If you want to get a deal on Apple hardware, you’re often forced to look for used or refurbished models. But there’s one exception: when new stuff comes out. That’s the time you can find the older models, brand new, for huge discounts. Take this fifth-gen iPad Air at Walmart: It’s nearly identical to the new 11-inch version aside from the CPU, and it’s $200 off MSRP.
While I’m a ride-or-die fan of Windows on my PCs and Android on my phones, I have to begrudgingly admit that Apple rules the roost when it comes to tablets. That’s why there’s a 4th-gen iPad Air on my desk right now. Don’t tell any of my colleagues over at Macworld, they’ll never let me hear the end of it.
The one Walmart has on sale gets a much speedier M1 processor, the same one that went into its first-gen Arm MacBooks, though to be honest you won’t even need that power unless you’re running the tablet version of Photoshop (which is an option). The fingerprint reader for login is a nice touch, but personally I’m just glad it uses a USB-C cable so I don’t have to buy new Lightning chargers.
Walmart is selling the 64GB black, blue, pink, and purple models for $399, an impressive 33 percent off the original $600 retail price. This discount isn’t being extended to the more spacious 256GB variant, or the models with a 5G mobile connection.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he's the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop "battlestation" in his off hours. Michael's previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he's covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he's always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.