There are clearly a lot of things to like about Apple‘s latest and greatest iPad Airs, but the absolute best thing might not be the M2 processor or the addition of a 13-inch model after all. For many cost-conscious tablet users, the greatest thing about the 2024 iPad Air edition(s) is probably the existence of a 2022 generation. More specifically, the fact that said 2022 version is still around (at least at certain US retailers), breaking new affordability records practically once every few weeks.
Yes, Apple’s fifth-generation iPad Air is on sale at a lower-than-ever price right now at Best Buy with 256GB storage, and if you hurry, you can even choose from a full color palette. We’re talking space gray, pink, blue, purple, and starlight paint jobs, each and every one of which is currently available for $529.99 instead of a $749.99 list price.
Obviously, that list price has been reduced many times before, but to our knowledge, $200 was the highest discount previously offered by the likes of Best Buy and Amazon on both 64 and 256GB storage configurations of the iPad Air 5.
Incredibly enough, this hot new $220 markdown can be boosted even further if you’re a My Best Buy Plus member. We’re not talking about an earth-shattering additional discount, of course, but saving an extra 30 bucks on an already very reasonably priced tablet with amazing specs and features is definitely nothing to scoff at.
At $499.99, the Wi-Fi-only iPad Air (2022) with 256 gigs of local digital hoarding room simply delivers unrivaled value in today’s otherwise super-crowded and competitive tablet landscape. That’s because the Apple M1 chip inside this (very slowly) aging 10.9-incher is still undoubtedly faster than what many of the best Android tablets available in 2024 offer in the same processing power department.
As highlighted in our comprehensive iPad Air (2022) review back in, well, 2022, the build quality, audio quality, and battery life are also worthy of a lot of praise, which is something that hasn’t radically changed in the two years since then. Yes, the 2024 iPad Airs with 11 and 13-inch screens, as well as Apple M2 power, are obviously better, but they’re also significantly costlier and thus not quite right for bargain hunters.