Your Old IPad Could Give You a New Pixel Tablet for Free
There’s no doubt that Apple has the tablet market cornered, especially in the US. But even if “iPad” is synonymous with these devices for you, it’s worth remembering that there are other great alternatives on the market. If you already have several Google smart home products, like the Nest Mini , something like the Pixel Tablet could make a lot of sense.
If you’ve been thinking about upgrading from an iPad to a Pixel Tablet (or even if you haven’t), Google has a pretty tempting offer. The company recently started offering the Pixel Tablet without a docking station to charge the speakers. Although the dock turns the tablet into a smart home display, choosing just the tablet will save you $100. And while $399 is a better price than $499, that’s not the intriguing deal I’m talking about. Google also offers a trade-in program for your old Samsung or Apple tablet, and depending on the model you’re trading in, trading in your tablet gets you a Pixel Tablet for free: you just pay tax.
What trade-in programs allow you to get a new Pixel tablet for free?
You don’t even have to have a new iPad to take advantage of this deal. Google will accept iPads that are the same age as the iPad 6 released in 2018. If it’s in good condition, your credit will be $399, which is the same price as the base model Pixel Tablet. Even if the iPad is broken, if it turns on, you’ll still get $200 for it. Considering the updated iPad 6 is currently on sale for $164 on Amazon , this is a great deal. What’s interesting is that $399 is the most Google will offer you for any iPad: whether you have an iPad 6 in good condition or the latest 12.9-inch iPad Pro, you’ll get $399 for it.
Google will also accept your Samsung tablets, but won’t offer as much. You’ll get up to $350, depending on the model, or as little as $100. (I think the iPad does retain its value.)
Whether you think it’s worth ditching even a six-year-old iPad will depend on how you feel about purchasing the dockless 128GB Pixel Tablet. If you want to upgrade to 256GB of storage, you can only pay the $99 difference after trade-in (again, plus tax). If you upgrade from a 128GB tablet with a dock, same thing. If you go all out and upgrade the tablet dock to 256GB of storage, you’ll pay $199 instead of the suggested retail price of $599.
The only catch is that the Pixel Tablet must be paid in full at the time of purchase. Google will mail you a kit for your old tablet and, once verified, will give you a discount equal to the agreed trade-in price. After all, you can get a new Pixel Tablet for tax only if you’re willing to part with your old iPad.