iPad Prime Day deals are here – but make sure you choose wisely

Short answer: it can be. There are always good iPad deals over Prime Day, and today it's easy to discover the bad deals masquerading as good deals (see below).

I've been covering iPad Prime Day deals for five years now, and I do have a top tip – come with realistic expectations. Expect $50 to $100 on the most recent iPad models over Prime, and you won't be disappointed. Looking for 50% off the flagship iPad Pro? That's never going to happen.

This year is a four-day Amazon Prime Day, not the usual two-day event, but money expert Fred Harrington still feels he can predict when the very best deals are likely to be released.

"The biggest misconception about Prime Day is that the best deals appear at midnight on Day 1," says Fred from Proxy Coupons. In fact, it's a matter of when the first batch of stock starts clearing up.

"Retailers typically hold back their best counter-offers until they see how Amazon's pricing plays out," says Fred. "By day three or four, you'll likely see price wars kicking in as other major retailers [such as Best Buy of Waitrose] try to steal market share. That's when the genuine bargains appear – not in the opening hours when everyone's rushing to buy."

Having covered my fair share of Prime Days, I agree with this. However, I can't afford to presume that this will happen each year, and so I will be covering all the deals as and when they happen. But at Creative Bloq, we always give context to the deals that we promote, saying if it's a good, great or best (ie, record low) deal.

Either way, I predict that there will be some sizeable discounts on iPads this July's Prime Day, and I honestly think that the Apple tablet that most of you should go for is a heavily discounted iPad Air.

As I said, it's never been easier to find out the dud deals, thanks to price history apps, and by relying on brands like Creative Bloq who have been covering Prime for years, and so can give you an honest context to each deal.

In every deal that we report on, we compare the average asking price of the iPad to its deal price. We do not – as Amazon is guilty of doing – compare the original retail price of the iPad to the deal price. Why is this important? Well, the retail price will reference the iPad's price on initial release – sometimes 12 to 24 months ago. This will naturally come down, but some retailers ignore this because referencing the higher original retail price makes the discount price look bigger.

It's not illegal, but it is dodgy, in our opinion. So we will never knowingly give you the inflated retail price as the base of the deal price.

I think there's not much in them. Remember that Prime Day is so much more than just Amazon. Retailers like Best Buy and Walmart also want to sell you iPads, and they will try and out-do each other, especially in the latter days of the event.

All consumers know about Prime Day. There is no single Back to School retail event, and the big retailers all know this.

So should you wait until later summer and early Fall to get your discounted iPad? I'm not convinced. But if you don't get your ideal iPad deal this Prime Day, at least you'll have a second swing at it come Fall.