Deals: Not Upgrading to the New iPad Air? Get the 4th Gen Tablet for Record Low of $469.99 ($129 Off)

[MacRumors]

Now that Apple has introduced a new model of the iPad Air, we're starting to track steep discounts on the previous generation tablet. On Amazon, you can get the fourth generation 64GB Wi-Fi iPad Air for $469.99, down from $599.00 thanks to an automatic coupon that will be applied at checkout.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

This is a new all-time low price on the 2020 iPad Air, and it's available in all colors except Sky Blue. Remember that in order to see the sale prices on each version of the iPad Air, you'll need to add the tablet to your cart on Amazon, and then at the checkout screen an automatic coupon will knock the price down to $469.99.

Note: You won't see the deal price until checkout.​

2020 iPad Air (64GB Wi-Fi) for $469.99 ($129 OFF)​

We haven't yet tracked particularly steep discounts on the new iPad Air, so if you're looking to save a good amount of money then the fourth generation model is still a solid option. In terms of the fifth generation 64GB Wi-Fi iPad Air, it's available for $569.99 on Amazon, down from $599.00. That's the best price seen to date.

For even more iPad deals, head to our full Best Deals guide for iPad. In that guide we track the best discounts online for iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro.

Article Link: Deals: Not Upgrading to the New iPad Air? Get the 4th Gen Tablet for Record Low of $469.99 ($129 Off)

 

[progx]

Not a bad deal. I’m happy with my 5th gen Air, but I think for deal hunters it would be a good buy. The A14 should run about as long as the M1, but it might lose a year or two. However, Apple has been supporting devices for a while, so any of the iPads would be a win (expect for the iPad gen 6 or 7).

 

[Leon Ze Professional]

Apple should have kept the green color for the iPad Air 5. So we could all be green with envy!

 

[Return Zero]

I can understand people wanting the form factor for the lowest possible price, but otherwise I think it'd be silly to choose the old model. The new model has literally twice the headroom in terms of performance (CPU performance cores, GPU cores, and RAM). This may not make a huge difference to most people on day 1, but as iPads continue to add software features and possibly even open up to some form of MacOS (I know they say it'll never happen but still it's undeniable the platforms are beginning to merge in many ways), this headroom is going to be crucial.

This is all assuming you keep the device for a while, of course. However even if you upgrade every year or two, the resale/trade-in value of this should make it worth considering still.

Really though, think about any other Apple product offering this much future-proofing (literally twice the performance capability), and it only costing you an extra $100. If this were an iPhone people would be laughing at the value proposition of the old model, yet iOS is even more hampered than iPadOS.

 

[Return Zero]

Not a bad deal. I’m happy with my 5th gen Air, but I think for deal hunters it would be a good buy. The A14 should run about as long as the M1, but it might lose a year or two. However, Apple has been supporting devices for a while, so any of the iPads would be a win (expect for the iPad gen 6 or 7).

I know A14 and M1 have many similarities, but the double RAM alone should give it several more years of viability than the 4th gen if I had to guess.

 

[nfl46]

I’d rather get a 2018 iPad Pro 11 and/or 12.9 for the same price. It’s easy to find great condition ones out there for similar prices.

 

[sracer]

I can understand people wanting the form factor for the lowest possible price, but otherwise I think it'd be silly to choose the old model. The new model has literally twice the headroom in terms of performance (CPU performance cores, GPU cores, and RAM). This may not make a huge difference to most people on day 1, but as iPads continue to add software features and possibly even open up to some form of MacOS (I know they say it'll never happen but still it's undeniable the platforms are beginning to merge in many ways), this headroom is going to be crucial.

This is all assuming you keep the device for a while, of course. However even if you upgrade every year or two, the resale/trade-in value of this should make it worth considering still.

Really though, think about any other Apple product offering this much future-proofing (literally twice the performance capability), and it only costing you an extra $100. If this were an iPhone people would be laughing at the value proposition of the old model, yet iOS is even more hampered than iPadOS.

There is no such thing as "future-proofing".

I have never found it financially wise to make purchase decisions based on the possibilities of the future. In this case, the idea that some form of MacOS will be available for an iPad is merely a fantasy at this moment. Should that actually happen, there is no guarantee that such a mythical MacOS system would run on an Air 5.

