Two weeks ago Apple unveiled anticipated updates to its tablet range in the form of the iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 3. Core, the South African importer of Apple products, has since announced price reductions on selected iPads, making already excellent devices far more pocket friendly.

The biggest change to both the new iPad Air and the new iPad mini is the inclusion of a Touch ID fingerprint sensor, no doubt motivated by Apple’s payment solution, Apple Pay, which it rolled out in the US last week and which works far more elegantly with Touch ID than it does with a passcode.

Though Touch ID is certainly convenient, and makes buying applications in Apple’s App Store or paying for things using mobile payment solutions like SnapScan far more seamless it’s by no means an essential feature, particularly when it comes to tablets.

The existing iPad Air and iPad mini 2 are both outstanding tablet computers with potent processors, brilliant “retina” displays and excellent battery life. Unless you absolutely have to have the latest and greatest technology, the existing range just became real bargains.

A Wi-Fi only 16GB iPad mini can be picked up for R3 299, while the entry-level Retina model of the Wi-Fi-only mini will cost you R3 999. The iPad Air, meanwhile, now starts at R5 299 for the 16GB Wi-Fi only version.

See the table below for the full breakdown of the revised recommended pricing: