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Are iPads Really Yearly Upgrades?

Usually, this is how I go:

iPhone: every 2 years
Mac: every 4+ or so

I just got my iPad 2. Still not sure if I'm going to get iPad 3 or wait for iPad 4.
 
iPad upgrades are cheap,I will sell my iPad 2 on Craigslist and easily get back 85-90% of the $500 I spent on it. So technically I won't be spending more than $100(at most) to get the new model, I love Apple resale value.
 
ECUpirate44 said:
For those of you who sell and upgrade every year, how much do you typically lose? Hopefully I can sell mine for around 400 as we get closer to the iPad 3 and then I'll buy it on Amazon so I don't have to pay tax :eek:. Realistic expectations or am I way off?
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So far I just cycle the tech down to my kids when I upgrade.

I have 6 cell lines and I upgrade 2 each year. This year my wife and I got iPhone 4S's and we passed down two iPhone 4's to two of our kids. Next year when the 5's come out we will do the same.

I upgrade my iPad yearly (work related and even 10 minutes of savings from it being faster pays itself back) and my wife's every two years. She mainly reads on it and some light gaming.

I've not bitten the OSX bug yet long term. I bought a 2010 13in MBA and returned it after a few weeks. I use an older alienware 11" laptop as my primary mobile device for its awesome 10 hour battery life and nice graphical horsepower.

My oldest has a MBP for college and another one of my kids has a 2008 MB that I scored for free from a work buddy.

Thinking about the next year, my plan is this:

March/April - New iPad3 for me

June - iMac for my wife/11in MBA for me

October - 2 new iPhone 5's

December - New MBP for my son

The trump card this year though is the possibility of an ARM Windows8 tablet. I might dramatically rethink my MBA and iPad purchase if it looks like I can get my hands on one with high enough quality.

On the upside, I will have 2 3GS's, 2 iPhone 4's, an iPad 1 and an iPad 2 for sale at some point :p I should be able to recoup at least 20% of the total cost of our upgrades this year by reselling stuff.

Heck, selling my old laptop and my wife's computer might even get us close to the 30% mark.
 
It depends on the person.

I consider myself a techno-geek and Apple fanboi. Me, I need the new products as soon as I can get them and I do not mind positioning my leisure purchases solely around Apple release dates. I said it before and after the 4S reveal and I'll say it again: At this point in the game I have complete confidence in whatever Apple releases and expect a better'ed experience that always justifies the upgrade. I haven't been disappointed yet, and it is more of the same with the 4S.

Apple products are usually the only high-dollar electronics I want and I've pretty much resigned myself to owning every iteration of the iPhone and iPad. Maybe I'll start a museum. :D

It helps having the latest when you're in the mobile web/app industry as well.

I usually don't defend myself when this question is asked (it's asked plenty) but usually its easier to have women empathize once I point out the expensive and 'in-season' longchamp bags a lot of them use.
 
JPIndustrie said:
It depends on the person.

I consider myself a techno-geek and Apple fanboi. Me, I need the new products as soon as I can get them and I do not mind positioning my leisure purchases solely around Apple release dates. I said it before and after the 4S reveal and I'll say it again: At this point in the game I have complete confidence in whatever Apple releases and expect a better'ed experience that always justifies the upgrade. I haven't been disappointed yet, and it is more of the same with the 4S.

Apple products are usually the only high-dollar electronics I want and I've pretty much resigned myself to owning every iteration of the iPhone and iPad. Maybe I'll start a museum. :D

It helps having the latest when you're in the mobile web/app industry as well.

I usually don't defend myself when this question is asked (it's asked plenty) but usually its easier to have women empathize once I point out the expensive and 'in-season' longchamp bags a lot of them use.
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I know what you mean. The retina display on my iPod touch 4g is amazing compared to the crappy screen on my iPad 1.

Do I really need an iPad 3 as well though?

It'd be nice to have the latest and greatest I suppose.

But once and if I get the iPad 3... I'm only going to want something else after that, hmph.
 
I say I won't buy something, and then I make the age old mistake of watching the keynote.....

I will say this though, I won't buy another iPhone until it has at least a 4" screen. Will upgrade my iPad 2 if the 3 has an improved display, I couldn't resist that. My new macbook air will last a few years and new iMac as soon as ivy bridge drops.
 
2-3-4

I am not completely sure about our refresh cycle, but I am thinking:

  • iPhone 4 - 2 years, which is the contract term
  • iPad original - 3 years, the tablet should be viable for two full iOS updates, so the device will only be outdated for a few months during the final year...no big deal
  • MacBook 2008 - 4 years, my MacBook is humming along just fine with upgraded RAM and Snow Leopard. On SL, I can use iCloud for email and calendar, so I can wait for the bugs to be worked out of Lion to get photo stream on the Mac.

At this time, all of my devices are working well and syncing nicely, so I am really not in a big hurry to upgrade. Nevertheless, these are all for home use only, so my needs are pretty simple. My work Mac is on a company defined refresh cycle...3 plus years.
 
Mainsail said:
I am not completely sure about our refresh cycle, but I am thinking:

  • iPhone 4 - 2 years, which is the contract term
  • iPad original - 3 years, the tablet should be viable for two full iOS updates, so the device will only be outdated for a few months during the final year...no big deal
  • MacBook 2008 - 4 years, my MacBook is humming along just fine with upgraded RAM and Snow Leopard. On SL, I can use iCloud for email and calendar, so I can wait for the bugs to be worked out of Lion to get photo stream on the Mac.

