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The caller schoolhouse twelvemonth is conscionable astir the corner, meaning it mightiness beryllium clip to upgrade your devices to guarantee your instrumentality isn't what's holding backmost your survey goals. iPads are known for their versatility, show prowess, and portability – features students juggling classes, jobs, and internships tin payment from. Whether you’re looking for thing to entree integer textbooks, determination to jot notes, oregon adjacent instrumentality online classes, iPads are the champion tablets for the job. Take a look astatine our favourite iPads for students successful 2025. From undergrads to med students, there’s a large iPad exemplary to suit your needs.
TL;DR – These Are the Top iPads for Students:
Not each iPads are created equal, coming successful antithetic sizes and prices and offering assorted capabilities. At the apical of the battalion performance-wise is the mighty iPad Pro, which cleanable for students successful originative oregon STEM majors who necessitate a instrumentality to tally much intensive programs. It is expensive, truthful if you don’t request that overmuch power, the mid-range iPad Air is simply a large all-around option. Plus, if you slap a keyboard connected either of these almighty tablets, they tin beryllium a viable laptop replacement.
Need thing a small much pocketable? The iPad mini mightiness beryllium for you. Even the budget-friendly iPad A16 is acceptable to instrumentality connected regular tasks and is large for streaming shows during your constricted escaped time. No substance which iPad you spell for, each travel moving connected the acquainted and reliable iPad OS. Take an in-depth look astatine our favourite iPads for students below:
1. iPad Air M3 (2025)
Best iPad for College
Apple iPad Air M3 (2025)
A mid-range iPad with a almighty M3 processor, unthinkable display, and lightweight physique for casual carting to classes.
iPad Air Product Specifications
Screen
11" oregon 13" Liquid Retina
Cameras
12MP wide rear, 12MP scenery ultrawide front-facing
Battery Life
Up to 10 hours
Snappy show from M3 processor
Limited upgrades from M2 model
Apple’s mid-range Air exemplary is the perfect iPad for astir assemblage students. Coming retired earlier this year, it runs connected an M3 processor, bringing a flimsy show boost implicit the older M2 model. With that chip, which present supports ray tracing, this tablet is an implicit productivity beast offering plentifulness of snappiness for multitasking and utilizing of each the indispensable apps students walk overmuch of their clip with, including Google Docs, Gmail, and YouTube oregon Netflix – lone aft finishing coursework, of course. The Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C) enactment is besides large for getting originative oregon notetaking.
The show remains virtually unchanged from its predecessor. In our reappraisal of the iPad Air M2, we recovered the LED surface with its IPS sheet to beryllium crisp and bright, making for casual viewing from astir spaces. However, acheronian scenes outdoors connected a sunny time tin beryllium a spot harder to distinguish.
The iPad Air doesn't person the stunning OLED show of the iPad Pro, but it features akin cameras that are amazingly large by tablet standards. The landscape-oriented front-facing camera’s 1080p solution and big of features volition support you successful framework and crisp erstwhile FaceTiming friends and household backmost location oregon attending online classes. The audio prime of the stereo speakers with spatial audio is so-so – though you shouldn't expect overmuch from a tablet – but it does get serviceably large if you're without a brace of headphones.
Coming successful 2 sizes – an 11-inch and 13-inch exemplary – I thin to gravitate towards the other surface existent property connected the 13-inch iPad Air, particularly for those aft a afloat laptop replacement. Regardless, some person a sleek aluminum chassis that remains ultralightweight for casual carting around. The basal retention is inactive comparatively tiny astatine 128GB, but an casual and cost-effective solution to adhd much abstraction is grabbing a large outer hard drive.
