The Best iPad to Buy (and a Few to Avoid)

There are tons of iPads on the market. Knowing which model you own is important if you’re considering selling the iPad or if you're looking for accessories that are compatible with your specific device. Further complicating the matter of identifying your iPad model is that—unlike with the iPhone—Apple doesn't name its iPads sequentially

Nonetheless, finding your iPad model is simple. Here’s how to do it, in two steps:

1. Look at the back of your iPad. Etched on the back cover, near where it says "Designed by Apple in California," you should see a model number starting with the letter A.
2. Head to this website from Apple. Look for your corresponding model number, and that's it! You found your iPad model. (Pro tip: Use your browser's "Find in Page" function to type in your model number and find it quickly.)

For accessories, retailers usually indicate which iPad model(s) a given case, folio, or keyboard cover is designed to work with. Sometimes, product descriptions will mention compatibility with a specific generation or processor; here’s the information you need to help decode that information and match it with your iPad:

• iPad: A16, 2025 (11th generation)
• iPad Mini: A17 Pro, 2024 (seventh generation)
• iPad Air 11-inch: M4, 2026 (eighth generation)
• iPad Air 13-inch: M4, 2026 (third generation)
• iPad Pro 11-inch: M5, 2025 (sixth generation)
• iPad Pro 13-inch: M5, 2025 (eighth generation)

Yes, though it depends on the specific iPad model you have in mind. You’ll want to consider the price, how recently Apple updated the device, and any forthcoming refreshes to expect.

The company introduced a significant (and highly uncommon for the brand) price increase on June 25 that affected every model in both the MacBook and iPad lines. Apple blamed the price hikes on memory and storage shortages resulting from extremely high demand for AI data centers.

Every iPad model now costs between $100 and $200 more than before. Here's the price impact on every device in the current lineup:

• iPad: $449 (up from $349)
• iPad Mini: $599 (up from $499)
• iPad Air 11-inch: $749 (up from $599)
• iPad Air 13-inch: $949 (up from $749)
• iPad Pro 11-inch: $1,199 (up from $999)
• iPad Pro 13-inch: $1,499 (up from $1,299)

iPad Air received the most recent update of all iPads—in March of 2026 with its M4 chip. In 2025, Apple refreshed both the base iPad and the iPad Pro. Most people should buy one of those, and they're perfectly great options. There are reports of a forthcoming update to the base iPad model, likely to launch this fall. It would include the A18 chip for Apple Intelligence features.

iPad Pro got an update in October 2025 to the M5 chip. It may get an update to the M6 chip this fall, but some reports have indicated the M6 may get delayed until 2027, which would also delay the iPad Pro.

iPad Mini, the least recently updated, was last refreshed in late 2024. Some reports predict an iPad Mini update is coming later this year, which could mean a meaningful upgrade to an OLED display.

Apple announced the forthcoming iPadOS 27 at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. The public beta for iPadOS 27 is expected in July, with an official release coming this fall.

Much of the focus of the operating system seems to be on Siri. iPadOS 27 will introduce a dedicated Siri AI app that uses the world knowledge and context of Google Gemini. The update also improves integration with apps including Camera, Mail, Photos, Messages, Calendar, and more. The most interesting of its AI features is Shortcuts, which will let you create an automated task using natural language that can trigger actions across multiple apps.

iPadOS 27 will also refine the highly controversial Liquid Glass redesign from last year's iPadOS 26, adding a slider in Settings that allows you to change the opacity. Other notable changes in this year's upcoming software update include faster, more efficient performance, user-made Custom Extensions that you can create through natural language, custom equalizer (EQ) settings with AirPods, dramatically extended parental controls, and much more. These iPads are compatible with iPadOS 27:

• iPad: Ninth generation and later
• iPad Mini: Sixth generation
• iPad Air: (11-inch, fourth generation, M2, M3, M4)
• iPad Pro: (11-inch second gen and later, 12.9-inch fourth gen and later, M4 and later)

The current version of iPadOS is iPadOS 26, which officially arrived in September 2025 and brought a whole new multitasking experience with windowed apps. Just as you can on a MacBook, you can now resize apps on your iPad and have multiple floating windows; such capabilities bring the iPad user experience closer to that of a desktop than ever before. Apple even brought over the menu bar from macOS, and you can pull down the bar from the top of any app. Importantly, background tasks, like rendering in a video app, work well. This allows you to start an export, leave the app, and it'll still do the job while you scroll through Instagram.

These are the iPads compatible with iPadOS 26:

• iPad: Eighth generation and later, including A16
• iPad Mini: Fifth generation and later, including A17 Pro
• iPad Air: Third generation and later, including M2, M3, and M4
• iPad Pro 11-inch: First generation and later
• iPad Pro 12.9-inch: Third generation and later
• iPad Pro: M4 and M5

The iPad Mini 1 through 6 and iPad 1 through 10 either have low-resolution, pixelated screens or are just too old. Forget buying a 2014 iPad Air 1 or a 2015 Air 2, as those are simply too long in the tooth. In fact, I would avoid purchasing a device that came out before 2020.

There’s a chance an older iPad could perform decently, but unless someone is giving you one for free, you’re better off hunting for a newer model at a reduced price. Many of the older iPads no longer receive software updates, and they'll seem quite slow compared to your phone and your computer.

If you are price-conscious, peruse our guides to the Best Tablets and Best Android Tablets for ideas. For those shopping for a child, our Best Kids' Tablets guide has good options with kid-friendly features and parental controls.

Apple has always packed a little extra into its iPad Pro tablets compared to its base, Air, and Mini models. It's still totally fine to buy the iPad Pro M4, iPad Pro M2, or the iPad Pro M1 if you can find them, but just make sure you're not paying close to MSRP. If it's close to what you would pay for a brand-new M5 iPad Pro, the older model isn’t worth the small savings. If you can snag a good deal on one of the aforementioned slightly dated models, you’ll get a powerful machine that can match the current Pro slates in many ways; these devices also work with the first-generation Magic Keyboard with Trackpad.

Older iPad Pro models, like the models from 2018 or 2020, are not worth buying (if they're even available). They're just too old.

Courtesy of Apple

Apple Intelligence is a suite of artificial intelligence features available in select hardware across iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices. We break down many of the new Apple Intelligence features here if you'd like to learn more. Unfortunately, it’s not available on all iPad models. The following iPads support Apple Intelligence:

• iPad Mini (A17 Pro)
• iPad Air (M1, M2, M3, M4)
• iPad Pro (M1, M2, M4, M5)

Essentially, the iPad is primarily for entertainment and content consumption, while the MacBook is for work, school, and content creation. You can use both devices for any of those previously stated purposes, especially as Apple expands its product lines. But each shines brightest in its intended uses. That's why iPads work so well for kids, retired folks, and for bringing on vacation.

The iPad Pro, however, may be an outlier, as it is truly a pro-level content-creation device. There is a demographic out there that has a use for its tandem OLED display, faster ports, and M5-level graphics, but it's a much smaller niche.