Apple’s 9th Gen iPad now available for Rs 19,999 on Flipkart: Best tablet under Rs 20,000?

Is the discontinued 9th Gen iPad still a good buy in 2024?

9th Gen iPad is currently the cheapest tablet from Apple (Image credit: fancycrave1/Pixabay)

The 9th-generation iPad is the last of its kind for many reasons. It’s the last iPad with a home button, the last iPad with a Lightning connector, and the last iPad with a 3.5mm headphone jack, and it is currently the most affordable iPad in India.

Flipkart currently lists the 9th-generation iPad with 64 GB of internal storage for Rs 19,999. With a flat Rs 1,000 discount on UPI payments, the effective price of the 9th-generation iPad comes down to just Rs 18,999.

Although Apple has officially discontinued the 9th-generation iPad, it will continue to receive software updates for the next few years. For anyone looking for a tablet for regular day-to-day usage, the A13 Bionic chip-powered iPad should make the cut.

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This will be the right choice if you are looking for your first iPad without burning a hole in your pocket. It will give you a glimpse of the iPad’s past, present, and future.

What makes this a great deal

The iPad 9th Gen comes with an old-school home button. (Express Photo)

Even if you are considering a good mid-range Android tablet, you need to spend over Rs 20,000 to get models like the Xiaomi Pad 6 (review). However, at its discounted price, the 9th Gen iPad, despite being a bit dated, is an excellent-looking tablet for many reasons, including its metal unibody design, refined iPadOS 18 experience, high-resolution screen, and an excellent pair of speakers.

Like any other iPad, this model offers all-day battery life. If you already have an iPhone, the 9th Gen iPad can be an extension of that, allowing you to take calls, make video calls, and easily transfer data between the two.

The one major issue with this device is storage. With just 64 GB of internal storage and no microSD slot, the storage can fill up quickly, especially if you store a lot of data locally.

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Should you buy a discontinued iPad?

The word discontinued might scare some. However, it just means Apple will no longer sell it in its online or offline stores. Considering its age, the 9th Gen iPad should receive at least two more major iPadOS upgrades. However, due to hardware limitations, it won’t gain any of the Apple Intelligence, which definitely shouldn’t be an issue for anyone considering this machine.

If you are looking for a tablet for web browsing, video streaming, or note-taking, the 9th Gen iPad can do it all without breaking a sweat. This is also the last iPad that lets users plug in their 3.5mm wired earphones directly for low-latency gaming and lossless music streaming. At its current discounted price of Rs 18,999, the 9th Gen iPad is not just a great budget iPad under Rs 20,000, but a great tablet, period.