This $279 iPad deal is one of Cyber Monday's best – and it's still the iPad I recommend most

Apple makes a bunch of very fancy iPads these days, and several of them now cost over $1,000. But for the things most people do with their iPads — watching videos, reading books and documents, answering messages, and surfing the web, the best iPad to buy is the standard 10th-generation iPad, which even looks very similar to the iPad Pro and the iPad Air. But the standard iPad is the one I recommend to everyone other than artists and high-end multimedia professionals. 

And while heavy discounts on Apple products are super rare, the iPad 10th-Gen is on sale for $70 off — a 20% discount — at Best Buy for Cyber Monday. The iPad retails for $349: Best Buy is selling it for $279. To give you a sense of what a terrific deal this is, this iPad had been selling for $450 until earlier this year. 

Also: The best Cyber Monday deals: Live updates

This is a great iPad to gift to a kid, an elderly relative, or a friend or family member who doesn’t need a full computer but wants a bigger screen than a phone to do some of their favorite or most-needed digital activities. That can also include video calls, filling out web forms, looking up information with Google or ChatGPT, and online shopping. 

Also: The best iPad deals for Cyber Monday 2024

This was the first iPad to get a front-facing camera that’s centered on the long end of the iPad so it works great for video calling and video conferencing when it’s placed in landscape mode.

If you want to use this iPad for email, notetaking, or writing, then I’d recommend also grabbing the Logitech Combo Touch keyboard case ($105) or the ESR keyboard case ($82). Both are a lot cheaper than Apple’s $250 keyboard case and the Logitech offers better protection.

Also: I gave away my Kindle and iPad within hours of testing this tablet

And if you’re thinking about giving a tablet as a gift this year, ZDNET is also bullish on the TCL Tab 10 Nxtpaper 5G, which has a paper-like display that makes it a mix between an e-reader and a traditional tablet. And at $239, it’s about the same price as the iPad 10th-gen.