The best October Prime Day deals on iPads, according to Mashables tech experts

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Fall has just begun, but the holiday shopping season is already heating up. No longer do things kick off on Black Friday: Amazon's annual Prime Big Deal Days on Oct. 6 and 7 is the start of end-of-year deals.

October Prime Day is officially here, and we're looking for the best price drops across top brands, especially Apple. Early deals were pretty hit-or-miss with baseline models seeing modest $20 to $30 markdowns. But now that we've arrived at the main event, there are actually some deals worth shopping.

We've rounded up the best October Prime Day iPad deals we could find. While none of the iPads here have dropped to new all-time lows, we're happy to take any savings, given that Apple raised iPad prices earlier this year. But if you want to see where current iPad prices fall, we've compiled the price history on current models.

Save up to $50 on the regular iPad

The standard iPad with the A16 chip is our favorite Apple tablet for budget shoppers. "Even though its tech is basic compared to the advanced iPad Air and Pro," writes Mashable's Samantha Mangino, "it's great for someone who wants a portable screen for streaming, playing games, and reading." It's rated for up to six hours of battery life.

The base iPad with 128GB of storage is now $50 off with or without cellular connectivity. That brings it down to $399, its lowest price since Amazon increased it to $449 earlier this year.

Take up to $100 off the iPad mini

If you wish e-readers were more powerful, more versatile, and equipped with way more storage, get Apple's smallest iPad instead. The iPad mini's compact size and anti-reflective display make it our favorite tablet for reading.

We hoped the iPad Mini would drop $70 during Prime Big Deal Days, but the deal is even sweeter. Right now, you can grab it for $499, a full 100 off its $599 list price.

Skip the pro pricing on Apple's newest M4 power tablet with $100 off

In his 4.5-star review, Mashable’s Timothy Beck Werth called the M4 iPad Air "a tablet that thinks it's an AI laptop," making it a great pick for students, artists, and creators. It has the same super-light aluminum body and bright Liquid Retina screen as last year's model.

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Where it wins is speed: the new M4 processor and upgraded smart chip make AI tools like fast voice-note transcription and photo editing happen almost instantly. While Timothy pointed out that it only offers "iterative upgrades over last year's model" and can feel "overpowered for casual users", that is exactly why this price drop makes sense.

Paying full retail for an incremental spec bump can be a hard sell, but catching it on sale makes the extra speed, 256GB of storage, and creator-grade power completely worth the tag. Luckily, it's now $100 off, bringing it down to $649.

Save $200 on iPad Pros

If you're a professional creative in the market for an iPad, consider buying an iPad Pro. Leading up to the sale, we saw discounts of up to $200 on last year's M4 model rather than the freshest M5 version. You can score an 11-inch iPad Pro with 2TB of storage and a nano-texture display. That brings the iPad Pro down to $1,899, which is still a steep price. If you want a Pro at a lower price (albeit with a smaller discount), go for the 11-inch iPad Pro with M5 chip and 256GB of storage, which is on sale for $60 off.

More iPad Pro deals

• Apple iPad Pro 11-inch (M5, WiFi, 256GB) — $1,139 $1,199 (save $60)

• Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M5, WiFi, 256GB) — $1,399.99 $1,499 (save $99.01)

• Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M5, WiFi, 512GB) — $1,549.99 $1,699 (save $149.01)

• Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M5, WiFi, 512GB Cellular) — $1,799 $1,899 (save $100)

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