There aren't many 2022 tablets that we'd recommend as a smart buy in 2024 for much over $1,000, but Apple's sixth-generation behemoth iPad Pro 12.9 with 2TB of storage is likely one of them, at least for a limited time.
If you think you need that much local digital storage, or just feel like it would be nice to own a mobile device that can store all the family photos you've ever taken in your life, Best Buy is currently asking for “only” $1,399 for a 2TB Wi-Fi-only iPad Pro 12.9 (2022) with Apple M2 processing power in Silver and Space Gray color variants.
That doesn't make it a budget tablet, of course, but it does reduce the list price of $2,199 by a whopping $800. Admittedly, the 12.9-inch giant, released in 2022, has been discounted many times in many different variants, but as far as we know, this is a new record price reduction.
It goes without saying that the new and improved iPad Pro 13, which will launch this year with an Apple M4 chip under the hood, Away more expensive than $1,399 with 2TB of storage, and you can usually get more even in a much more modest 512GB configuration.
Even something like the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra costs more than $1,400 in a variant with 1TB of storage, and yes, the Apple M2 processor in the previous-generation iPad Pro easily outperforms the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 under the hood of the best Samsung tablet money can buy right now.
With its old-but-gold chipset and an undeniably stunning Liquid Retina XDR mini-LED LCD screen, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2022) remains without a doubt one of the best tablets on the market, so if you can spend $1,399, it's objectively a smart buy at the time of writing. The battery life, audio performance, and build quality are as premium as they come, and the flaws are largely nonexistent despite this bad boy's relatively advanced age.