iPad How long before upgrading for your ipads?

Heres my schedule:
iPhones: 1-2 years
iPad: first was a 3 and now Air 2. Will probably keep at least 2 years.
iMac: 4-5 years
MBP: currently 2010 13 model. Still runs great. Looking to get an MBA 13 soon for better portability.

 

iPad1 - 1 1/2 yrs. - would have had longer, but was gifted a new 2.
iPad2 - 3 yrs. - I'd still be using this one if I didn't break the screen awhile back.
iPadAir2 - I hope to have it at least 3 yrs., we'll see.

LG G2x - 3 1/2 yrs. - While waiting for T-mobile to get iPhone, then waited longer when news of a larger screen circulated.
iPhone 6 Plus - Well, this one will be either 2 or 4 years, maybe. Not buying both phone and iPad in the same year again, let alone the same month.

Macbook Pro 15" - I've had for 2 years, will keep using it until it no longer does the job, could be a long time.

I ignore the urges to upgrade, they usually involve urges to spend more money than I should. New features are nice, but I usually wait until the piece of tech no longer does what it did in the first place.

 

I've only not owned just one generation in each of iPhone & iPad, the original iPhone & the iPad Air! My very first iOS device was an iPod touch first gen. back when you could not get the iPhone in my country. The leap from the touch to iPhone 3G was very big upgrade for me, the upgrade from iPhone 5S to iPhone 6 Plus only manages to come close. The most exciting purchases/upgrades for me were iPod Touch 1G, iPhone 3G, iPad 1G & iPhone 6 Plus. The upgrades I thought were justified turned out to be iPhone 3GS. All the other purchases I could have done without but I do need something new every year atleast in case of phones. I'm thinking of upgrading my iPad every two years if the next gen doesn't excite me very much which looking at the Air 2 I will not have to unless Apple brings about a change in resolution/size. In the case of iPhone though with all the stutter issues (which to be frank are far & few) that my 6 Plus faces currently an upgrade to a 6S Plus is most definite.

 

I went from the iPad 2 to the Air and felt it was the perfect time to update. I will likely skip a few ipad generations this time as well since the Air is such a terrific device. Just no need to upgrade ipads every year unless you suffer from upgrade-itis.

 

2-3 years for iPad
2 years for iPhone
4-5 years for Mac
All models maxed out.

 

I bought the first three iPads but skipped the 4th Gen & 1st Air. With iOS 8 making my 3rd gen so choppy and since it had a cracked screen I decided it was time to upgrade.

 

Every two years.

Apple seems to have a "tick tick" upgrade cycle... Buy into the major upgrades, skip the minor one.

iPad 1... Ipad 3...iPad Air....skip the iPad 2 and the iPad 4 (ok, that is an unpopular decision but I did still like the iPad 3 and it was a huge advance over the iPad 1 and 2).
iPhone 5... Iphone 6...skip the 5s

 

The performance dictates the life cycle. My 3 was great on ios 6, 7 got started rough and got slightly better, 8 is unusably slow. So 2.5 years. Part of me thinks apple doesn't optimize for the older devices on purpose after a while so people will feel the need to update. Otherwise why update a perfectly capable device?

 

iPhone: 1-2 years
iPad: 2-3 years
Macbook: 5 years (though I've had my current one for 6 years). With the iPad now, I don't use it as much except for MS Office.

 

iPhone: yearly.
Mac: Every 3-4 Years, My Mac are 2008 Macbook Pro, 2011 iMac, 2012 rMBP. However, I don't have any plan to buy a new Mac next year, my both iMac and rMBP are still super fast right now.
iPad: iPad 2, then sold it for iPad 3's retina display, then iPad Air 2 because the decent best buy trade in deal.,the iPad 3 was 3 years old, so I guess 2-3 years for iPad?

 

This has always been my plan:

iPhones: Every Two Years (actual: when I get an upgrade)

iPads: Every One to Two Years (actual: 1 year)

MacBooks: Every 5-7 Years (actual: 1 years (thanks to repairs below)

Desktop Mac: Every Decade or So (only have my 09 oMP bought used and upgraded)

However I have deviated from that quite often recently:

iPhone 5s: 5 months (Apr 2014-Sep 2014, awesome phone, given to relative who had a 4s when I got my 6 Plus)

iPad mini 2: 3 months (June 2014-Sept 2014 I got the 6 Plus and stopped using it so I gave it to a relative in exchange for their Mini 1 which I sold, now I want an Air 2)

The reason for all the MacBooks is because AppleCare always seems to screw them up and once the cost of repairs outweighs the cost of the laptop new, they replace it with a new one. Machines with a "(b)" were bought, the others were their replacements and their replacement's replacement.

