The best iPad for 2025: How to pick the best Apple tablet for you

Screen size: 11 inches or 13 inches | Display resolution: 2360 x 1640 (11-inch), 2732 x 2048 (13-inch) | Storage: Up to 1TB | RAM: 8GB | Weight: 1.01 pounds (11-inch), 1.36 pounds (13-inch) | Battery life: Up to 10 hours | Front camera: 12MP | Rear camera: 12MP

Read our full Apple iPad Air M3 review

The recently refreshed iPad Air remains the Apple tablet we’d recommend to most people. Yes, it costs more than the entry-level iPad, and yes, there’s still a gulf between it and the higher-end iPad Pro. But no iPad strikes a better balance between price, performance and features. It’s Apple’s “just right” tablet — advanced enough to be a pleasure every day but not eye-wateringly expensive.

The newest iPad Air, launched in March 2025, earned a score of 89 in our review. It starts at $599 for an 11-inch model or $799 for a variant with a 13-inch display. Outside of a higher brightness rating on the 13-inch model (600 nits versus 500 nits), the two are virtually identical, so which one is best simply depends on what screen size you prefer. Most will probably spring for the 11-inch version given that it’s cheaper and much easier to hold. But the added screen real estate on the 13-inch version is great if you typically use your iPad with a keyboard case, or just want more room for watching movies, playing games or multitasking for work.

Both models are much pricier than the base iPad, but the Air’s upgrades mostly justify the premium. It now runs on Apple’s M3 system-on-a-chip (SoC), which is the same silicon found in last-gen MacBooks and iMacs. It’s overkill for web browsing, video streaming and other basic tasks, but it means performance should rarely, if ever, be an issue.

It also makes the Air more futureproof, as a growing number of iPadOS features are only accessible with M-series chips or newer A-series silicon. All of the new Apple Intelligence AI tools, for instance, aren’t available on the newest entry-level iPad. (Though that's not a massive loss right now.) The Stage Manager multitasking mode isn’t compatible with the cheapest model either, nor are the ports of demanding video games like Death Stranding and Resident Evil 4. The M3 Air also has a healthy 8GB of RAM and 128GB of base storage; the standard iPad also starts with 128GB now but still has a bit less memory at 6GB.

The iPad Air’s 60Hz LCD display isn’t as vibrant or smooth in motion as the 120Hz OLED panel on the latest iPad Pro, and it’s starting to show its age in 2025 when some smartphones offer a higher refresh rate for hundreds of dollars less. Still, it’s bright, sharp and relatively accurate. It’s also a step up from the entry-level iPad, as it’s fully laminated, which means there’s no visible gap between the display and the front glass. That may not sound like much, but it’s one of those things that’s hard to ignore once you’ve seen the difference. The Air’s panel also has an antireflective coating to further minimize glare, plus it supports a wider P3 color gamut.

The iPad Air has had virtually the same square-edged design for four generations now, but it remains sturdy, elegant and reasonably comfortable. It still offers a solid 10-ish hours of battery life, a USB-C port and a Touch ID fingerprint scanner built into its power button (but no Face ID, annoyingly). Apple moved the front-facing camera to the tablet’s long edge with the previous-gen model, and that remains a much more natural position for FaceTime calls in landscape mode.

Unlike the entry-level iPad, the Air works with the Pencil Pro, Apple’s most featured stylus. (Though it’s not compatible with the older second-gen Pencil — yes, the stylus situation is messy.) It doesn’t work with the company’s best aluminum keyboard case, but it supports a new Magic Keyboard with some of that model’s upgrades, including a more spacious trackpad and a dedicated function row. This version is still mostly made of plastic, and its lack of backlit keys is hard to excuse when the older Magic Keyboard — which is thankfully still available — didn’t have that issue, but it remains highly comfortable for typing. All of these accessories add a good bit to the Air’s bottom line, but for digital artists or frequent typers, they’re there.

The M3 iPad Air is a straightforward spec bump, so there’s no real need to upgrade if you’re coming from the M2 or M1 models. In fact, if you can still find a new or refurbished version of the M2 Air at a lower price, that'll be a better value on the whole. But if your iPad is slowing down, you’re buying your first Apple tablet or you want a 13-inch iPad without totally torching your savings account, the Air should be the first model you consider.

Screen size: 11 inches | Display resolution: 2360 x 1640 | Storage: Up to 512GB | RAM: 6GB | Weight: 1.05 pounds | Battery life: Up to 10 hours | Front camera: 12MP | Rear camera: 12MP

Read our full Apple iPad (A16) review

The entry-level iPad (A16) isn’t as nice as the iPad Air, but the two share the same design language, and the cheaper model is still perfectly competent at the core iPad Things. For $349, that makes it a compelling bargain for those who want a modern iPad for as little cash as possible.

The base iPad looks virtually identical to the iPad Air from afar. It’s only marginally thicker and heavier, while its 11-inch panel is just as sharp and bright. Battery life comes in at the same 10-ish hours, and there’s still a USB-C port and Touch ID sensor. The cameras are nearly the same, too, with the selfie cam located along its long edge. Most importantly, it gets you nearly all the same conveniences of iPadOS for $250 less.

This model runs on a slightly cut-down version of the A16 Bionic chip found in 2022’s iPhone 14 Pro and 2023’s iPhone 15, plus 6GB of RAM. This combo won’t hold up as well as higher-end iPads years down the road, and it can’t run Apple Intelligence or Stage Manager today. (The latter’s omission makes this iPad more cumbersome to use with an external display.) Plus, the M3 Air is already noticeably faster for exporting 4K videos or playing the most taxing iPad games. But the A16 is more than quick enough for the tasks most people actually do with an iPad, be it watching Netflix, sending emails, playing casual Apple Arcade games or even editing photos in Lightroom. If anything, many people will prefer to not have their tablet push AI on them. Beyond that, this latest iPad starts with the same healthy 128GB of storage as the Air.

The iPad (A16) does have a worse display than the Air, with no lamination, no support for the wider P3 color space and no antireflective coating. Put the two side by side and the Air indeed produces slightly bolder colors and holds up better against glare. The lack of lamination makes writing with the Apple Pencil feel more abstracted on the cheaper model, too.

For the price, though, this screen is still sharp, comfortably sized and devoid of major color accuracy issues. The gap here isn’t nearly as dramatic as the one between the Air’s and iPad Pro’s displays. Likewise, while the Air’s dual speakers sound fuller and more rounded, the base iPad gets loud and clear enough to avoid serious problems.

There are other downgrades. The iPad (A16) isn't compatible with the Apple Pencil Pro, just the lesser USB-C Pencil — which lacks pressure sensitivity — and ancient first-gen model. It doesn’t work with the same Magic Keyboards; instead, it uses its own Surface-like accessory called the Magic Keyboard Folio, which has a function row but isn’t as stable on your lap. It supports Wi-Fi 6 but not Wi-Fi 6E. The USB-C port is technically slower for data transfers, too, maxing out at 480 Mbps instead of 10 Gbps.

Like we said with our top recommendation, a new or refurbished M2 iPad Air is worth considering over the iPad (A16) if you can find one at a good price. It’s been discontinued, so we can’t make it a formal pick, but it remains a better piece of hardware. But if that’s not an option, the base iPad is a strong bargain. It’s worse than the iPad Air, but it’s not $250 worse for those on a tighter budget, folks upgrading from the 9th-gen iPad or anyone who just doesn’t push their iPad to the limit most of the time.

Screen size: 8.3 inches | Display resolution: 2266 x 1488 | Storage: Up to 512GB | RAM: 8GB | Weight: 0.65 pounds | Battery life: Up to 10 hours | Front camera: 12MP | Rear camera: 12MP

Read our full iPad mini 7 review

The iPad mini is exactly what it sounds like: the small iPad. Apple updated it in late 2024 with a new chip and support for the Apple Pencil Pro, and it's still the shortest and lightest iPad in the current lineup by some distance. As before, it has an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display that’s easier to use with one hand.

We gave the iPad mini a review score of 83. Its design follows closely after that of the iPad Air: squared-off edges, thin bezels, no Home button, a Touch ID sensor in the power button, stereo speakers, decent cameras and a USB-C port. Its display is technically sharper, but otherwise gives you the same max brightness, lamination, antireflective coating and wide color gamut. It doesn’t have a “Smart Connector” to hook up Apple-made keyboards, but it does work with the top-end Apple Pencil Pro and the less expensive USB-C Apple Pencil. The Pencil Pro is a step up over the older second-generation Apple Pencil the prior mini used, with haptic feedback, a gyroscope and a “squeeze” feature for opening up a brush palette.

The mini runs on Apple’s A17 Pro chip, the same as the one in 2023's iPhone 15 Pro series. While this chip isn’t quite as powerful as the M3 in the iPad Air, it’s more than capable enough to handle what most people will want to do with this iPad. Notably, it’s also powerful enough for Apple Intelligence. That might not be something that compels people to upgrade right now (or maybe ever), but the point is that the new mini is definitely more futureproof than its predecessor.

