Best iPads Australia 2026:
Which iPad to Buy, and the Storage Trap

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Why the $669 iPad outsells the rest

Right now the plain iPad (A16) sits at #2 in Amazon AU's Tablets category, and the 11-inch iPad Air is down at #16. That gap tells you something. Most people don't need what the dearer models add, and they've worked that out for themselves. They still end up spending more than they planned, though, usually at the storage step on the order page, and that's the bit I want to slow you down on before you click anything.

I've picked five iPads from $669 to $1,998, all sold and shipped by Amazon AU, so returns and warranty go through a local seller rather than a marketplace trader you've never heard of. They run from the base iPad and the iPad mini up through both sizes of iPad Air to the 11-inch iPad Pro. I've judged them on the things I can speak to from a repair bench: how each screen is built, what it'll cost you when it cracks, how much storage you're locking in for good, and which chip is more than you'll actually use.

What I'm not going to do is pretend the listings say more than they do. Apple's Amazon pages are heavy on adjectives and light on numbers, so where a spec isn't stated I'll say so, and you can check it on Apple's own spec pages before you order. Battery hours and weights are the usual gaps.

One more option before you spend $669 or more. If the iPad is for a kid's schoolwork, a recipe screen for the kitchen or a grandparent who mostly wants video calls, a refurbished one is often the smarter buy. We sell graded refurbished iPads from our own stock, checked and warrantied by us, and an older model with a healthy battery does those jobs perfectly well.

Storage is the one choice you can't undo

An iPad's storage is a flash chip soldered to the logic board. There's no card slot and no way to add more later, so whatever you tick on the order page is what you'll live with for the life of the device. It's the same story on a modern Mac, and if you want the long version of why Apple builds them that way, I've written about Apple's soldered and proprietary SSDs.

Here's what the step up costs at time of writing. The base iPad goes from $669 at 128GB to $889 at 256GB, about $220 more. The 11-inch Air goes from $1,248 at 128GB to $1,449 at 256GB, about $200 more. On the Pro, 256GB is where it starts, which is one of the quieter reasons it costs what it does.

So who needs 256GB? In my experience it's people who download films for long flights, students who keep a semester of lecture recordings, anyone who edits video on the iPad itself, and kids with a few big games installed. For email, browsing, streaming, notes and photos that sync to iCloud, 128GB is usually plenty, as long as you're happy paying for iCloud storage. That's the real trade: a one-off $200 or so now, or a monthly iCloud fee that a lot of households are already paying anyway.

The problem I see most often is the full iPad. Once free space drops under a few gigabytes, updates won't install, apps get sluggish and photos stop backing up properly, and people bring it in thinking something's broken. Usually nothing is, it's just full. If you're unsure, buy the bigger one, because you can't fix that later the way you can fix a screen or a battery.

Which chip you actually need

The five picks run on four different Apple chips: the A16 in the base iPad, the A17 Pro in the mini, the M4 in both iPad Airs and the M5 in the iPad Pro. For browsing, streaming, video calls, schoolwork and note-taking, the A16 is more than enough today. The M-series chips start to matter when you're editing video, running drawing apps with huge canvases and lots of layers, or using the iPad as a laptop replacement with a keyboard and an external display.

The other thing to weigh is how long it'll keep getting updates. Apple doesn't publish a cut-off date, but newer chips generally get supported for longer. Apple Intelligence is listed on the mini, Air and Pro pages, and it isn't mentioned on the base iPad's listing at all. If you keep tablets for six or seven years, that's a fair reason to spend more. If you replace them every three or four, it probably isn't.

Heat is worth a thought too. None of these have fans, so under a long, heavy load they slow themselves down to stay cool. That's normal and it isn't a fault. It does mean a quick benchmark doesn't tell you much about how a 40-minute video export will go, and it's part of what you're paying for with the bigger chips.

My honest read is that most households should buy the base iPad or the 11-inch Air and put the difference into storage and a decent case. The Pro is for people who already know exactly why they want it, and if you're reading this wondering, you're probably not one of them.

How the screen is built, and what a crack costs

This is the part nobody prints on the box, and for a lot of families it matters more than the chip. On most iPads the glass, the touch layer and the display are glued together into one laminated part. It looks better because there's no air gap, but when the glass cracks you're replacing the whole display assembly. The base iPad has generally been built the other way, with the touch glass separate from the LCD underneath, and in my experience that makes a cracked front a smaller repair.

