Skip to main content

Apple has quietly killed its cheapest iPad

Three 2021 iPads are stacked on a table.
Adam Doud/Digital Trends / Digital Trends

The iPad lineup has received a price bump after Apple quietly killed its cheapest iPad model. Apple’s 9th-generation iPad used to cost $329, but has been discontinued. At the same time, the company has reduced the 10th-gen iPad’s starting price by $100, which means it’s now priced at $349. As a result, getting the cheapest iPad means you’ll now spend $20 more than before.

The 9th-gen Apple iPad was launched in 2021 with the A13 chipset and Apple’s Center Stage featur,e but retained the same old design with the already-old Lightning port and home button. With Apple moving to a USB-C port on all devices to comply with EU laws, it was inevitable that Apple would discontinue the 9th-gen iPad this year. The iPhone SE remains the only Apple product with a home button and a Lightning port that’s still available in the company’s lineup.

The 10th-gen iPad replaces the 9th-gen iPad as the entry point into Apple’s tablets. It was always weird for the company to continue selling the older model when it announced the 2022 10th-gen iPad with an all-new design, more colors, a better processor, and a USB-C port. At $449, it was an expensive deal and an awkward price between the $599 iPad Air and the $329 iPad 9th gen. However, with a $100 price cut, it’s finally got to the “right” price for a base iPad.

Someone holding the yellow iPad (2022) in front of trees with orange, yellow leaves.
Joe Maring / Digital Trends

While this means the cheapest iPad is now $20 more expensive than before, the $349 price tag for the 10th-gen iPad is pretty incredible.

As a refresher, the 10th gen iPad features a 10.9-inch LCD panel, which is great for media consumption, browsing, and other basic tasks. You can choose from 64GB and 256GB storage variants on both Wi-Fi and Cellular models. The tablet is powered by the now-old but, still capable A14 Bionic chipset. There’s also a 12MP camera for your scanning and photo needs, as well as landscape stereo speakers.

While this is an overall positive change for the iPad family, it’s still worth pouring one out for the recently deceased 9th-gen iPad. It was the go-to cheap iPad choice for many years and the top recommendation for cheap tablets in general. We won’t complain about the 10th-gen iPad taking its spot, but we also won’t forget the role the 9th -gen model played for so many years.

So long, 9th-gen iPad. May you rest easy.

Editors' Recommendations

Prakhar Khanna
Prakhar writes news, reviews and features for Digital Trends. He is an independent tech journalist who has been a part of the…
No, we weren’t expecting this with the revamped iPad Pro
The "iPad Pro" logo on the back of the iPad Pro (2022).

The refreshed iPad Pro that’s expected to be unveiled during a special online event on May 7 could come with Apple’s M4 chip, prominent Apple tipster Mark Gurman claimed in the latest edition of his tech-focused Power On newsletter, which he shared on Sunday.

The news comes as a big surprise as everyone had been expecting a routine upgrade to Apple’s current silicon, the M3, from the existing iPad Pro's M2 chip.

Read more
Apple is about to do the unthinkable to its iPads
A person holding the iPad Air 4.

Earlier today, Apple announced that new iPads are coming this May. In my eyes, this seems to be “The Chosen One” generation. We’re likely getting an OLED display, a better keyboard (hopefully), and a chip ready to chomp the AI dinner. This gadget shall finally fill the techno-digital void in my life. At last.

Or maybe I am just trying to blindly convince myself to splurge over a thousand dollars for a machine that is “still not a Mac” and “can never be a fully fleshed out workstation.” But hey, people are spending $3,500 on a headset that gives them a headache and $700 for an AI thingamajig that can’t quite figure out what it really wants to do.

Read more
We finally know when Apple will announce its 2024 iPads
Official artwork for Apple event in May 2024.

(more…)

Read more