Choosing the best iPad for music making is actually a bit tricky these days. Yes, the top-of-the-range iPad Pro is great, but it’s also pricey. And although the iPad Air is slightly more affordable, it still feels like it’s designed more as a laptop replacement than a secondary device.
And, let’s face it, for most musicians, the iPad is going to be a secondary device. You’ll likely have a PC or Mac as your main machine; a tablet is something you’re probably going to use when you’re travelling or noodling in bed or on the sofa in front of the TV.
This being the case, paying top dollar doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, and the good news is that one of the best iPad deals this Cyber Monday is on the very affordable 10th generation model, which was released in 2022. This is down to just $279 in the US (Best Buy) and £289 in the UK (Amazon), which is a pretty eye-catching price.
There’s no M series chip in here - instead you’ll find an A14 processor. This might be getting on a bit, but it’s certainly no slouch. In fact, it’s said that the M1 processor was actually based on the design of the A14.
The 10.9-inch iPad 10th generation also has 4GB of RAM inside it and, owning one myself, I can confirm that it’s still up to snuff. Having looked at the current range, I decided that, for my requirements, this is the model that offers the best balance between price and performance. Priced at $499/£499 for the cheapest model, I don’t feel like the new iPad mini is the answer for most people - yes, it has an A17 chip but the screen is smaller and it costs a lot more than the 10th-gen iPad, and as I mentioned, both the Air and Pro cost even more.
The slight downside is that the most affordable 10th-gen iPad only has 64GB storage, which can quickly start to fill up. But if you don’t go crazy with the number of apps you have installed - think about how many of them you actually use - and make canny use of cloud storage, it’s great value and will perform admirably.
