Whats the lifespan of an iPad

Just like any tech device it has a short useability life span. Even more for mobile devices as they're not upgradable, the technology is so small it's not really doable for them to cram enough extra oomph in there to last for years to come and mobile / small technology is growing so fast every month something newer and faster is out.

Well you can keep an iPad for as long as yu want, but most people upgrade every 2 years

Soon as the new iPhone, iPad, iPod comes out the old one is dead. I maintain my momentum by reselling (ebay, craigslist, gazelle.com) them a day or two before announcement. On iPhones I break even and some times make a few $. But on iPads I loose about 100$ or so. Seems worth it to me to have the latest and greatest.

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I think the OP is talking about the durability? If so well Apple devices usually last a while I see iPad 1 and 1st gen iPhones, 3G phones still going...

rollzst said:

Well you can keep an iPad for as long as yu want, but most people upgrade every 2 years

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I'm not sure we can say that yet. We can say that most currently expect to, but since we are only just on the third generation, we are only just completing our first two year cycle.

Personally I'd expect the usual cycle to lengthen to three years as the product matures. Not sure if it is mature enough left, but I'm expecting this generation to have a better lifespan than the previous two, though not sure on how much it will adjust the average.

it all depends on how well you take care of it !

i think the lifespan of an ios device is subjective, what's slow to you on your 3g might be tolerable to someone else.
If I couldn't afford to upgrade my iPad1 would have been sufficient for my needs, so I'm keeping it i'll leave it on the side table and it will get used

Going off the VERY small group of data I'd say two years.

My 1G is feeling incredibly left out. The lack of RAM seems to be ruling it out of all the cool new apps (iPhoto and Photoshop Touch I'm looking at you). It's sluggish in iOS 5 though the 5.1 update seems to have sorted that out for the most part.

Battery-wise it's still as good as day one, never seem to have to worry about charging it. But damn if it isn't fat and heavy compared to the iPad 2.

I am upgrading from an original iPad, but it isn't because I need to.

True, there are some issues, like the occasional crash and some Apps which don't run as smoothly as I like, but it is still certainly useable, and if I couldn't afford a new one then I would have no problem carrying on with it for another year at least.

Unless there are specific Apps which you use that require the better hardware then most people could go three years I'd say.

For a real casual user then it could be significantly longer.

Still rocking a 1st gen after almost 2 years. Battery is still fantastic and screen is still fantastic. Pre-ordered an iPad 3rd gen and this 1st gen will just become a general home iPad that can be used like a coffee table book/recipe book/Son's educational toy/whatever else I can think of until the day it finally dies.

If you can stand not upgrading, the iPad would last 5+ years easy.

I could NEVER!

bobright said:

I think the OP is talking about the durability? If so well Apple devices usually last a while I see iPad 1 and 1st gen iPhones, 3G phones still going...

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No, comprehension fail. Read the OP again.

I think that for a version 1 device, the iPad was revolutionary. However, I don't think even Apple had any idea how much it would be a game changer in how people use computers. With the advent heavier demands on the hardware, the iPad 1 (not unlike the iPhone 1), looks long in the tooth sooner than subsequent versions. With a faster processor and improved memory capacity, I'd expect the iPad 2 and the "new" iPad to have a bit longer usable life.

The lifespan of an iPad is as long as it continues to work and does what you need it to do.

In practical terms that could be 12 months or 5 years.

On the short end, if you NEED it to run Infinity Blade: Dungeons, that may make an older iPad obsolete. For you.

If all you do is email and web browsing, it can be years before the battery doesn't hold a charge anymore. I seem to remember reading about a battery replacement service from Apple? For as long as the battery holds a charge, it will live on. For some people. That could be years.

My opinion is it is all on the user's shoulders how long the device will last them.

ie: if you take good physical care of the device, barring anything blowing out, it will last for years.

If you are not the type that needs the latest and greatest and can use prudence in determining at what point you should STOP installing the latest patch or OS, knowing that they are mostly directed towards the newer devices. (basically stop while it is working slick and you are ahead).
It will last min 5 years I expect.