The mini starts at $499 for a 128GB model. Apple finally saw fit to double the base storage, which makes the cheapest model easier to recommend than before. If you specifically want a smaller tablet — whether it’s to easily stuff in a bag, use with one hand or treat like a high-end e-reader — this is the only one Apple sells, and the best option in its size range. 

Screen size: 11 inches or 13 inches | Display resolution: 2420 x 1668 (11-inch), 2752 x 2064 (13-inch) | Storage: Up to 2TB | RAM: Up to 16GB | Weight: 0.98 pounds (11-inch), 1.28 pounds (13-inch) | Battery life: Up to 10 hours | Front camera: 12MP | Rear camera: 12MP

Read our full Apple iPad Pro (M4) review

The latest iPad Pro is the most expensive iPad and more tablet than most people need, full stop. But if you have cash to burn, are determined to use an iPad as your main mobile computer or just want the most technically impressive iPad possible, this is it.

We gave the new iPad Pro a score of 84 in our review. Like the iPad Air, it comes in 11- and 13-inch models: The former starts at $999, while the latter starts at $1,299. That’s prohibitively expensive for most people, but for the money you get a number of premium, if inessential, upgrades over Apple’s other tablets.

The most significant of these is the Pros' “tandem OLED” display. Compared to the LCD screen on the iPad Air, this produces richer colors and deeper, more uniform black tones. Gaming and scrolling web pages look more fluid thanks to its faster 120Hz refresh rate. It can also get significantly brighter, reaching up to 1,000 nits in SDR and up to 1,600 nits with HDR highlights.

This is where the “tandem” part comes in. Essentially, Apple is stacking two OLED panels on top of one another to improve peak brightness, which is often a (relative) weakness of traditional OLED displays. It’s a breakthrough, but all you really need to know is that this screen is an absolute delight — one of the best we’ve seen on any consumer device, let alone a tablet. For watching movies or editing media, you really can’t do better. This same display tech is used on both the 11- and 13-inch iPad Pro, unlike previous models, so which one is best merely comes down to personal preference.

The design here is broadly similar to that of the iPad Air, but slightly thinner and lighter. The difference isn’t huge on paper, but the Pros' slimmed-down frames make them just that little bit easier to hold. This is particularly meaningful with the 13-inch model.

The other headline upgrade is Apple’s M4 SoC. If the M3 is overkill for the vast majority of casual and pro-level iPad tasks, then the M4 is mega-kill; it easily chewed through just about anything we threw at it. But it should be even more futureproof, and it'll save a few seconds here and there if your work involves high-res media editing, heavy use of machine learning and the like.

Beyond that, the base iPad Pro has 256GB of storage, which is twice as much as any other iPad. Like the M3 Air, it also supports advanced features like hardware-accelerated ray tracing on its GPU, which could aid lighting in future games, plus a faster neural engine, which should help with the AI features Apple has planned for the years ahead.

If you really want to max things out, note that the 1TB and 2TB configurations have twice as much RAM (16GB) and use a technically more powerful version of the M4 with an extra performance core unlocked. Jumping to one of those SKUs costs a minimum of $1,599, though — and that’s before you add accessories. Those looking to use the iPad Pro as a (very expensive) media consumption device don’t need this, but if you work with memory-hungry apps or need the absolute best, just note it’ll cost you.

The iPad Pro is the only iPad with Face ID, which remains a bit more convenient than reaching for a fingerprint scanner. It’s the only one with a Thunderbolt USB-C port, which is technically faster for transferring large files. It sounds more robust than the Air, with four built-in speakers instead of two. Its camera system isn't that different, but it includes a flash for more easily scanning documents, and it can record video in Apple's ProRes format. Its front camera is on the long edge, too. As for accessories, the Pro alone can use Apple’s best Magic Keyboard, which itself is wildly expensive but has a more premium aluminum finish, backlit keys and haptic feedback alongside a larger trackpad and a row of function keys. It also supports the Pencil Pro stylus (but not the second-gen Pencil).

If most of these features sound niche to you, well, yeah, that’s the idea. Unless you're willing to pay for that terrific OLED screen, the iPad Air gets close enough for a much more palatable price. And though the iPad Pro is a class-leading tablet, it is ultimately still an iPad. Certain creative professionals can use it just fine as a laptop replacement, but for most, iPadOS still makes multitasking and other computer-y tasks more convoluted than they are on a MacBook. Judging by the features Apple has added in iPadOS 18, that’s not changing anytime soon. (The buzziest non-AI addition there? A new calculator app.) That said, the Pro is a wonderful iPad — fast, slim and luxurious. And expensive.