The Best iPad for Most People Is $120 Off for Prime Day

Credit: Product image courtesy of Apple

Prime Day 2025 is here from Tuesday, July 8 to Friday, July 11, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools. 

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Browse our editors’ picks for a curated list of our favorite sales on laptops, fitness tech, appliances, and more. 

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New to Prime Day? We have a primer on everything you need to know. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change.

The iPad Air is the middle-child of the iPad lineup, and the perfect iPad for most users. The regular iPad is great for kids and basic use, and the iPad Pro is, honestly, overkill with its tandem-OLED screen and the $1,000 price tag. The iPad Air sits sweetly in the middle, offering everything you want in an iPad for a better price than the Pro. Speaking of price, the M3 iPad Air is currently on sale for Prime Day at its lowest price yet since its release back in March.

You can get the 128GB base iPad Air for $479.99 for Prime Day. (This price only applies for Amazon Prime members, as the regular price is $499). This is the lowest price I've seen for the M3 iPad Air, as it’s usually around $499.

The M3 iPad Air is the tablet to get

If you’re on the lookout for a new iPad as a creator, student, or a professional, the iPad Air should be on the top of your list. While Apple reserves its top of the line specs like the M4 processor, 12GB of RAM, OLED display, and 120Hz refresh rate for the iPad Pro, that tablet also starts at $999 (though for Prime Day, it’s down to $899). The iPad Air costs slightly more than half that, and comes quite close.

Back when it came out, Lifehacker tech editor Jake Peterson recommended that you skip the M3 iPad Air and get the M2 iPad Air instead. There are minor differences between the two models, and the M2 model was available at a lower price. This Prime Day price, however, makes the newest iPad Air quite reasonable—especially now that iPadOS 26 is coming in fall, with macOS-like multi-window support. The M3 chip will be able to take full advantage of the new multitasking framework, so if you have any interest in treating your iPad like a Mac, this is the iPad to get.

With 8GB RAM, the tablet also supports Apple Intelligence and related AI features. It comes with an 11-inch display, and support for Touch ID. PCMag says that “despite this low-key upgrade, the iPad Air remains the best choice for students and creators who need a powerful tablet at a decent price, which is enough to earn the iPad Air our Editors' Choice award."

iPad mini gets a deep discount too

If you want more space, the 11-inch iPad Air with 256GB is on sale for $579 (down from $699). And if you’re looking for a larger size, the 13-inch iPad Air is also discounted to $679 (down from $799).

Interestingly, Prime Day also marks the first deep discount for the latest iPad mini with the A17 Pro chip. The new iPad mini is fast, supports Apple Intelligence, and even the new multi-window feature in iPadOS 26. You can get it for just $379 instead of the usual $499—a $120 discount.

Looking for something else? Retailers like Walmart, Best Buy, and Home Depot have Prime Day competition sales that are especially useful if you don’t have Amazon Prime.

Walmart’s Prime Day competition sale begins at midnight on July 8 and will include deals up to 50% off. It’s an especially good option if you have Walmart+. 

Best Buy’s Prime Day competition sale, “Black Friday in July,” runs through Sunday, July 13 and has some of the best tech sales online. It’s an especially good option if you’re a My Best Buy “Plus” or “Total” member.

Home Depot extended its 4th of July sale through at least July 9, competing with some amazing deals of its own. It’s an especially good option if you’re looking for power tools, appliances, or outdoor equipment.