To all the Air 2 owners who have hung on for four years now, when you eventually replace it, what are you going to do? My iPad can barely hold a 4-5 hour charge now so I would feel like I'd be ripping someone off if I sold it on Craigslist or eBay. And it certainly isn't worth paying $99 for a replacement. Even as a hand me down, it seems more hassle than it is worth. After watching 2 movies, the battery is shot.
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Air 2 battery life is shot, what are you going to do?
- Thread starter Kendo
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Sell it, while fully disclosing the battery situation. See what people are willing to pay. They may be willing to replace the battery themselves.
At 3.5 years old the Air 2 is still a really great device (especially considering that Apple is still selling an iPad which in some ways is a modest upgrade to the Air 2 and in other ways is a downgrade from the Air 2), and used ones are still fetching a good price second hand. It may not be worth it to you to pay for the battery replacement to keep it, but it may be worth it to have the battery replaced to sell it (for top dollar assuming it is otherwise in good shape) or to sell it as is and fully disclose the state of the battery to potential buyers. Considering what I use it for, my Air 2 is still going strong.
Even a refurbished iPad (latest gen) is $279 for a 32 GB. They aren't much more powerful and the Air 2's screen is better. I would do the $99 battery replacement if the Air 2 was on good physical condition.
While the Air2 screen is better, replacing a cracked one is a huge pain. The LCD/digitizer is fused costing nearly the same as replacing an iPad Pro display, in my area about $199 at cost / $249 if shopped out. Whereas the iPad ( 2017 ) version cracked display replacement is $99 anywhere, a bit cheaper if you shop around.
I’ve had mine since day 1, and somehow I only have a little over 350 cycles. The battery is at 91% capacity, and honestly I can’t tell much difference battery wise. Perhaps I’m lucky? Amazing device, I’ve gotten a ton of use out of it. It’s helping me get through grad school at the moment.
I’ll probably just keep it until the wheels fall off.
I’ll probably just keep it until the wheels fall off.
- Keep it as a bedside or desktop device.
- Use it as a rotating picture frame.
- Keep it connected to a speaker and use it just for music.
- Kept it as an Apple TV remote.
- Make it into a single purpose home automation tool.
- Use it as a “guest” device (I.e. when people come over and “just want to check something”)
- Keep it around as a backup.
- Hand it down to family/friends.
- Flyswatter.
Yeah but he hadn't indicated the screen is cracked in the OP as far as I can see. So we are just talking a battery replacement. Still a very good tablet IMHO.
Did you check it with Apple? They are what charging $99 for Changing the battery on the Air-2 ?
As long as the ipad is running good, i would do the battery replacement, as I tend to pass electronics down to the kids/other family. If I routinely sold my electronics, no, as I wouldn’t get the value back even with a fresh battery on the used market.
Mine is still at 91% health and I bought it 3 months after its release. Still upgraded to the iPad Pro 10.5 last year. It was rather random too. I went to Dubai and realized they got no sales tax so I went crazy at the Apple Store there lol
I don't recommend replacing the battery. Save the $99 and save the potential of something else going wrong during the replacement (not all damage is immediate), live with the reduced 3-4 hour battery life, and continue on. Apple didn't design these things to go beyond 3-4 years of use.
@bensisko already provided a great list of alternative uses for it. I'll add a few more:
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Why use a material (aluminum) for the shell that will last 10-20+ years but saddle it with a battery that will only be useful for 4... and NOT provide a way for the user to replace that battery? But that is a topic for another thread.
@bensisko already provided a great list of alternative uses for it. I'll add a few more:
- Get an iCade cabinet and turn it into a dedicated gaming system (*)
- Get the Duo Pinball controller and turn it into a dedicated pinball game (*)
- Use it as a "picture tube" for a vintage TV (*)
- Mount it to a wall, install the EarthCam Webcam app, and use it as a "virtual window"
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Why use a material (aluminum) for the shell that will last 10-20+ years but saddle it with a battery that will only be useful for 4... and NOT provide a way for the user to replace that battery? But that is a topic for another thread.