The Apple iPad Air is back down to its lowest ever price

Save $150: How does taking 25% off an iPad sound? As of Aug. 25, you can do exactly that and grab the 11-inch Apple iPad Air for $449, instead of its $599 MSRP at Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target.

With Labor Day just a week away, there's no denying it — we're in peak back to school season, and the deals are reflecting that.

One of the biggest examples: the 11-inch Apple iPad Air's return to its lowest price ever of $449 at Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target (at the time of writing, you won't be able to grab the deal on the starlight colorway at Walmart). Considering it has an asking price of $599, this is an excellent deal to grab if you've been in the market for a tablet. Student or non-student, we recommend the Air as the best iPad for most people.

Why? For starters, its a prime example of an iPad that's essentially a budget MacBook (especially with the "Windows" feature coming with the iPadOS 26 update coming this fall. The M3 chipset found in this iPad just puts it one generation of chipsets behind what's found in the current generation of MacBooks (and ahead of the chipset Apple is possibly developing in a new line of budget MacBooks). With 128GB of starting storage, you'll also have enough space for notetaking and streaming content, though things could get a little tight for downloading larger multimedia files as you might on a laptop.

The Air also has a huge advantage when it comes to portability. Though it's no longer the thinnest iPad on the market, it still clocks in at just over one pound. Plus, it has 14 hours of battery life, a landscape webcam, and a far better value than the iPad Pro, which we really only recommend for professionals who need even more juice to power them through their work.

If you'd prefer a larger display, the 13-inch Air is also on sale for $150 off.