Apple iPad Pro 12.9" 2021, M1, 8GB, 128GB, Space Gray

The best tablet display on the market, wrapped in a refurb gamble. Buy it for the screen, pray for the battery.

The M1 chip in here is the same silicon Apple put in the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro. That's wild for a tablet. With 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD, this thing chews through Procreate canvases, 4K video edits in LumaFusion, and multitasking with Stage Manager without breaking a sweat. The 12.9-inch XDR display hits 1000 nits of full-screen brightness and 1600 nits peak for HDR, which is best-in-class for any tablet right now. What surprised us? The battery. Not the 10290mAh capacity itself, which is solid, but the fact that refurbished units are showing up with dead batteries or degraded health. A tablet this powerful deserves a battery that shows up ready to work.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is the closest Android rival, and it's got a gorgeous OLED screen and better battery life out of the box. But iPadOS still wins for pro apps like Procreate and Final Cut. The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 runs full Windows, which matters if you need desktop software, but it's heavier and the tablet experience is clunkier. The Xiaomi Pad 7 and Lenovo Idea Tab Plus are cheaper, but they're not in the same league for display quality or raw performance. If you want the best screen and the best app ecosystem, the iPad Pro is still the pick. If you want a fresh battery and a warranty, the Surface Pro 11 or a new Galaxy Tab might be safer.

At USD 595 to USD 792 across three listings, this is a lot of tablet for the money. The cheapest option at USD 595 is a steal if you get a good unit. But that's the gamble. You're rolling the dice on battery health and whether the charging brick shows up. If you can snag one at the low end and the battery checks out, this is one of the best tablet deals going. If you pay USD 792 and get a dead battery, you'll be annoyed. Check the seller's return policy before you click buy.

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro with the M1 chip is still a monster tablet, even years after launch. The one thing to know: that Liquid Retina XDR display is the reason to buy this thing. It's a 2732x2048 mini-LED panel running at 120Hz, and it makes everything from HDR movies to photo editing look absolutely stunning. The M1 chip means this tablet has more horsepower than most laptops, and iPadOS 15.4 keeps things smooth. But here's the catch: you're likely buying this refurbished, and the user sentiment score sits at a rough 29th percentile. That's not about the tablet's capabilities. That's about the refurbishing process itself.

If you're buying this for the battery life or you need a device that works perfectly out of the box, skip the refurb route. The battery lottery is real, and missing chargers are a recurring theme. Go buy a new iPad Pro or a Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra with a fresh battery and a warranty instead.

The iPad Pro 12.9 with M1 is still one of the best tablets ever made, and at these refurbished prices, it's a serious value. But the refurbishing quality is inconsistent. Buy it for the display and the performance, but budget for a possible battery replacement or a missing charger. If you're okay with that gamble, this is a fantastic deal. If you want zero hassle, buy new or look elsewhere.