iPad Does mini and ipad 2 make others non future proof?

[Wbutchart]

My pondering is this, with the ipad mini living on and the ipad 2 doing like wise both with a geek bench of under 500, these are the products that ios8 will be built to run adequelty on. The fact that the retina models have geekbench scores of over 2500 is largely redundant (sure it will be quicker but let's face it the mini and 2 are still plenty fastf or most tasks). Now couple that with the fact that the air and retina will once the next model is out stop getting full features despite the fact they could run probably ios 14, does this not make the retinas non future proof?

The trend is that full features stop once the device has been replaced by a new model. So with that being the case and ios and apps being built to run on much less powerful hardware, what justifies payingf or something 5 times more powerful when the reality is the user is unlikely to get the full benefit of it?

Not being critical, this is something I am reflecting on as I consider replacing my ipad 3 with an air. Please don't reply with because its lighter!!

 

[dave420]

I'm willing to bet the iPad Air will run significantly more iOS versions than the iPad 2. Even when the devices are no longer supported that doesn't mean they still don't do everything that they did before. I just upgraded from my first generation iPad running iOS 5.1.1, and it worked great for many tasks.

 

[deeddawg]

Will iOS8 run on ipad2 / mini1? Perhaps. The ipad2 seems to be around to satisfy institutional/business buyers using them in kiosk/POS/educational situations. I wouldn't be surprised to see a similar role unfold for the mini1. Given this, while iOS8 might end up running serviceably on those platforms it also may well be at the expense of various features and capabilities not needed in those use cases.

Beyond iOS8 I don't think there's a basis for any assumptions.

Certainly if your usage is not CPU/GPU bound and the weight/size change isn't a big deal for you, then there's probably not really a strong driver to move to the Air from an ipad3.

We each have to evaluate new models in the context of our own usage needs and decide whether a new model justifies an upgrade.

 

[ShakinBake]

My pondering is this, with the ipad mini living on and the ipad 2 doing like wise both with a geek bench of under 500, these are the products that ios8 will be built to run adequelty on. The fact that the retina models have geekbench scores of over 2500 is largely redundant (sure it will be quicker but let's face it the mini and 2 are still plenty fastf or most tasks). Now couple that with the fact that the air and retina will once the next model is out stop getting full features despite the fact they could run probably ios 14, does this not make the retinas non future proof?

The trend is that full features stop once the device has been replaced by a new model. So with that being the case and ios and apps being built to run on much less powerful hardware, what justifies payingf or something 5 times more powerful when the reality is the user is unlikely to get the full benefit of it?

Not being critical, this is something I am reflecting on as I consider replacing my ipad 3 with an air. Please don't reply with because its lighter!!

If iOS7 is any indication of how Apple carries older generations than I would think twice before opting to choose a previous gen device. First of all yes apple supports the iPhone 4 and 4s with iOS7, unfortunately its dumbed down and it still runs like crap. You can read more about it in a post I made in an iOS7 thread

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1676845/

Second, Apple just updated all their iOS devices with A7 and M7 chips. I'm guessing they are going to want to maximize that. Competition with Android is already stiff enough.

Third, if iOS 8 doesn't render your older gen device useless by reducing battery life, increasing crash frequencies and turning it into a slug then the App store definitely will. You can already see more and more apps being optimized for the 64 bit chips. This will only hasten the obsolescence of older gen devices at a faster rate than we saw with the original iPad and iPhone.

So in summary based on my experience with transitioning to iOS7 with an iPhone 4s and the current trends in technology, The original iPad mini and iPad 2 have 1 more decent year in them. To invest in an older gen model in the midst of a transitionary period of chip architecture would be unwise. Swooping in for a steal on this years devices next year would probably b better.

 

[herdnerfer]

First of all yes apple supports the iPhone 4 and 4s with iOS7, unfortunately its dumbed down and it still runs like crap

i don't see how you can lump these two together. My 4s runs fine on iOS 7. My Wife's 4, yes it's crap.

 

[mripadmini]

My 1st gen ipad mini runs just fine on iOS 7(did a clean install), battery life is still great. I don't plan to get a retina mini intil some of the screen issues, and some features the first gen does not have currently.