Looking for an iPad Pro for someone on your holiday list this year? We looked at all of the early Black Friday iPad deals, and we also looked for any upcoming Apple Black Friday deals among all of the Black Friday deals we’re already seeing in 2021. Should you wait and buy an iPad Pro on Black Friday or buy an iPad Pro now? We break it down.
As the last major shopping event of the year, Black Friday is absolutely the best time to buy electronics in 2021. Black Friday is even better than Cyber Monday because that’s when you usually see the best sales, but the deals you see on Black Friday might only be marginally better than the early deals available right now. Last year, we saw small discounts of up to $150 on the iPad Pro. For Black Friday 2021, we’re expecting to see around the same. However, you can already get around $100 off if you take advantage of early deals, giving you the best chance to secure your new tablet in time for the holidays. With shipping delays and stock shortages, buying early is your best chance to secure an iPad Pro this year.
The latest iPad Pro (2021 model) typically retails for a starting price of $799 for the 11-inch version (Wi-Fi only). If you want the Wi-Fi only 12.9-inch version, the retail price raises dramatically to $1,099. You can also opt for cellular connectivity in addition to Wi-Fi, as well as additional storage options. The most advanced iPad Pro costs $2,399 (with 2 TB of storage, Wi-Fi, and cellular), so the price can get pretty high.
We’re seeing some early deals on iPad Pro models at Walmart and Amazon in particular, with the 11-inch 128 GB Wi-Fi version selling for $50 off the retail price , and the 12.9-inch 128 GB Wi-Fi version selling for $100 off of the retail price .
Given there are several recent iPad Pro models, choosing an older model is also a viable option. If you opt for an older iPad Pro instead of the 2021 model, you can find an even better price, but many of the best deals are already out of stock. For instance, Walmart was selling the 2018 iPad Pro 64 GB for $559, but it’s already sold out. This is one of the reasons to buy early, as the best deals go out of stock quickly.
The Apple iPad Pro 2021 earned our Editor’s Choice Award, and we credited the 11-inch model with the title of the best iPad for 2021. Our reviewer praised the iPad Pro’s performance and design, saying the “iPad Pro takes the previous-generation iPad, and gives it meaningful updates that will make what was already the best tablet even better.”
The latest iPad Pro has Apple’s M1 chip for extreme performance, as well as 5G cellular connectivity (if you opt for cellular). The display is phenomenal, while the center stage feature allows you to go around the room while the camera pans to automatically keep you in the shot during a video call. If you’re someone who edits videos, edits photos, creates music, or creates media content, the iPad Pro is an ideal option.
All generations of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro still support updates. Given it was just released in 2020, the previous model of the iPad Pro (the 4th Gen version) is still a decent option as a productivity tablet. At many retailers, you can find a deal on a refurbished iPad Pro 4th Gen, and you can likely pick one up for around $650. Older models will be even cheaper, but we don’t really recommend those because most people are better off with a newer iPad Air.
Apple has just launched its latest iPad mini with a notable set of upgrades, including an OLED screen, improved speakers, and a more resilient build. It also gets a new chip, and the whole package costs $200 more than its predecessor. But if you look closely at Apple’s online store, you’ll realize that $699 isn’t enough to get you the most powerful version of the A20 Pro chip inside this tablet. In fact, even if you pay $800 for the 256GB model, you still won’t get the beefiest variant. Only when you jump to the 512GB trim, which costs an absurd $999, do you get the most powerful flavor of the A20 Pro.
The $999 model gets more than extra storage
Ahead of its October 28 “Pro and Tell” event, Apple has refreshed the iPad mini with an OLED display (the first for the mini line), the company’s latest in-house, Pro-grade chipset, and something else that made me read twice: an Acoustic Display design.
The iPad mini (8th generation) starts at $699 for Wi-Fi and $849 for cellular variants. Pre-orders start October 28, 2026, and general sales begin November 6, 2026.
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