The fourth-gen iPad Air represents a breath of fresh air – no pun intended – for the tablet range, ditching the ageing form factor for something more akin to the iPad Pro, complete with angular edges, a near edge-to-edge display, compatibility with the latest Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard and much more.
But, as good as the tablet is, it’s even better when it’s bought at a discount – and January is traditionally a great time to grab one, with January sales underway from retailers.
Here’s all you need to know about where to buy the iPad Air (2020) and, more importantly, a selection of the best hand-picked January 2022 deals. For more, take a look at our iPad Air (2020) review.
We’re separately looking at where to buy the iPad 10.2in (8th generation) here.
Best iPad Air (2020) deals
The iPad Air (2020) is available primarily from Apple in the UK and US, but as with other Apple products, it’s available via a range of third-party retailers – and some are offering discounts, even if Apple isn’t.
2. Apple iPad Air 4 (64GB, 2020) Wi-Fi Only – Refurbished “Good”
From: Music Magpie
Was: £579.99
Now: £509.99 (£70 off)
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Music Magpie has £70 off a Space Grey refurbished iPad Air 4 (2020) in “Good” condition. It’s not the best price it has ever been, but it includes a free 12-month warranty for peace of mind and free delivery too.
3. Apple iPad Air with Apple Pencil
Now: £26 per month (2GB data)
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Get an Apple Pencil with the cellular iPad Air from Virgin – a great bundle if you were already after the Apple Pencil! It’s a £19 upfront cost and £26 per month with 2GB of data to play with.
4. Apple Education Discount
Now: Up to £280 off Mac, £80 off iPad
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Apple’s education pricing is available all year round. To be eligible, you just need to prove your status as a current or newly accepted university student, parent buying on behalf of a university student or member of teaching staff at any level. You’ll then get up to £280 off a new Mac or up to £80 off a new iPad.
5. Apple iPad Air 2020 (64GB, 4th Gen)
Now: £549.99 (£30 off)
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Amazon is currently offering £30 off the entry-level iPad Air 4 (Wi-Fi only) in Sky Blue, Mystic Silver and Rose Gold.
7. Apple iPad Air (256GB, 4th Gen)
Now: £699 (£30 off)
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Box has £30 off the iPad Air with 256GB storage. It’s not as high as Amazon’s £40 discount on the same model, but a good alternative if Amazon runs out of stock.
8. Apple iPad Air (2020, 64GB, Wi-Fi + Cellular)
Costco’s price on the 64GB iPad Air 4 with Cellular connectivity is one of the best deals around, except you’ll need a Costco membership to access the deal.
9. Apple iPad Air 2020 (64GB, Wi-Fi + Cellular, 4th Gen) with 2GB data
Now: £16 per month
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Sky’s offer is the most competitive if you’re looking at total costs. Where O2 and Virgin’s contracts last 48 months, Sky’s is only 36 months – and with no upfront costs and a monthly rate that outdoes other contract providers for 2GB data.
Where to find iPad Air 4 deals – Best places online
Retailers in the UK that currently stock the iPad Air (2020) include:
Meanwhile, those in the US should head to:
Where to get refurbished iPad deals
The Apple Refurbished Store should be your first destination if you’re after a refurbished iPad deal. As Apple Certified Refurbished, you can expect the device to look and work just like new, but at prices up to 15% lower than the RRP.
The only issue is, you may not always find the model you’re after in stock. We can’t see the iPad Air (2020) at the Refurbished Store right now, but here are a few other refurbished resellers worth checking out:
How much does the iPad Air cost?
In a move that some certainly won’t appreciate, Apple has decided that the redesign of the tablet means a noticeable bump in price. Despite 2019’s iPad Air starting at £479/$499, the most recent model starts at £579/$599:
- iPad Air 2020 (64GB, Wi-Fi): £579/$599
- iPad Air 2020 (256GB, Wi-Fi): £729/$749
- iPad Air 2020 (64GB, Wi-Fi & Cellular): £709/$729
- iPad Air 2020 (256GB, Wi-Fi & Cellular): £859/$879
You can compare iPad Air 4 prices across top retailers below:
What’s new with the iPad Air (2020)?
This is the key question, especially considering the £100/$100 price hike of the base model of iPad Air with the release of this year’s model.
The good news is that there’s some justification for the rise in price – it’s essentially a complete redesign of the iPad Air range, bringing it closer visually to the iPad Pro and iPhone 13 design. It sports a larger 10.9in display, up from 10.5in of the previous model, but the bigger improvement is in the bezel department. Like Apple’s Pro iPad, the iPad Air features significantly reduced bezels, and the Home button has been moved too.
While it used to sit below the display, Apple has moved it to the top-right of the tablet this time around. It’s slimmer than the standard Home button but features the same Touch ID tech. It was the first time Apple had included a side-mounted fingerprint scanner on any of its products, but it has since appeared on the iPad mini 6, and it has been a feature on Android smartphones and tablets for quite a few years now.
That said, it shouldn’t come as a shock that despite featuring the same bezels as the iPad Pro, the iPad Air doesn’t feature Face ID – Apple has to keep some features exclusive to the high-end model, after all. It’s also a standard 60Hz display, not the 120Hz ProMotion display of the Pro line.
Interestingly, the iPad Air was the first Apple product to feature the 5nm A14 Bionic chipset, something that in previous years would’ve debuted on the iPhone range before coming to other products. Of course, with the iPhone delay, Apple had no choice but to reveal the new processor as part of the iPad Air range. Don’t get confused though; despite the A14 Bionic branding, the M1 chipset of the iPad Pro range is still more capable with more CPU and GPU cores at its disposal.
Elsewhere, the iPad Air features the same main camera as the iPad Pro, a 12Mp f/1.8 sensor, but no LIDAR or ultra-wide cameras. There’s also a shift from Lightning to USB-C for charging and connectivity, and there’s also a bunch of new colours available, including green and blue options alongside the standard Silver, Space Grey and Rose Gold colour options.
For more on Apple’s latest iPad, take a look at the latest iPad Air (2020) news.
