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You mean use a 9 year old insecure device?
Not a good reason I guess..
Well, that's a decision that should be made my the one who continues using it.
There are several ways to add addional security layers, e.g. by sideloading a decent firewall and/or an antimalware solution, or even by routing all network traffic through a proxy which runs a network traffic/content scanner.
 
Pfft, obsolete?! My iPad still has the 30-pin connector. And it works great! So long as you don’t care about modern apps. Or modern websites…

But the WiFi, the Music app, and even the App Store (good luck finding compatible apps) all still work! The original battery is still in good condition after 11 years. Classic iOS games are the best (FTL!)
Planed obsolescence! :)
 
My first iPad. Loved that thing and it lasted forever. Decided to give it to my Dad when I got my Pro. He absolutely mangled it.
 

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yah, they planed it to be obsolete after 10-years. You simply can't fly anywhere these days
There should be no planed obsolescence at all, even if 10 years is a long time.
The only valid obsolescence in my opinion is an overall less usage going down to zero, and when a users decides to replace it, instead of a by the manufacturer enforced replacement/obsolescence.
There are plenty of these devices out there, they could also go to third-world countries and still be used there as second-hand device. Or just get a second life with a third-party browser as some kind of terminal glued to a fridge, whatever.
There are many useful things that still could be done with a such older device and sideloading enabled.
 
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With the latest ipados that it supports it's painfully slow-as is each os version on older equipment.
 
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This late 2012 Mac mini is still going strong running Monterey!
Mine still runs very well, but it still uses Mac OS 10.15 Catalina. Especially now that I largely use my M1 MacBook Air and 2012 15" unibody i7 MacBook Pro, both of which run Monterey. But at least should Apple come out with a new pro-level Apple Silicon Mac Mini, I plan to buy that as my new desktop computer.
 
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I've got one and it's been obsolete by my standards for a while. No longer receiving updates and can't run modern apps anymore. I can't complain though, it served it's purpose.
 
YouTube no longer works on iOS 10.3.3 [wi-fi]/iOS 10.3.4 [cellular + wi-fi] which is the highest version that can be installed on iPad 4th gen while I can still log in to Spotify on iPhone 4 running iOS 7.1.2

What are you doing Google?

32GB used to be enormous back in the day but even if you are just using it to take photos today, you'll easily run out of space in no time... Hopefully one day we can officially downgrade it to iOS 6.1.3 or iOS 8.4.1 and bring back the good old days...
 
The real iPad 3.
Don’t remind me. I was at University and wanted an iPad. I had saved my money and could have gone for the iPad 2 but I held out for the Retina display like my iPhone 4.

Ordered one day one.

I was so annoyed when this was announced only 6 or so months later.
 
The 4th generation iPad is the first ever Apple product I ever got, my Dad bought it for me shortly after launch when I was in university while he was in Dubai for business. The model I had was the 32GB WiFi+LTE model, I remember running iOS 6 on it and how the battery simply did not want to die 😂 thoroughly enjoyed playing Asphalt on this beast at the time, could game almost all day on a charge.

I remember thinking he had bought me an iPad 3 then I saw the Lightning port and came here to MacRumours to confirm and realised it was a 4th Gen, best tech feeling ever, lol!

In 2014/2015 I moved to iPad Air 2 and gave the iPad 4 to my little sister for school, I believe she has now passed it down to one of our nephews recently, it’s still working well apparently, my Dad was blown away at how long it has lasted, he is an Apple fan so he’s very happy to see his grandchild using it now.
 
I inherited a fourth generation iPad Mini from my dad. He bought it in 2014 and passed away in 2017. I still use it from time to time, keeping it as a backup machine to take two coffee shops so I can peruse the news. I don't care about most apps and a browser works just fine on most sites. Apple stopped updating the operating system quite some time ago anyway.

For most people I fail to see why they should buy an iPad these days anyway. $700 Canadian for a mini? Are you out of your mind? Chrome OS tablets are slowly going to take over the world. They're a better choice for most people, far cheaper and also way easier to use. 90% of the population (not us techies that post on here) don't do anything more than read emails or occasional Instagram posts, and maybe the news. You don't need the latest Mac hardware to do that!
 
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Now if only Apple would obsolete the cable itself. Get with the times and give us a USB-C iPhone. Thanks.
 


Alongside adding the iPhone 6 Plus to its list of vintage and obsolete products, Apple today also updated its list to officially consider the fourth-generation iPad released in 2012 as obsolete.

ipad-4-lightning.jpg

The fourth-generation iPad was marked internally at Apple as obsolete in November, but it had not updated its public list to make it official until today. The fourth-generation iPad was announced in November of 2012 and was the first iPad to feature the Lightning connector, revealed for the first time on the iPhone 5 announced weeks earlier.

Alongside the introduction of the Lightning connector to the iPad, the fourth-generation ‌iPad‌ was twice as fast and had up to three times better graphics than the previous model.

Apple today also updated its list to officially mark the Mid-2010 and Late 2012 Mac mini models as obsolete.

Article Link: Apple Officially Obsoletes First iPad With Lightning Connector
Still watching ripped down movies on my 16GB iPad 2, complete with 30 pin cable. VLC of course, about the only thing that will still run on it.
 
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You mean use a 9 year old insecure device?
Not a good reason I guess..

More reason to unlock the device when it's retired by Apple so a different OS can be sideloaded. I have a 2008 Thinkpad x200 that's running the latest Windows 11 and Linux so no reason for 2012 device not be able to.
 
Pfft, obsolete?! My iPad still has the 30-pin connector. And it works great! So long as you don’t care about modern apps. Or modern websites…

But the WiFi, the Music app, and even the App Store (good luck finding compatible apps) all still work! The original battery is still in good condition after 11 years. Classic iOS games are the best (FTL!)

Too bad it's useless for browsing since Apple tied browser updates to OS updates and gimped 3rd party parties which are just skins over Apple WebKit engine.
 
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