For people who simply want to use the device (rather than run benchmarks to compare performance numbers), the Air 4 will easily handle iPadOS for the effective life of the device. This is a great deal, especially during these days of supply chain issues and other scarcities.

 

[Deguello]

I can understand people wanting the form factor for the lowest possible price, but otherwise I think it'd be silly to choose the old model. The new model has literally twice the headroom in terms of performance (CPU performance cores, GPU cores, and RAM). This may not make a huge difference to most people on day 1, but as iPads continue to add software features and possibly even open up to some form of MacOS (I know they say it'll never happen but still it's undeniable the platforms are beginning to merge in many ways), this headroom is going to be crucial.

This is all assuming you keep the device for a while, of course. However even if you upgrade every year or two, the resale/trade-in value of this should make it worth considering still.

Really though, think about any other Apple product offering this much future-proofing (literally twice the performance capability), and it only costing you an extra $100. If this were an iPhone people would be laughing at the value proposition of the old model, yet iOS is even more hampered than iPadOS.

For people who use an iPad to browse the web, read email, maybe use Amazon or social media, or play a few games, performance headroom is unlikely to be a factor. I could be wrong, but I suspect that covers the overwhelming majority of users.

Basically, imo, talking about performance headroom on an iPad is either preaching to the choir — who aren’t seriously considering this as a primary device anyway — or talking to people for whom it’s not an issue.

 

[majkom]

great deal, only reason buying air 5 now (except great blue color) is possibility, that multiwindows ipad os will be supported only for m1 ipads... but, it is just a rumor...

 

[now i see it]

Not a fan of the idea of “future proofing” by buying more than you need. Losing proposition.
In fact I go the other way - stay at least 2 generations behind the current model.

 

[Phil77354]

Terrific opportunity particularly for someone who would otherwise buy a 'standard' iPad 8th or 9th generation.

Compared to those entry-level iPads, the Air 4 has a better chip (A14 vs A13), USB-C, can use 2nd gen pencil, better video recording, Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 (if you're thinking 'future proofing'), and other differences.

If 64 GB is sufficient then I think this is a great buy.

 

[BeatCrazy]

Terrific opportunity particularly for someone who would otherwise buy a 'standard' iPad 8th or 9th generation.

Compared to those entry-level iPads, the Air 4 has a better chip (A14 vs A13), USB-C, can use 2nd gen pencil, better video recording, Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 (if you're thinking 'future proofing'), and other differences.

If 64 GB is sufficient then I think this is a great buy.

Exactly what I was thinking. A couple of months ago, I was in the market for a base-model 9th gen for my son. There were (are?) none to be found at $329! I would have probably considered the Air at only $130 more.

Good deal.

 

[coachgq]

There is no such thing as "future-proofing".

I have never found it financially wise to make purchase decisions based on the possibilities of the future. In this case, the idea that some form of MacOS will be available for an iPad is merely a fantasy at this moment. Should that actually happen, there is no guarantee that such a mythical MacOS system would run on an Air 5.

For people who simply want to use the device (rather than run benchmarks to compare performance numbers), the Air 4 will easily handle iPadOS for the effective life of the device. This is a great deal, especially during these days of supply chain issues and other scarcities.

great points. I know I find myself in that conversation at times. "Future proof or not" when I'm looking 3-5 years down the road. In 3 years, no matter what, I'm going to want the new device, not to use my device that feels old.

 

[MistrSynistr]

Only get the Air 5 if you want to FLEX.


Get it?

 

[Mr. Dee]

$329 would have been a better price reduction. But who am I kidding.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

I think that the M1 is worth the money.

Much faster, double the RAM, and still great bang-for-the-buck.

I'd still go with the Pro's, refurb or otherwise, because I LOVE FaceID, ProMotion, and the higher brightness.

But the M1 iPads have legs, so you can keep them and amortize their cost over a longer period given the snail's pace that iPadOS development moves along.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

Not a fan of the idea of “future proofing” by buying more than you need. Losing proposition.
In fact I go the other way - stay at least 2 generations behind the current model.