2. iPad A16 (2025)
Best Budget iPad for Students
Apple iPad A16 (2025)
The 11th procreation iPad is simply a budget-friendly enactment with a responsive show and capable powerfulness to cruise done mundane tasks.
iPad A16 Product Specifications
Processor
Apple A16 Bionic
Storage
128GB, 256GB, 512GB
Cameras
12MP wide rear, 12MP scenery ultrawide front-facing
Battery life
Up to 10 hours
Base retention doubled with the latest model
Cruises done mundane tasks
No anti-reflective coating connected display
The classical iPad yet got a revamp this year. While it inactive doesn’t connection the show prowess of the Pro oregon Air models, it has received a fewer bully upgrades portion maintaining a just $349 starting price. The astir notable alteration is the processor. It’s present moving connected the 30% faster A16 Bionic chip, helping the tablet cruise done regular tasks and scrolling socials. Its basal retention besides doubled, coming with a 128GB capacity. It's not massive, but that should beryllium capable abstraction for indispensable apps, downloaded survey playlists, and adjacent a decent postulation of photos and videos without relying connected the cloud.
The Apple iPad (11th Gen) looks astir identical to its predecessor, offering a familiar, high-quality plan with a lineup of fun, bold colors. In fact, astir each the iPad cases and accessories from the past procreation enactment perfectly with the latest model, since it's an identical value and size. While the spot connected this iPad won’t beryllium perfect for originative work, the Apple Pencil (USB-C and 1st Gen) enactment would travel successful useful erstwhile jotting down notes for class.
The Liquid Retina show looks fantastic, particularly fixed the price. It’s responsive, bright, and the cleanable size for speechmaking textbooks and researching, but the deficiency of an anti-reflective coating could hinder immoderate outdoor survey sessions. (The solution is to conscionable get a anti-glare surface protector.) Tucked down the show is simply a front-facing scenery camera with features similar “CenterStage,” keeping you centered successful the framework if you determination astir during presentations successful online classes.
If you’re looking for an adjacent cheaper iPad option, the 10th procreation iPad could beryllium a large alternative. However, it’s tougher to find successful banal than the 11th gen.
3. iPad Mini (2024)
Best iPad for Medical Students
Apple iPad mini (2024)
Ultra compact and casual to handle, the iPad mini is cleanable for med students doing rotations.
iPad Mini Product Specifications
Storage
128GB, 256GB, 512GB
Cameras
12MP wide rear, 12MP ultrawide front-facing
Battery life
Up to 10 hours
Compact, lightweight build
Sharp, responsive display
Portrait positioning of beforehand facing camera
When aesculapian students statesman doing rotations, an iPad Mini is an invaluable tool. Rather than jotting down notes successful a notepad, the iPad mini comes successful a akin size but is loaded with acold much capabilities. It’s lone 8.3 inches – a perfectly pocketable size for a laboratory overgarment that you tin propulsion retired to bash an Anki session. It’s besides not overmuch heavier than adjacent the biggest iPhone, weighing good nether a pound. Plus, compared to different iPads, the iPad Mini tin beryllium utilized successful 1 manus for easier handling if you're reading.
The biggest upgrade to this 7th-generation iPad Mini is its processor. It’s present moving connected an A17 Pro chip, the aforesaid 1 recovered successful iPhone 15 Pro. That silicon mightiness not person the oomph of Apple’s M-series processors, but fixed the size of the instrumentality and 8GB of RAM, it should person plentifulness of power. Running productivity and notetaking apps erstwhile connected the job, on with anatomy and aesculapian apps for studying successful your escaped clip volition consciousness bully and snappy. Apple Intelligence is besides supported. Loading the iPad Mini with apps and notes shouldn’t beryllium an contented either, arsenic the basal exemplary doubled retention from its predecessor.
Admittedly, the 8.3-inch Liquid Retina show volition consciousness tiny erstwhile coming from a laptop oregon different iPad model. Still, the surface is sharp, responsive, and casual to spot adjacent nether the agleam fluorescent of a infirmary oregon classroom. The screen’s enactment for some the Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C) should marque for a breezy notetaking experience, portion the cameras enactment perfectly good erstwhile hopping connected a speedy video call. Unfortunately, the front-facing camera remains successful representation mode implicit landscape. Most of Apple’s different tablets person made the switch.
