How much life for 10.5 is left?

[christophermdia]

I am trying to decide what to do with my kids iPad setup ... they both had iPad mini 4’s ... I accidentally dropped one of theirs in a pool, so I had to buy him a new one, so I naturally got him a 9.7 iPad. Now I’m getting ready to buy the other kid one for Xmas which I could go 9.7 but ... I’m preordered myself a new pro to replace my 10.5 ... while the trade in in $375 for the 10.5 I could buy another used one for less than $600 ... cellular/256 ... then both kids could have a 10.5 ... is the 10.5 in everyone’s opinion good another 4 or so years to make this worth it vs. the current 9.7? While they are young kids, I want to space upgrades as much as possible for them as possible ... without spending a fortune.

 

[SnacksGU]

Current 9.7 and 10.5 will have similar longevity. If you don’t break it.

 

[Velin]

10.5 is a machine that can last you a good long time. Good size and profile, really good screen, built well, good chips.

My only recommendation is to do a clean software install with every major iOS release (i.e. from 10.x to 11.x to 12.x). That is, download the latest iOS and set it up as new via iTunes whenever you are updating the iPad to a new iOS releae.

 

[Donka]

10.5 has twice the RAM so should effectively be a better looking long term bet.

 

[aakshey]

Current 9.7 and 10.5 will have similar longevity. If you don’t break it.

Nope. It will last a lot longer than the 6th gen at least in real world conditions.

 

[UltimateSyn]

Yes, as some others have noted the 10.5” Pro has 4GB of RAM while the regular iPad has 2GB. This will make future iOSs and their new functionality run much smoother on the 10.5”. It’s also better in pretty much every other way.

 

[nicho]

Yes, as some others have noted the 10.5” Pro has 4GB of RAM while the regular iPad has 2GB. This will make future iOSs and their new functionality run much smoother on the 10.5”. It’s also better in pretty much every other way.

If expecting an iPad Pro to last another 4 years at twice the price of a 2018 iPad... the question then becomes a case of what will it still do better than a 2020 iPad (trade in of the 2018 + a new 2020 will easily cost less than an ipad pro today). Processor and graphics wise, a new iPad in a year and a half's time will have to have at minimum the A12 chip the current XS/Max have and therefore handle whatever OSs follow better. OTOH though, screen technology and camera still probably won't catch up (I think Apple is of the opinion, and for the price probably rightly, that the current iPad is good enough for most things). There's also the risk of getting shafted with accessories if you get a pencil now and they make the 2020 ipad compatible only with the 2nd generation pencil - keeping the iPad Pro for 4 years would mean less surprises and decent value from them.

Personally I keep flip flopping on whether I need more than the 2018 iPad. My parents will be buying one for my grandma this Christmas, so I have an escape route if I wanted to offer them a good price for a 2nd hand one and go for the 10.5" iPad Pro. 64GB is no more useful to me than 32GB though (i wish iOS treated photos the same way it does music and allowed you to, say, download the last 4GB of photos to the device instead of all or nothing with optimising storage) so it starts to look very expensive... and the logitech crayon i use with the 2018 ipad i was given at work (pencil stays at home) wouldn't be compatible either. People with less invested in accessories and a bigger appreciation of the screen technology, though...

 

[aakshey]

120 hz display is a night and day difference. I doubt the basic iPad of 2020 will get it. Quad speakers and nice display are just a cherry on top.

 

[kindaichi81]

totally transition product with dated design as of now and with transition Apple Pencil that has many design flaws.

 

[Leo90]

My 10.5 iPad Pro works like a champ and I will using it intensively for the next 3 years for sure. I usually buy a new iPad every 4 years as those are very realiable and run smoothly for a while.

 

[BeatCrazy]

I am trying to decide what to do with my kids iPad setup ... they both had iPad mini 4’s ... I accidentally dropped one of theirs in a pool, so I had to buy him a new one, so I naturally got him a 9.7 iPad. Now I’m getting ready to buy the other kid one for Xmas which I could go 9.7 but ... I’m preordered myself a new pro to replace my 10.5 ... while the trade in in $375 for the 10.5 I could buy another used one for less than $600 ... cellular/256 ... then both kids could have a 10.5 ... is the 10.5 in everyone’s opinion good another 4 or so years to make this worth it vs. the current 9.7? While they are young kids, I want to space upgrades as much as possible for them as possible ... without spending a fortune.

I'm in a similar situation as you. My 2 kids typically get my hand-me-down iPads. Currently they both have iPad Air 2. Until last week, I also had a 2017 iPad, and two 10.5 Pros (one is LTE).

I decided to sell the Wi-Fi 10.5 and ordered the 11" Pro. I think the Air 2 will last them another couple of years. Then I will give my daughter the 10.5", as it should still be going strong. She loves to draw and the Pencil support will get more use via her, than it does for me.

It seems like I have a too many iPads, but since "kids will be kids", I always want to have a spare newish-iPad on standby in case of a tragic accident. Giving one of them my 2017 iPad (currently used a second monitor via Duet Display) won't be as painful as shelling out $300+ for an unexpected replacement.

 

[d5aqoëp]

It all depends on how next year’s iOS redesign cripples our 10.5”.

 

[blairh]

I bought a 10.5" refurb the day after the last keynote. You should purchase one confidently for future use.

 

[DNichter]

Just as long as these new iPad’s. I’d say through iOS 15 at least.

 

[macduke]

Apple is currently supporting iPads back to iPad Mini 2 released in 2013. This is probably the last year for that. The iPad 10.5” will at least be good until iOS 16 plus the year iOS 16 is out plus a year minimum for app support. Just because iOS isn’t being updated doesn’t mean the device will die. Depends also on what they’re using it for by then, how much the battery is charged over that time, or if they need newer features. So I would say minumum usable 2022, maximum 2025 depending on a lot of factors. I think the 2018 iPad with half the RAM will probably be 2021-2022.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Loads of life left.
I’m still on my 9.7 iPP with no plans to change a thing.

Works wonderfully and is jailbroken so I’m happy as a clam

 

[PBG4 Dude]

My 2015 iPad Pro 12.9 is still flying today on iOS 12. Have not seen any noticeable slowdowns in my 3 years of using it and upgrading iOS on it. I think a lot of this has to do with the 4GB RAM inside. My iPhone 7 is still cruising too and it’s based on the same CPU architecture.