I think that when it comes to iPads, it's OK to do that (future-proof).

My iPad 1 is a paperweight.

The Macs I bought around the same period were just decommissioned this year, replaced by a refurb M1 MBA and an M1 iPad Pro.

The reason the old Macs lasted that long was hardware (CPU & RAM specifically), which the iPads only now have parity with (entry-level) Macs.

For home use, you can now use and iPad OR a Mac that'll last over 5 years easy and should be able to get OS updates for that long or more.

Unless Apple is sneaky and obsoletes them early.

 

[JMStearnsX2]

Told my wife about this and she bought the blue one.

 

[Return Zero]

There is no such thing as "future-proofing".

I have never found it financially wise to make purchase decisions based on the possibilities of the future. In this case, the idea that some form of MacOS will be available for an iPad is merely a fantasy at this moment. Should that actually happen, there is no guarantee that such a mythical MacOS system would run on an Air 5.

For people who simply want to use the device (rather than run benchmarks to compare performance numbers), the Air 4 will easily handle iPadOS for the effective life of the device. This is a great deal, especially during these days of supply chain issues and other scarcities.

OK, future-proofing is an awful term that makes no literal sense, I give you that. Also I know MacOS is a bad example of future use cases, but my point remains. It's easy to imagine some future programs or features that will have M1 as a minimum requirement. IMO "Effective life of the device" is as nonsensical as "future proofing". Some people keep their devices for many years, especially iPads and Macs. (Heck, I know multiple people who still use an iPad 2). Look at the fact that several features of iPadOS 15 require an A12 chip or newer. If you plan on keeping the iPad for more than a few years, I wouldn't count on the A14 with half the memory being on the same level of future support as the M1. As I said before, it just strikes me that a performance gain this large on any other device would be considered a no-brainer, but this thing gets blasted because "iPadOS is such a huge bottleneck". I'm not saying the old one is a bad product or that nobody should buy it, just that the new one seems a much better value proposition. Higher resale value and exclusive software features ARE essentially guaranteed, even if MacOS itself on iPad is a pipe dream.

 

[Return Zero]

For people who use an iPad to browse the web, read email, maybe use Amazon or social media, or play a few games, performance headroom is unlikely to be a factor. I could be wrong, but I suspect that covers the overwhelming majority of users.

Basically, imo, talking about performance headroom on an iPad is either preaching to the choir — who aren’t seriously considering this as a primary device anyway — or talking to people for whom it’s not an issue.

Not a fan of the idea of “future proofing” by buying more than you need. Losing proposition.
In fact I go the other way - stay at least 2 generations behind the current model.

If all you're going to do is super casual stuff, just get the base iPad or something 2 generations old, I absolutely agree that would be a better value! Like others have said, even a used/refurb 11" iPad Pro will have a fantastically better feature set for the money, if performance headroom isn't an issue. I'm strictly comparing this iPad Air 4th/5th gen value proposition. Also noting that trade-in or resale value can be a huge factor that people tend to forget about. It's not uncommon for a single generation newer to nab you an additional $70-$90 (don't forget to discount that cashflow back a couple years maybe, lol).

 

[teh_hunterer]

I can understand people wanting the form factor for the lowest possible price, but otherwise I think it'd be silly to choose the old model. The new model has literally twice the headroom in terms of performance (CPU performance cores, GPU cores, and RAM). This may not make a huge difference to most people on day 1, but as iPads continue to add software features and possibly even open up to some form of MacOS (I know they say it'll never happen but still it's undeniable the platforms are beginning to merge in many ways), this headroom is going to be crucial.

This is all assuming you keep the device for a while, of course. However even if you upgrade every year or two, the resale/trade-in value of this should make it worth considering still.

Really though, think about any other Apple product offering this much future-proofing (literally twice the performance capability), and it only costing you an extra $100. If this were an iPhone people would be laughing at the value proposition of the old model, yet iOS is even more hampered than iPadOS.

I agree, but I think it's probably the difference in RAM (4GB vs 8GB if I remember correctly) is going to be the ultimate decider for long term support and performance.

 

[svish]

The new Air has double the RAM but still the Air 4 at $470 is a good buy. Should be supported for many years.