The iPad mini, both iPad Airs and the iPad Pro all use laminated screens. The Pro's Ultra Retina XDR display is the costliest part on any of these five, and it's the one I'd most want protected. If you've got young kids, a ute that doubles as an office, or a habit of reading in the bath, factor the repair in before you buy, and have a read about what an iPad screen replacement involves so the number doesn't surprise you later.

The Pro also comes with an option for nano-texture glass, but according to the listing it's only on the 1TB and 2TB versions. The 256GB pick here has standard glass. Nano-texture cuts glare under office lights and outdoors, though it needs gentler cleaning, so it isn't a straight upgrade for everyone.

Whatever you buy, a case with a raised lip around the screen does more than any screen protector. Most cracked iPads I see came off a bench, a bed or a couch arm and landed on a corner, and the corner is exactly what a good case covers. A screen protector on its own doesn't stop the frame flexing on impact.

The accessories that change the total

An iPad on its own is a screen for reading and watching. Add a keyboard and a pencil and it becomes something closer to a laptop, and the price moves a lot. The mini, Air and Pro listings all name Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C) support. The base iPad's listing talks about using Apple Pencil with Scribble but doesn't say which model, so check Apple's compatibility page first, because pencils aren't interchangeable across every iPad.

The Magic Keyboard is named on the Air and Pro listings, and each one is made for its own model and size. A keyboard for the 11-inch Air won't fit the 13-inch, and a keyboard for an older Pro won't necessarily fit the M5 one. I'd buy the keyboard after you've settled on the iPad, not before, and price the two together.

Every pick here charges over USB-C. That makes life easier, but it also means people grab whatever brick is in the kitchen drawer, and a poor charger is one of the more common reasons a charging circuit gets damaged. I've written about what a bad charger does to a device, and if you need a new one, any of our GaN charger picks will charge an iPad properly.

All five picks are Wi-Fi models. Cellular versions cost more and need their own data plan, and most people just hotspot from their phone. If the iPad will live in a car, a caravan or on a job site, cellular is worth having. Otherwise I'd skip it and keep the money.

Matching the iPad to who's using it

• Kids and school: the base iPad at $669 in a thick case. Check the school's BYOD list first, because some ask for a specific model or storage size.
• Reading, video calls and the couch: the base iPad again, or the iPad mini at $757 if you want something you can hold in one hand for an hour.
• Uni and note-taking: the 11-inch iPad Air at $1,248, with 256GB if you record lectures.
• Drawing and photo work: the 13-inch Air at $1,599 for the bigger canvas, or the Pro at $1,998 for the better screen.
• A laptop replacement: the Air or the Pro with a Magic Keyboard. Price the whole setup before you decide, because by then you're close to MacBook money.

A quick word on second-hand iPads from marketplaces, because a lot of people go that way to stretch the budget. The ones that turn up on the bench have usually got one of three problems: an iCloud activation lock the seller never removed, a battery that's well past its best, or a screen that's been replaced with a low-grade part that doesn't respond properly to a pencil. If you buy used, meet in person, check it's been erased and signed out, and test the screen edge to edge before money changes hands.

If you're weighing it up against Android, our iPad Pro vs Galaxy Tab guide covers the top end, and the mid-range tablet guide covers options under $700. Plenty of people are happier on Android, especially if their phone is already Android, and I'd rather you buy the right tablet than an iPad you don't need.

How to make an iPad last

The battery is the part that wears out. It's glued in under the screen, so replacing it means lifting the display off, and on a laminated iPad that's slow, careful work. You can slow the wear down, though. Don't leave it sitting flat at 0% for weeks, don't leave it charging on a hot windowsill or in a parked car, and if it's going in a drawer for a few months, store it at around half charge.

Watch for a screen that starts lifting at one edge, or a back that doesn't sit flat on the table anymore. That's usually a battery swelling, and it only gets worse. Stop charging it and get it looked at, because a swollen battery pushing on a laminated screen can crack it from the inside.

Water's the other one. Apple doesn't give iPads a water rating the way it does phones, and a spilt drink on the keyboard case or a splash in the bathroom can get in around the speaker grilles and the port. If that happens, switch it off, don't charge it, and read up on how liquid damage spreads on a board before you reach for the rice.

And if one does crack, bend or stop charging, bring it to the workshop in Erina before you go shopping for a replacement. We'll tell you what it'll cost to fix and whether it's worth it, and quite often it is.

The 5 picks, $669 to $1,998

Prices are Amazon AU at time of writing (7 October 2026) and move week to week. Ranks are Amazon AU category sales ranks, checked the same day.

Side-by-side comparison

What we see fail at the bench: iPads

iPads come in for a handful of reasons, and they repeat. Most are cracked screens, followed by batteries that have aged or swollen and charge ports that have stopped working properly. Very few iPads die of old age. Most get retired because one part failed and the owner assumed it wasn't worth fixing, which often isn't true. Here's what to watch for, and what usually causes it.

Decision tree: which one should you actually buy?

• Mostly streaming, school and video calls? → The iPad (A16) at $669. Put what you'd have spent on a bigger model into a good case.
• Want one you can hold in one hand? → The iPad mini (A17 Pro) at $757, with a slim case that covers the corners.
• Uni, notes and some work with a keyboard? → The 11-inch iPad Air (M4) at $1,248, or $1,449 for the 256GB version if you record lectures.
• Drawing or big documents, and staying under $2,000? → The 13-inch iPad Air (M4) at $1,599.
• Photo, video or colour-critical work? → The 11-inch iPad Pro (M5) at $1,998, which starts at 256GB.
• Cracked, swollen or won't charge? → Stop charging it and bring it to our Erina workshop. We'll check the screen, battery and port and quote you before any work starts.

Frequently asked questions

Is 128GB enough on an iPad?

For streaming, browsing, email, schoolwork and photos that sync to iCloud, 128GB is usually enough. It gets tight if you download films for flights, record lectures, edit video on the iPad or install a few big games. iPad storage is soldered to the board, so you can't add more later and there's no card slot. If you're unsure, I'd pay the extra for 256GB, which is about $200 to $220 more on the base iPad and the 11-inch Air at time of writing. The alternative is paying for iCloud storage every month, which plenty of people already do.

Should I buy an iPad from Amazon AU or straight from Apple?

All five picks here are sold and shipped by Amazon AU, so you're buying a new, Australian-stock iPad and Apple's warranty applies the same way it would from Apple. The main differences are price and returns. Amazon AU prices move week to week and are sometimes lower than Apple's own store. Apple's store offers engraving and its own return process. What I'd avoid is marketplace sellers you don't recognise, import versions and anything that isn't listed as new, because warranty claims get messy fast.

Is the iPad Air worth it over the base iPad?

It depends on what you'll use it for. If it's mostly streaming, browsing, video calls and school apps, the base iPad at $669 does those jobs well and its screen tends to be a smaller repair when it cracks. The 11-inch Air at $1,248 makes sense if you'll use a keyboard and pencil for real work, edit video or photos, or keep it for six or seven years, because the M4 chip leaves a lot more headroom. Its laminated screen looks better but costs more to replace.

Can you replace an iPad battery?

Yes. The battery is glued into the back of the case under the screen, so the screen has to come off first, which takes heat, patience and the right tools. On laminated iPads that's careful work because the display is fragile once it's lifting. Most iPads are worth a new battery if the rest of the device is in good shape, especially the M-series models. If the screen is lifting at one edge, stop charging it, because that usually means the battery is swelling.

Is a refurbished iPad a good idea?

For a lot of people it is. If the iPad is for a child, a kitchen screen, reading or video calls with family, an older model with a healthy battery does the job for a lot less money. The things to check are battery condition, whether the screen is original, whether it still gets iPadOS updates, and who's backing the warranty. We sell graded refurbished iPads from our own stock in Erina, checked and warrantied by us. For heavy work or long-term use, a new model with a newer chip is still the better buy.

Do I need the cellular version of an iPad?

Most people don't. All five picks here are Wi-Fi models, and you can hotspot from your phone when you're out. Cellular versions cost more up front and need their own data plan or an eSIM. They make sense if the iPad lives in a car, a caravan, a truck or on a job site, or if it's used for navigation or work away from Wi-Fi a lot. Some listings mention 5G even on Wi-Fi models, so check the title says Wi-Fi + Cellular before you buy.

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