Argos offers surprise Black Friday iPad discount, no wonder it's 'selling fast'

Believe it or not, the Black Friday sales have already begun, even though the day itself isn't until November 28. The annual discount bonanza has morphed over the years into a monthlong event, and although that can be overwhelming, it does mean if you spot the item you were hoping would be discounted early, you can pick it up then ignore Black Friday for the rest of November.

One such eye-catching deal is on Apple's newest iPad, which was released earlier this year. It's not an iPad Air or iPad Pro, but the regular iPad in the range, which has an 11-inch display, 128GB storage, and is available in yellow, silver, pink or blue for £299, a £30 saving on the £329 RRP.

That's not the biggest discount, I know, but it's rare to see Apple products discounted at all, yet alone on iPads that are only a few months into their lifetimes. Getting an iPad is always a commitment given there are cheaper Android tablets out there, but if you live in Apple's ecosystem or simply want to know you're getting the quality promised from an iPad, £299 is a great price.

People seem to agree - clicking through to the deal displays a pop up saying this iPad is "selling fast" and has been ordered more than 100 times in the past 12 hours.

The 2025 iPad has a large 11-inch LCD screen with thinner bezels than the iPads of old. It's hard to tell this model apart from the latest iPad Air, with cured edges to the display and tablet itself. On the inside, things are powered by the A16 chipset, which is more than enough oomph if you are doing normal tablet things: streaming Netflix, listening to music, watching yOuTube, writing emails and browsing the web, even playing most games.

The only reason most people would need to upgrade to an iPad Air or iPad Pro is for the laminated displays, which are nicer to write on with the Apple Pencil, or for running high intensity professional apps for things such as video editing or music production.

View the Apple iPad 2025 at Argos

You'll also be able to update this iPad to iPadOS 26, the latest version. With this, you can finally use proper windowing of apps like you can do on a Mac or PC, with some new visual updates to the look o iPadOS too with Liquid Glass.

One thing to note is that this iPad is not compatible with any Apple Intelligence AI features. Then again, you might prefer that!

You get a 12MP camera on the back, plus a 12MP camera on the front for video and FaceTime calls, which is positioned on the long edge of the screen. This means you can set the ipad down landscape on a stand, in a case or connected to a compatible keyboard and chat away hands free without having to hold the iPad portrait like on older models.

With Wi-Fi 6 speeds and Bluetooth for those earbuds or headphones (sorry, no headphone jack), the plain old iPad is anything but plain - if I were to buy an iPad, it would very likely be this one rather than the pricier Air or Pro. Most people really don't need those expensive versions.

One final thing to note is you don't get a charger in the box, only a USB-C cable, so you'll need to use a charger you already have or invest in one.