13" MBP '09(b)>13" MBP '10 15" MBP Early '11(b)>15" rMBP Mid '12>15" rMBP Late '13

 

iPhone: Annually

iPad: Every two years or if a major update entices me

MacBook: every 5 years

iMac: no longer buy desktops

iPod: rarely.

 

iPhone: was 2-year contract limited until T-Mobile. Now I MAY go once a year. If I pay off my phone early. I should've done JUMP so I'd be gauranteed yearly upgrades

iPad: only had 1, but I imagine it'll be a 3-4 year deal. Messed with an Air 2 today and really liked it, but not for $700.

MacBook: only had one, but whenever it breaks. iOS devices are taking over for me and I don't do much heavy gaming anymore to justify a performance desktop or laptop. My desktop PC hasn't been used for close to a year.

 

I've had an iPad 2 since June 2011. I'll wait for the Pro 12.2" iPad.

 

I got my iPad 2 in March of 2011. I got the new Air 2 10/24.

 

I think upgrading iPads every year is crazy, the improvements are just not big enough year to year.

I stayed with the iPad 2 until yesterday when I traded it for an iPad Mini 2... huge improvement!

As for phones, every 2 years when contract is up.

 

I have a very strict, conservative iPad upgrade policy. I upgrade when, and ONLY when, they come out with a new one.

 

Been doing it every iteration since iPad 3...I need help.

 

will keep the 6+ when it arrives that is...till the next full version is launched; 2yrs i hope

upgraded from iPad 3 to Air 2 , so i plan to use for 3 yrs

 

I will generally upgrade when my device feels like it's struggling.

iPhone gets an upgrade with my tariff so my iPhone 6 will last me 2 years, then go for the 7.

iPads will last a little longer, got my 3 in May 2012, just got the Air 2. I guess the Air 2 seemed like such a jump even over the Air it got my attention.

As for Macs, I won't change my MacBook Air for a while yet although with the i7 and 8gb I hoped it would stay fast for a long time.

iMac is my hub for storage and editing pics etc due to screen size although would like to upgrade the 4mb of memory soon! Otherwise it's staying put too.

 

How often?

here is the way I look at it:

I find tha Apple product (iPads in particular) hold their value very well.

If I can sell the iPad after just 1 year of use at a good price, I'll always do it and then use the proceeds to trade up at nominal additional cost. If I can't get a good price, I'll hold it another year. To get the best price, you typically have to be willing to sell before the launch of the new models (ie 2-3 weeks.....).

This has worked very well for the last few cycles. I,m generally able to sell my iPads for a good price after just a year.

Btw....you mentioned you have a 6 plus and Air (original?).....I'd say you are definitely not lagging far behind technology wise! The Air should hold in there just fine for at least another year.

 

When it breaks. I just refuse to deal with the selling and buying of replacements every year.

 

Ordered and iPar Air 2 64GB gold and my last one was an iPad 2 16GB.... Needed an upgrade...

 

Oh man, the iPad 2, iPad 4, and iPad Air 2 would have been the way to go! The iPad 2 was leaps and bounds ahead of the first iPad, and the iPad 3 was the same speed but with a retina display that slowed things down. The iPad 4 was the powerhouse device at the time. The Air was faster but kept the same amount of RAM for the third time in a row, and the Air 2 is a beast with three cores and double the RAM. This is the year to buy. I'm just holding out because I'm thinking the Pro will be coming this spring, and I want more than anything in the world to do some legit work on an iPad. But I might give in and buy the Air 2 and trade it if the Pro launches...oh decisions. This year is also weird for me because I gave my wife my Retina Mini recently and I technically currently have no iPad of my own. But I still use hers sometimes, and still have my drawing apps and Lightroom Mobile on there.

My strategy is iPhone every 1-2 years (I'm thinking this 6 Plus is going to be one year the way these tabs keep reloading. That and I'm starting to miss having a smaller iPhone. My iPhone 5 was two years.), iPad every 2-3 years, and MacBooks every 3-4 years. If I had a desktop Mac it would probably be 4-5 years. I'm planning on selling my MacBook Pro next autumn or early 2016 when Intel's Skylake launches on the 5K iMac, probably nearly max out the specs on that and anticipate using it through about 2020-ish. Not sure what my Apple Watch strategy will be. Depends on how much the stainless steel model costs and the battery life. Might skip out on the first gen for the first time ever. I'll wait and see. Apple TV strategy is pretty much to buy when they release it since it takes forever between upgrades and they're pretty cheap. But I've only ever owned one Apple TV, the most recent model when it launched.