At this time, all of my devices are working well and syncing nicely, so I am really not in a big hurry to upgrade. Nevertheless, these are all for home use only, so my needs are pretty simple. My work Mac is on a company defined refresh cycle...3 plus years.
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The first generation iPad already has had two full iOS updates (to iOS 4 and to iOS 5). That would mean a 2 year period instead of a 3 year-period you are describing.
 
I have no plans to replace these until they crap out

iPod Touch 2nd gen 32g - Still going strong
iPod Touch 3rd gen 32g (son's) - Beat up but working fine
iPod Nano 16g (Daughter's) Purchased in Feb 2010
iPad 1 64g 3g - Purchased at original launch, replaced with iPad2 05/11. 1st gen now relegated to books, games, movies and wi-fi internet for my kids.

"Might" replace in 2012

iPad 2 - I depends on what apple comes up with for the iPad 3. If they offer a 7" full function iPad with 3g? The iPad 2 is headed for ebay. If it's only a retina display and slightly faster processor? then I'll wait till Gen 4 is out.

iPhone 4 - Maybe, we'll see what the iPhone 5 has.
 
ThatsMeRight said:
The first generation iPad already has had two full iOS updates (to iOS 4 and to iOS 5). That would mean a 2 year period instead of a 3 year-period you are describing.
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Well, you might be right, but the way I did the math is:

Bought the iPad in spring 2010 on iOS 3
Updated to ios 4 in fall of 2010
Updated to iOS 5 in fall of 2011
Outdated for ios 6 in fall of 2012
Purchase new tablet in early spring of 2013

So, I will live with an outdated iOS on my iPad for less than 6 months.

Of course, these updates just might not work this way, and the original iPad might beocme obsolete a bit earlier, since it was truly a gen 1 product. Also, the iPad 3 might be too tempting. Nevertheless, I think three year refresh for tablets should be doable as they become more mature products....could be wishful thinking.
 
Mainsail said:
Well, you might be right, but the way I did the math is:

Bought the iPad in spring 2010 on iOS 3
Updated to ios 4 in fall of 2010
Updated to iOS 5 in fall of 2011
Outdated for ios 6 in fall of 2012
Purchase new tablet in early spring of 2013

So, I will live with an outdated iOS on my iPad for less than 6 months.

Of course, these updates just might not work this way, and the original iPad might beocme obsolete a bit earlier, since it was truly a gen 1 product. Also, the iPad 3 might be too tempting. Nevertheless, I think three year refresh for tablets should be doable as they become more mature products....could be wishful thinking.
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Hmmm.... we'll see.

Both the iPod touch 4g and the iPad share the same processor so it wouldn't make sense for the iPad 1 to be obsolete I guess.
 
I have an original iPad and got a iPad 2 for Xmas. Haven't opened it yet (killing me!) and leaning to returning it and waiting for the 3.
 
Whenever it doesn't do the job. Age doesn't matter. iPad 1 doing fine here, as are two 2nd generation iPod Touches (we don't have any iPhones), and a bunch of Macs, and an 8 3/4 year old Dell PC.
 
I'm personally thinking I will be on a two year cycle for both my iPad and iPhone.

I have an iPad 1 and just upgraded my iPhone 3GS to the 4S.
 
talmy said:
Whenever it doesn't do the job. Age doesn't matter. iPad 1 doing fine here, as are two 2nd generation iPod Touches (we don't have any iPhones), and a bunch of Macs, and an 8 3/4 year old Dell PC.
Click to expand...

This. I sold my 2007 Macbook Pro because it was too heavy to carry around on a regular basis and had trouble with light gaming. I sold the LG G2x because Android was buggy and crashed on a regular basis.

My current gadgets (in the signature) all work perfectly. I'll keep the iPad 2 until it stops meeting my needs (can't run iOS games well, lags with magazines). I'll keep the iPhone 4S until my contract ends, because I can't imagine the 5 being that much more impressive.
 
I upgrade based on need as well. I just got my iPad this month, so I probably won't upgrade until some time in 2013. I've had my Macbook Pro for almost three years, and I'm starting to notice some of the age. Therefore, I'd probably replace it next year along with my iPhone. I love getting new gadgets, but what I love even more is when I'm not thinking of their "newness" or "oldness." Personally, I just don't like the added anxiety of worrying about the next version of a product. I like the products I own to just work, and Apple products do a great job at that for a good period of time.
 
I was pretty excited as usual when the iPad 2 and iPhone 4s both came out.
Two things happened though.
Limited stock. I've waited in line on launch days as well as preordered. I would rather just walk into the Apple store at my convenience. Supply and demand has not been balanced for a few months after the latest round of iPhones and iPads, killing the impulse buy for me.
That pretty much means I don't need to upgrade now and I can't justify the expense, otherwise I would have had them on launch day.

Of course, I'm perfectly happy with my iPad 1 and iPhone 4. My 2010 MBP as well. If any of those needs to be replaced I'll buy the latest and greatest at the time to do so.
Otherwise, will see what we get in 2012.
 
iPhone: definitely 2 year minimum
iPad: 3 year minimum
Mac: 4-5 year minimum.

for me. That being said, its more on a "when I need to upgrade" rather than having set times for upgrading.
 
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