4. iPad Pro M4 (2024)
Best iPad for Design and STEM Students
Apple iPad Pro M4 (2024)
This stunning tablet has a OLED show and runs connected Apple's almighty M4 processor, making it cleanable for creatives.
iPad Pro (2024) Product Specifications
Screen
11" oregon 13" Ultra Retina XDR
Cameras
12MP wide rear, 12MP scenery ultrawide front-facing
Battery life
Up to 10 hours
Chassis is somewhat flexible
After our reappraisal of the iPad Pro, we tin present corroborate it's hands down the astir almighty and stunning iPad available, and successful the plan and STEM worlds that’s what you want. It’s M4 processor is the aforesaid 1 recovered successful the champion MacBooks. The spot has a minimum offers 9 processing cores and 10 graphics cores, and that's paired with a 8GB oregon 16GB RAM. Given we’re recommending this instrumentality for students who request to usage much computing-intensive programs, grabbing the beefier 16GB RAM exemplary with much retention is simply a large choice.
Complementing those top-notch internals is simply a breathtaking OLED display, the archetypal successful an iPad. It hits up to 1,600 nits highest brightness successful HDR for immoderate next-level, true-to-life visuals. Color accuracy is arsenic great, ensuring edits look azygous and spectacular nary substance wherever they’re viewed. The surface besides comes successful 2 antithetic sizes, 11 and 13 inches, and fixed the benignant of enactment the instrumentality volition beryllium utilized for, bigger is better, successful our opinion.
Though the iPad Pro is packed with almighty hardware, it remains incredibly bladed and light, making for a perfectly portable device. Just beryllium definite to slap a large iPad lawsuit connected it, arsenic the chassis is simply a spot flexible. Adding Apple’s Magic Keyboard adjacent turns the instrumentality into the cleanable laptop replacement, portion grabbing the unthinkable Apple Pencil Pro with its unsocial features for artists is simply a large idea. But if you don’t privation to driblet different $129, purchasing an Apple Pencil alternatives is simply a large mode to prevention a fewer bucks and inactive instrumentality vantage of sketching.
How to Choose the Best iPad for Students
Since their inception, iPads person wholly changed the tablet game, acting arsenic powerful, portable computers. The champion iPads for students tin service assorted purposes, from notetaking, reading, and probe tools to full-on laptop replacements acceptable to cruise done immoderate tasks are thrown their way. If you’re aft your archetypal iPad for schoolhouse oregon privation a replacement, here's what look for:
What size iPad is bully for school?
iPads scope successful size from 8.3 inches up to 13 inches. For students looking for a speechmaking tablet that besides works large for notetaking connected the go, the astir pocketable and smallest iPad, the Mini, is the mode to go.
The saccharine spot betwixt portability and plentifulness of abstraction to draught documents and devour media is an iPad betwixt 10 to 11 inches. That size scope is wherever you’ll find the existent tablet experience, and Apple has 3 iPads that acceptable the bill: the iPad, iPad Air, and iPad Pro.
The 13-inch iPad size – disposable connected the Air and Pro models – is perfect for productivity, and the other surface abstraction volition service students successful originative and STEM majors well. Slapping a keyboard connected the iPad makes it a viable laptop replacement. However, the larger surface means this tablet is somewhat little portable than the others.
How overmuch should you wage for an iPad?
Since it's not the astir existent procreation of the iPad, the 10th procreation iPad is the astir budget-friendly – if it's successful stock. Otherwise, determination volition often beryllium awesome deals connected the newer 11th procreation iPad during fashionable woody times similar Prime Day and Black Friday. By going for a lower-cost option, sacrifices to powerfulness and surface prime volition beryllium made, but students tin inactive easy tally galore of their favourite apps.
Pricier iPad models similar the Pro and Air spot an uptick successful show prowess, storage, and features, truthful your acquisition moving apps and completing tasks volition beryllium speedier and much fluid. The iPad Pro is the astir costly iPad model, costing upwards of $2,500 depending connected specs. That’s a batch for assemblage students. Therefore, we’d lone urge grabbing the Pro if you genuinely request the powerfulness and graphical abilities. The iPad Air is importantly much affordable than the Pro, and erstwhile you adhd successful its lightweight, sleek design, and accelerated processor, it’s casual to spot wherefore it’s our favourite iPad for students.
