Amazon just knocked $100 off Apple's 11-inch iPad Air, and it's one of the better deals in the current pile of pre-Prime Day markdowns.
As of September 24, the M4-powered iPad Air (128GB) is $649 on Amazon, down from its usual $749. The discount lands about two weeks ahead of Amazon's October Prime Day, set for October 6-7, and follows the familiar pattern of Apple deals leaking out before the main event. The Air comes with Apple Intelligence, Touch ID, and the Apple N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7, plus a Liquid Retina display. It's already a generation behind Apple's newer M6 chip, but the M4 still outperforms most consumer laptops.
The more interesting story is what Apple's yearly chip refresh does to "previous-gen" pricing: an M4 iPad a year after launch is still faster than almost anything a typical buyer needs, which is why retailers can shave $100 off instead of running a fire sale. It also shows Amazon's usual Prime Day playbook of trickling out Apple discounts early, since Apple itself rarely joins Prime Day markdowns directly.
If you want the newest silicon, wait for M6 deals. If you just want a fast, light iPad without Pro pricing, $649 is the number to beat before October 6.