's a record low price. 

Buy it if:

You need a note-taking device
You want solid gaming performance
You don't need a high refresh rate

Don't buy it if:

❌ You just need an everyday browsing device
❌ You use more demanding workflows

Price Check: Best Buy: $499.99 | Walmart: $559

Should you buy the iPad Air before Black Friday?

With that $499.99 sale price reliably trotting back to the shelves every few weeks, we're sceptical that this is the lowest the iPad Air will go this year. If Amazon really wants to make a splash with its Black Friday iPad deals, it'll drop a brand new record breaking discount over the course of the holiday sales. Crucially, though, we don't expect Apple to be releasing any new iPads in 2023. And that can mean one of two things. 

Either the iPad Air will continue to truck on, steadily dropping further and further in price as its 2022 release date fades into the background, or it will stay close to this $499 position without anything new pushing old stock off the shelves. I'm inclined to predict the latter. These are Apple devices and we can see older models holding their value for a particularly long time. The previous generation iPad Mini stuck close to its MSRP for years at a time after all. Plus, with the 10th generation iPad positioning itself just underneath the Air's sale price (at $449 MSRP) there's not much further for the Air to fall. 

Yes, we could see a few extra iPad deals over Black Friday, but these are going to be token savings. The previous iPad Air 4 only ever dropped to $479 - and this could be where we see the 5th generation land. For the sake of $20, it's well worth jumping on this offer early, unless you pride yourself on grabbing the absolute lowest price. 

More of today's best iPad deals

If you're after more of the latest iPad deals, you'll find all the lowest prices from across the web just below.

Of course, we're also rounding up all the best gaming earbuds and the best gaming phones to take your setup on the road. Or, take a look at the best gaming handhelds for a truly portable experience.

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Tabitha Baker
Managing Editor - Hardware

Managing Editor of Hardware at GamesRadar+, I originally landed in hardware at our sister site TechRadar before moving over to GamesRadar. In between, I've written for Tom’s Guide, Wireframe, The Indie Game Website and That Video Game Blog, covering everything from the PS5 launch to the Apple Pencil. Now, i'm focused on Nintendo Switch, gaming laptops (and the keyboards, headsets and mice that come with them), PS5, and trying to find the perfect projector. 

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