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Apple Says Fourth-Generation iPad Released in 2012 is Now Obsolete

The last iPad [of this size] to remain on a 32bit iOS version... Apple should have left both iPhone 5/5c and iPad 4 on iOS 8/iOS 9 but after the issues reported regarding iOS 11 and the newer versions that followed I guess it's okay that it got up to iOS 10 even though it is not as fast as when it was on iOS 6...
 
When Apple was a good brand, it was the user who decided when something was obsolete or not (and who was in control of not changing something when it just worked (TM)). And this was one of the strongest selling points of the Mac. Now Apple changed the game.
 
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I got caught in that iPad 3 cluster too. That was kind of a gut punch after shell out hundreds for something that got tossed aside so quickly by Apple. Of course, they have kind of done the same thing with my $1300 iPhone 12 ProMax that I’m still paying off.
 
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I had an iPad 4 for a short time! It was a great iPad until I decided to upgrade to the Air when it came out because I wanted a cellular iPad.

Ended up being a bit disappointed because the iPad Air felt a lot less solid than the iPad 4. The 4 just felt so strong and solid, and the Air felt hollow, especially when tapping the screen. They're still using this crappy design today in the "regular" entry-level iPad! I guess it's cheap to make.

I sold the iPad 4 to a coworker and ended up using the Air for a long time though, until work issued me a 2016 iPad Pro 9.7", which finally felt "solid" again like I remembered the iPad 4 was.
 
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interesting.... Apple's official list shows the Apple II as "obsolete" :( I still have a brand-new, never-opened, sealed Apple IIe in my basement. My parents bought it for me right before I was leaving for college. It didn't arrive until a month after I left... so it's been sitting for years and year. I'm hoping some day I'll sell it for $5000 on eBay or something. :)
 
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840quadra said:
Read this article and most responses to this thread on my older iPad 3. I downgraded it to iOS 8. Much faster and more stable than the later iOS 9 on these things.




Still read many sites on it daily, watch video podcasts in my kitchen, and monitor my home Blue Iris DVR from it.
Click to expand...

I still have my iPad 2 (3G from AT&T) from 10 years ago. It's still in perfect cosmetic condition. In fact, I was able to use it to verify my Apple ID account last year when I took it with me to the Apple Store. I was buying the iPhone 12 Pro at the time... the Apple Store employee didnt' seem amused.
 
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asiga said:
When Apple was a good brand, it was the user who decided when something was obsolete or not (and who was in control of not changing something when it just worked (TM)). And this was one of the strongest selling points of the Mac. Now Apple changed the game.
Click to expand...
What Fantasy are you living in?
If anything, Apple supports their devices longer than they ever have.
Let's not forget about how Apple completely cut support for PowerPC only after one major upgrade post Intel transition.
If you bought any PowerPC computer in 2005-2006, you were kinda screwed by 2009.
Snow Leopard didn't support these computers, iLife 11 Didn't support these computers, the Mac App Store didn't support these computers, so after a while you were kind of just stuck with what you had.
Or who can forget the iPhone 3G. Released in 2008, sold at a reduced price up until June 2010... and then got its last software update that November.
2 years. Even the original iPhone got close to 3.
So yeah, I have no idea what reality you're living in where Apple used to never let devices go obsolete, but it is just far, far from reality.
At least today, Apple let's the iPad Air2, a device introduced in October 2014, run the latest iOS in 2021/22. And it runs it very well. That's 7 full years of software support, and I wouldn't be surprised to see an 8th.
2000s Apple wouldn't even be able to promise 7 years of support, let alone deliver.
 
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I still use my 2012 MBP, which is now stuck on Catalina.

I wonder if Apple products will ever get to the point where this obsolescence declaration is gone.

A 2.6Ghz quad-core Intel chip with 16GB RAM and an SSD is faster than many machines still around today, and more than capable to run the latest OSes.

The problem I believe is those damn T2 chips, and of course, capitalism.

That said, even Windows is going that route with Win 11.

Thankfully, my current iPad does everything I need so I guess it's time to really let go of the old stuff. Ten years is a good run.
 
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Mr. Dee said:
Was this the one they called ‘The New iPad’ that came with a retina display and used a pink hibiscus in the marketing images?
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No that was the 3 and they only called it that so they could excuse shipping something they new full well would be almost immediately replaced. I don’t know how anyone is using theirs, it was unbearably laggy after the first iOS update.
 
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uller6 said:
RIP 2012 Mac mini. You were truly a workhorse.
Click to expand...

Yea. I picked up a refurbished 2.3ghz i7 from Apple back in 2014 for like $500. Used the 2012 up until last year when I upgraded to the 2018. Kind of regret upgrading last year because of the M1 Mini and the 2018 performance didn’t feel that much better. But it is what it is and I’ll probably pick up a new one if they shove a M1 Pro/Max in to it.
That said, it looks like Apple is still offering $100 credit to trade in my 2012. I think I’ll go that route since it’s just sitting in my closet.


840quadra said:
Read this article and most responses to this thread on my older iPad 3. I downgraded it to iOS 8. Much faster and more stable than the later iOS 9 on these things.

View attachment 1900585


Still read many sites on it daily, watch video podcasts in my kitchen, and monitor my home Blue Iris DVR from it.
Click to expand...

Nice. I never bothered upgrading my 3rd gen iPad to iOS 9. It’s still on 8. But mine and my 10.5” Pro have become expensive alarm clocks. ?
 
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It’s funny the people who complain that Apple would ‘obsolete’ this iPad since its ‘planned obsolescence’. No, fool, you just can’t get service from Apple anymore. You can still use your almost decade old hardware. They didn’t brick your device.
 
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