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iPad How long will the iPad Air 2 last?

A

acm1108

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 29, 2013
160
25
Like many of you, when making a "big purchase" item on an electronic my main concern is how long will it last.

So that's my question to you all, how long do you think our new iPad Air 2's will last. Not in the sense of physical durability- but in the sense of being up to par with the future generation iPads?

Coming from the iPad 3- yes it was the latest and greatest at the time, but that was only 2 years ago (2012). And the way it runs iOS 8 right now is absolutely pathetic.
 
boltjames

boltjames

macrumors 601
May 2, 2010
4,876
2,851
acm1108 said:
Like many of you, when making a "big purchase" item on an electronic my main concern is how long will it last.

So that's my question to you all, how long do you think our new iPad Air 2's will last. Not in the sense of physical durability- but in the sense of being up to par with the future generation iPads?

Coming from the iPad 3- yes it was the latest and greatest at the time, but that was only 2 years ago (2012). And the way it runs iOS 8 right now is absolutely pathetic.
Click to expand...

My opinion:

The iPhone 6 and the iPad Air 2 are just about as thin as they're going to get. So I'm not worried about weight or size or form factor being obsolete in 24 months.

However, processing horsepower and operating system size are constantly changing and it is very likely that 2 years from now the latest iOS will make our iPad's run slowly again.

I just sold my iPad 3 for $500 on Craigslist, cost me $829 for a new one, I don't view $329 as a big spend for two years of terrific Apple performance.

BJ
 
C

corry20

macrumors regular
Apr 27, 2006
188
3
I just sold my Ipad 3 and have the Ipad Air 2.I am thinking more then 3 years with this processor.I have a early Macbook pro 2011 and still works great with Yosemite.
 
macduke

macduke

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,133
19,662
The iPad 3 had the same A5 chip as the iPad 2, which is why it's unpopular. Sure it has 1GB of ram and a faster graphics chip (barely fast enough to power the retina display), but the CPU itself was essentially the same.

The Air 2 has a significantly faster CPU, GPU, and twice the RAM. Given that the current iPhones have 1GB of RAM, I'd say this thing is good for iOS 12 and maybe 13 but will be definitely showing its age by that time.
 
osofast240sx

osofast240sx

macrumors 68030
Mar 25, 2011
2,539
16
boltjames said:
My opinion:

The iPhone 6 and the iPad Air 2 are just about as thin as they're going to get. So I'm not worried about weight or size or form factor being obsolete in 24 months.

However, processing horsepower and operating system size are constantly changing and it is very likely that 2 years from now the latest iOS will make our iPad's run slowly again.

I just sold my iPad 3 for $500 on Craigslist, cost me $829 for a new one, I don't view $329 as a big spend for two years of terrific Apple performance.

BJ
Click to expand...
Not entirely true there are 5.5mm android tablets in the wild.
 
S

Shadow Runner

macrumors regular
Jun 14, 2010
116
71
osofast240sx said:
Not entirely true there are 5.5mm android tablets in the wild.
Click to expand...

While there are tablets that thin, they often make considerable design sacrifices to get that thin. The air 2 is so thin now, it vibrates at any reasonable volume, shows screen distortion when putting a little more than normal force on it, and lacks the same battery life as its predecessor. These are all because it is so thin now. If Apple made it another .6 mm thinner there would be too much compromise to call it a high end tablet. At least this is the case for the current generation.
 
osofast240sx

osofast240sx

macrumors 68030
Mar 25, 2011
2,539
16
Shadow Runner said:
While there are tablets that thin, they often make considerable design sacrifices to get that thin. The air 2 is so thin now, it vibrates at any reasonable volume, shows screen distortion when putting a little more than normal force on it, and lacks the same battery life as its predecessor. These are all because it is so thin now. If Apple made it another .6 mm thinner there would be too much compromise to call it a high end tablet. At least this is the case for the current generation.
Click to expand...
i have not had those issues I can put a good amount of pressure on the back and have zero distortion. Battery life is about the same as my Air, matey a little less. Apple will eventually goto 5.4mm on all of there devices hopefully solar panels behind the screen will be ready for prime time.
 
N

natsinicky

macrumors member
Oct 27, 2014
69
2
I'm not sure if i'm correct in assuming so, but I do believe that apple intentionally designs their products to "expire" after so long. Perhaps a generation or two of a product later, and your device will start to be a little too slow for comfort. Let's face it, they want you to buy every new one. :p
 
KenB

KenB

macrumors member
Nov 4, 2014
49
1
Portland, Oregon
We got short changed a bit on the iPad 3, because they released the 4 within 6 months, with the spec changes that should have occurred on the 3, along with the Retina display. I'd expect this one to last at least 3 years, especially since it's approaching desktop performance stats.

OTOH, the iPad Pro is coming next year...
 
sonicrobby

sonicrobby

macrumors 68020
Apr 24, 2013
2,482
526
New Orleans
Depending on your uses, It can last a good while. I still use my iPad 1 for small stuff like remote to my iTunes, Facebook, music, recipes, and splashtop to control my Mac mini. If you use an iPad as a gaming device or anything heavy, the app requirements may exceed the hardware capabilities; thoug I think the A8x and 2 gigs of ram will go a long way.
 
B

Bobby dazzler

macrumors regular
Nov 17, 2013
112
17
macduke said:
The iPad 3 had the same A5 chip as the iPad 2, which is why it's unpopular. Sure it has 1GB of ram and a faster graphics chip (barely fast enough to power the retina display), but the CPU itself was essentially the same.

The Air 2 has a significantly faster CPU, GPU, and twice the RAM. Given that the current iPhones have 1GB of RAM, I'd say this thing is good for iOS 12 and maybe 13 but will be definitely showing its age by that time.
Click to expand...

Didn't the iPad3 have an A5X?
...hope your prediction is correct, but we'll have to see how slow any new versions of iOS will slow them up. Who knows, eh?
 
macduke

macduke

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,133
19,662
The X was the faster graphics chip. The performance was the same for computational tasks, and the faster graphics could barely run the first gen retina display. Geekbench actually shows the A5X being a few points lower than the iPad 2, lol. Later X chips were always a little faster with better graphics. Then apple did pretty much the same thing with the A7 (little bit faster CPU with faster graphics) but for some reason didn't use the X numbering after the A7. Then this year they gave us the fastest X series by far, with a whole extra core, faster clock, twice the graphics power (previously this was in the 25-50% faster range), and double the RAM. Year over year this is the biggest jump since the way underpowered first-gen iPad to the iPad 2.
 
TechZeke

TechZeke

macrumors 68020
Jul 29, 2012
2,454
2,287
Dallas, TX
macduke said:
The X was the faster graphics chip. The performance was the same for computational tasks, and the faster graphics could barely run the first gen retina display. Geekbench actually shows the A5X being a few points lower than the iPad 2, lol. Later X chips were always a little faster with better graphics. Then apple did pretty much the same thing with the A7 (little bit faster CPU with faster graphics) but for some reason didn't use the X numbering after the A7. Then this year they gave us the fastest X series by far, with a whole extra core, faster clock, twice the graphics power (previously this was in the 25-50% faster range), and double the RAM. Year over year this is the biggest jump since the way underpowered first-gen iPad to the iPad 2.
Click to expand...

Which is why I think the Air 2 will have the staying power of iPad 2. iPad 2 owners should be rejoicing, as the iPad 2 would end up being the most future proof tablet of all time for those first-time purchasers.

iPad 3 was a fiasco. Never again.
 
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