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Asking yourself, "which Apple iPad should I buy?" You've come to the right video where Paul breaks down the best iPad to buy in 2025. Whether you want to know which is the best iPad for gaming, entertainment, editing, studying, taking notes, creativity, or work, we’ve ranked the top options to help you find your perfect match. From the budget-friendly iPad 10th Gen, the most powerful iPad Pro M4, the ultra-portable iPad Mini 7 or the excellent hybrid iPad Air, here’s everything you need to know to choose the right iPad for you.
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Which iPad should you buy in 2025
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In this video, I've got the four best iPads to help you figure out which one is worth your money
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based on what you're looking for out of an Apple tablet. All are linked below with the latest deals
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to make things easy, but without further ado, here's your guide to the best iPads that you can buy today
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The iPad Air isn't just our pick for best iPad of 2025, it's also currently our number one pick
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for best overall tablet to buy for most people. Our team finds the iPad Air to strike a great balance
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between performance and value, offering a great middle ground between the standard iPad and the
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iPad Pro. The Air starts at $599 for the 11-inch model or $799 for the 13-inch model, which is $400
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to $500 cheaper than the iPad Pro, so no chump change. And with its M2 chip, the iPad Air 2024
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is the second most powerful iPad in the lineup and is on par with the 2022 iPad Pro performance-wise
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Compared to Apple's iPads with the A17 or older chips, the Air can offer that extra speed for multitasking or graphically intense games and apps
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Weighing just 1.02 pounds for the 11-inch model and 1.36 pounds for the 13-inch, the iPad Air is extremely portable
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Maybe not quite as much as the iPad Mini, but more on that later in this video
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Now, while the iPad Air doesn't have an OLED display as found on the Pro models, the liquid retina panel is still bright and punchy
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Plus, with support for the Magic Keyboard and the Apple Pencil Pro, the iPad Air is an excellent choice for note-taking and productivity
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Those accessories do cost extra, so I'll link deals for everything below. Interestingly, the iPad Air still acts Face ID for fast login, so you've just got the fingerprint scanner at the top
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But overall, the iPad Air remains the best iPad to buy for most people, offering that balance of performance, features, and value
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The basic 10th gen iPad is one that we also highly recommend. It's almost always on sale, somewhere around $300 or less, and I feel like it's a really nice upgrade
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especially if you're hanging onto an older iPad with that physical button. It also has slim bezels, and it's got a 10.9-inch display compared to the 10.2-inch screen on the 9th Gen predecessor
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Another welcome upgrade is it switched to USB-C, so no more lightning or chunky bezels
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which makes this feel like a really modern tablet with a very approachable price While the A14 chip won blow you away and it may feel slower compared to other iPads on this list not to mention it doesn support any Apple Intelligence features which is a bit of a bummer
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It's still pretty powerful for streaming apps and games. It also has support for the new Apple Pencil USB-C
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So if you want an affordable tablet for note-taking or drawing, this can be an excellent choice
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Sadly though, it doesn't support the more advanced Apple Pencil 2 or Pencil Pro
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which means you don't have features like gestures, pressure sensitivity, and wireless charging
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But how does the iPad 10th gen compare to the iPad Air? It looks similar enough to the Air, though it's just a smidge heavier
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And in our test, battery life is also impressive, lasting about 30 minutes less than the Air at 11 hours
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But the base iPad also has a very vibrant Liquid Retina display, though it's thicker bezels and it's slightly smaller screen than the iPad Air
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It also lacks the premium anti-reflective coating that we get on the Air
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That said, Apple's most affordable iPad is finally worth buying again and is an excellent choice if you're on a tighter budget
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Just keep in mind some of those sacrifices that you might be giving up. And as a heads up, it also is rumored
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that there might be a refresh model coming out sometime in 2025. But for now, if you need a new iPad at the lowest price
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you're not gonna be disappointed. The 2024 iPad Pro continues to be
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the most powerful tablet that you can buy, period. It's actually Apple's first device
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to showcase the new M4 processor, which outperforms every other tablet that we've tested
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as well as many other laptops too, believe it or not. But can the iPad Pro really replace your laptop
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While iPadOS still leaves a lot to be desired, the M4 processor offers the absolute best performance
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they can get in a tablet and can easily handle video editing, multitasking
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and gaming on Apple's most impressive tablet display to date. So if that's something you're after
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the iPad Pro M4 is the way to go. Now, I mentioned its display already
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The 2024 iPad Pro sports this beautiful OLED display with incredible inky blacks, vivid color, and extreme brightness, reaching to an eye-searing
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1510 nits for HDR content based on our testing. It's great whether you're editing photos
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streaming movies, or just browsing. If you plan on using your tablet outdoors a lot
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you might want to consider upgrading to the Pro-exclusive Nano Texture Glass for another
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which does reduce glare for that configuration But if you want that upgrade you also going to need to opt for the higher 1 or 2 terabyte models which is already super pricey For reference the 11 model starts at while the 13 model that we have here
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starts at $1,299. Interestingly, while once the iPad Air's biggest selling feature, the iPad Pro
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is actually now Apple's lightest and thinnest model. And the difference is even more noticeable
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in the 13-inch models, where the iPad Pro is actually 40 grams lighter compared to the 13-inch
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iPad Air and a full millimeter thinner. In terms of battery life, the iPad Pro also still lasts the
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longest at about 12 and a half hours for the 11-inch and just over 13 hours for the 13-inch model
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But of course, to really use your iPad Pro as a laptop replacement, you'll probably also want to
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get the Magic Keyboard, which is another $299 or $349 for the 11 or 13-inch models, respectively
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Now, as you can already tell before other upgrades like storage and display, it's not hard to imagine
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spending over $1,500 on this tablet. That said, if you don't need all the speed or display quality
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upgrades, you're probably better off with the iPad Air, which has that lower entry price
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and it's more than enough performance for most people. But if you want the absolute best tablet
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that Apple has to offer, then the 2024 iPad Pro M4 is for you. Finally, we've got Apple's smallest
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most portable, and cutest iPad on the list, the 2024 iPad Mini 7 with its compact 8.3-inch
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liquid retina display. At just 0.65 pounds, 293 grams, it's Apple's lightest tablet ever and is
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something that you can pretty much take or use anywhere. It's a great one-handed device giving
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you access to iPadOS on a significantly smaller screen, yet it's still very usable. And if you're
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big into reading, whether it's news, books, or even comics, its vibrant display and excellent
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portability gives Kindles and other dedicated e-readers a run for their money. Now, despite its
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size, this tiny slate doesn't skimp on performance either. In our testing, the A17 Pro chip also
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delivers speeds that are only slightly behind the more powerful and more expensive iPad Air with the
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M2 chip. From browsing the web, editing photos, and even playing games, it can handle a lot for
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its size. Better yet, with iPadOS 18 installed, you can take full advantage of powerful Apple
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intelligence features like writing and summarization tools Obviously sometimes a smaller display they might feel a bit cramped at times and it not the best choice if you like having apps open side by side But aside from that the only real downside that I found is that it doesn support the Apple Pencil 2 which myself and a lot of other people already own
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and instead you'll need to opt for the newer and more expensive Apple Pencil Pro or the Apple Pencil
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USB-C. Starting at $499, the iPad Mini 7 is so easy to recommend, and its combination of portability
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and power makes it the ultimate best small-sized tablet that you can buy right now. Whether you
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want something easy for media consumption or easy enough to always just carry around
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the mini delivers performance in a very small package and you won't be disappointed with this
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Now, if you've watched the video up to this point and you're still on the fence about which iPad is
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right for you, here are a few things that you can consider. Start by thinking about how you'll
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primarily be using your iPad. Are you mostly using this for light entertainment like reading or
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watching videos, the base iPad is probably all you need, but if you want something a little bit
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lighter, thinner, and more future-proof, then the extra $250 that you get with the iPad Air
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might be worth the upgrade. Similarly, the iPad Air with the M2 has the extra performance to run
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your games and apps smoother, but the iPad Pro M4 takes things to the next level, all in a
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shockingly thinner and lighter body, but with a much higher starting price point. On the other hand
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If portability is the most important thing to you and you want something to bridge the gap between your phone and a full-size tablet
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then there's no beating the iPad Mini. It's such a great size for taking on the go. No matter which iPad you go with, you'll want to make sure that you pick one with the right amount of storage for your needs
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because there's no upgrading it later. Apps, games, and videos can eat through your storage really quickly
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and the base iPad's 64GB may not be enough for everyone. And then finally, do you need cellular connectivity
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All these iPads have eSIM models for an upcharge that could be worth it if you want internet on the go without needing to rely on Wi-Fi or your phone's hotspot
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So which of these iPads do you think you'll get in 2025? The ridiculously powered iPad Pro, the ultra-portable iPad Mini, the budget iPad, or the do-it-all iPad Air
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Let me know in the comments and don't forget to check out our full reviews for every tablet linked below along with the best deals
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Thanks for watching and until the next one, I'll catch you later
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