I believe Apple does a courtesy battery replacement, or at the very least does the replacement for the fee of the battery, not sure.

If you are the type that likes it for new games, and keep upgrading various apps and finding new uses for it based on what the new updates or OS offers, then I expect the iPad will last you max 2 years if you are patient.

Much of this kind of device rests on the user.

My friend still has the iPhone 3g and it is working great for her.

rollzst said:

Well you can keep an iPad for as long as yu want, but most people upgrade every 2 years

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What? Zero people have ever upgraded every two years, given that it hasn't even been out for two years yet. Do you have any links showing that the majority of 1 owners are upgrading this year, and the majority of 2 owners aren't?

That said, I think 2 years is likely to be a popular upgrade cycle. I'm definitely wondering if the original iPad will be able to handle iOS 6 whenever it comes out - but then, I also think it had an absurdly low amount of RAM. It's possible that the 3 will hold up longer than the 1.

porcupine8 said:

What? Zero people have ever upgraded every two years, given that it hasn't even been out for two years yet. Do you have any links showing that the majority of 1 owners are upgrading this year, and the majority of 2 owners aren't?

That said, I think 2 years is likely to be a popular upgrade cycle. I'm definitely wondering if the original iPad will be able to handle iOS 6 whenever it comes out - but then, I also think it had an absurdly low amount of RAM. It's possible that the 3 will hold up longer than the 1.

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I would say the majority of iPad owners are upgrading every year!

I am addicted to Apple products. Not exactly sure why, except perhaps because they work so perfectly and that I use them so often for so many things throughout the day and night. I have a compulsion to upgrade each time a new iPad and iPhone is released, and so I do, whether or not it makes sense based on economics or need. I always buy the model with the largest memory, and I always have them filled to the brim with music, recorded tv shows, and apps.

WytRaven said:

Still rocking a 1st gen after almost 2 years. Battery is still fantastic and screen is still fantastic.

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There are more software issues for me (crashing apps, lagging typing and other oddness) that led me to upgrade this time around. iPad 2 was not worth the cost for me. So I'd say 2-3 years before it becomes noticeably sluggish.

Now I have a MBP that is almost 5 years old, but it is still running well AND I am able to upgrade memory, hard drive, software, etc. iPads not quite designed for that!

mrmarts said:

I have always been a iPhone user since my second generation days inasmuch IOS is something that has grown with me however with that my iPhone 3G is turning 4 years old and it can brealy run most of the new apps on the market. So heres the question does the IPAD suffer the same fate i understand that they just updated the graphics chipset. I know when they updated the graphics on the 3GS my 3G was slowly but surely dying.

If i decide to get a iPad on friday if i find one that is what would be lifespan of the device as I mainly upgrade my phone, iMac, and mac book when i need to.

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As long as your nice to it, it'll work

I just upgrade every year. Easy enough since the iPad resale market is so good. It's different than the iPhone b/c the iPhone is subsidized. I keep my iPhones until they are eligible for full subsidy then sell to recoup the subsidized cost.

iPhone = yearly
iPad = every two years
Mac = every 3 or 4 years

No one knows for sure because most everyone just keeps them for a year and sells for the new model but it appears the 2 year old original iPad is still going strong.

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I had the 1 and 2 sold both and am only by the 3 for the photo end

It can last you a long time, the bigger question is how long can you last before upgrading to a new model?

I'd say 5 years, but that's mainly an estimate before you want to take it in to get the battery changed, so you can get the full 10hrs a charge back. Electronics like that just don't go bad. Heck, I still have a fully operational Palm smartphone from maybe 2 or 3 years before there was an iPhone. Back when Blackberry was just taking off. Not that I use it anymore. And Phones, by technical standards, aren't supposed to last as long as larger devices due to heat and how close their electronics are packed together.

Given the iPad stays cool pretty much all of the time, I can't even guess how many years or decades it'll last.