Apple besides often offers acquisition pricing and pupil discounts, truthful beryllium definite to spot if it’s moving immoderate promotions connected the iPad exemplary you’d similar to purchase. This back-to-school season, Apple is adding a brace of AirPods (or different eligible accessory) with an iPad oregon machine purchase.
What features bash you request for school?
All iPads are versatile machines with utile features for students, but starting with a beardown net transportation is key. Each iPad delivers WiFi enactment for a reliable wireless connection, which should enactment large astir campus. It’s imaginable to acquisition iPad models with cellular support, but we don’t deliberation that's a indispensable further disbursal for students.
When FaceTiming relatives backmost location oregon attending online classes, a large front-facing camera is essential. As for the main lens, students should beryllium little concerned. That other camera is large erstwhile you conscionable request to drawback a speedy pic for notation later, but smartphones ever look amended and are acold much convenient to grip than the ones connected tablets.
Solid-sounding integrated speakers tin besides travel successful useful erstwhile you’re sick of utilizing your wireless earbuds. The iPad Air and iPad Pro are superior successful this regard, though astir nary tablet is susceptible of producing unthinkable audio for things similar movies and music. However, if you privation to tune retired the satellite erstwhile moving from your tablet astatine the room oregon connected the quad, IGN adept Nick Woodard's reappraisal of the Apple AirPods 4 with ANC was overwhelmingly positive, meaning these earbuds are a large alternate to the pricier AirPods Pro 2.
Unfortunately, connectivity options connected iPad models are limited. For the astir part, you’re conscionable getting a USB-C, immoderate of which person DisplayPort capabilities. At slightest Bluetooth enactment is beardown connected each models for connecting wireless accessories.
Best Student iPad FAQs
Is 64GB capable iPad retention for students?
The magnitude of retention indispensable for students depends connected what the iPad is utilized for. If its superior intent is to tally immoderate apps, instrumentality notes, and watercourse a immoderate videos, you tin get by with that 64GB of storage. Luckily, it’s casual and inexpensive capable to link the instrumentality to a unreality retention work for further abstraction to prevention your photos, videos, and documents. The 11th gen iPad that came retired earlier this twelvemonth present comes with 128GB of basal storage, which is large upgrade. The lone iPad to connection 64GB of retention retired of the container is the 10th gen iPad, which is getting harder to travel by.
If downloading the champion iPad games and apical shows is simply a precocious priority, upping to 128GB oregon 256GB is simply a bully idea. However, STEM, graphic design, film, and different originative majors could payment from redeeming projects locally and request other abstraction for bloated software, and should truthful question 512GB oregon much retention space. Of course, grabbing a large outer USB-C thrust is besides ever a large idea.
What iPad accessories bash students need?
The champion iPad accessory that a pupil tin limb their tablet with is simply a lawsuit oregon cover. Chances are bully that it’ll beryllium sliding successful and retired of bags often, truthful thing to support the chassis and surface protected ensures you don’t ceramic it. Students could besides payment from a portable charger during engaged days shuffling betwixt classes, portion the compatible Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil beryllium utile erstwhile taking notes. Beyond that, each the basics, similar AirPods and a USB-C charger travel successful handy.
Samsung tablet vs. iPad for students
Many of the champion Android tablets are Samsung-made, and portion iPads are great, Samsung is giving Apple a tally for its money. iPads thin to supply a much fluid, creaseless acquisition consistently, espeically if you already person an iPhone. For students looking for a originative powerhouse, the Pro can’t beryllium beat. However, pricing is simply a spot much restrictive and immoderate find iPadOS limiting. Samsung, connected the different hand, offers a wide scope of Galaxy Tablets astatine antithetic terms points for much flexibility – immoderate of which support up with the iPad – but show tin inactive beryllium a mixed bag, depending connected the exemplary and specs chosen.
Ultimately, erstwhile it comes to students deciding betwixt the two, it’s much a substance of idiosyncratic preference. If you’re each successful connected the Apple ecosystem, an iPad is the mode to go, and if you’re dedicated to Android devices, Samsung makes much sense.
Danielle Abraham is simply a freelance writer for IGN based successful Los Angeles who spends astir of her clip updating tech buying guides.
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