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iPad Pro How old before trading?

Some apps are just better behaved than others - YouTube tends to be on the worse side, so you'll see reloads even on iPads with lots of RAM.

iPads in general are pretty long lasting - I would have continued using my 2020 12.9 if I hadn't suspected (correctly) that the move to OLED would come with a redesign and I'd be forced to buy a new Magic Keyboard as well. So I upgraded to the M2 while it was still available, and I expect I'll get at least four years out of it before I start considering an upgrade.

That's about how long I used my iPad Air, which I only replaced as I was given a 10.5 Pro through work.
 
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It’s not a time thing for me. I generally only upgrade if there’s a new feature(s) I really want or my current device becomes nonfunctional (including if it’s passed on to someone else).

The exception was actually my first iPad Pro upgrade, from the 2015 first gen to 2017 second gen—but that didn’t happen until after the third gen came out. My first gen was fine and the second gen didn’t really have anything compelling to me—I only upgraded because I wanted to keep Touch ID and a headphone port for as long as possible, and the second gen was the last 13” iPad to retain those two features—that is until the 13” M2 iPad Air came out which had Touch ID (but no headphone port unfortunately). I up(down? side?)graded to the M2 Air from the second gen mainly to get upgraded Pencil features and to get the Magic Keyboard. I expect to keep this Air for a long while until either one of my critical apps stops being supported or Apple comes out with a compelling new feature(s).
 
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Nhwhazup said:
How many years do you generally keep your iPad Pro before you find it’s time for a new one?
Click to expand...

I use my iPad intensively and I am still very happy with my 2018 11” pro.
Apple might force my hand by stopping updates with iOS 19, but even then I will not just rush.
 
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I buy the latest basic iPad whenever they release a new one and it gets discounted by at least 10%. Although I skipped the 10th gen as the chip just felt too old and no noticeable upgrade from the 9.
Happy with my A16 iPad now.
 
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coachgq said:
Does the 9.7 iPad Pro still work ok? Last time I used a 1st gen 11inch iPad Pro it drove me crazy how slow everything was. I guess just content consumption would be ok. YouTube, Netflix, etc. but even swapping between tabs was brutal. I also loved the 9.7 iPad Pro. It was my replacement to my 3rd gen “the new iPad”.
Click to expand...
It works almost like-new, but it’s running iOS 12. It should be on iOS 9, but there was an activation bug for all devices with A9 processors on iOS 9. They were deactivated and forced to update. Mine was forced out in September 2019, just before the release of iPadOS 13. I would’ve kept it on iOS 9 if I could.

Battery life is about 25% worse (10-11 hours of SOT with light use), and performance is almost like-new with a little keyboard lag but nothing major.

It has 2GB of RAM, it cannot cope with iPadOS 16. iOS 12 is the last iOS version that is good for it.

Today… app compatibility suffers a little too much for me. YouTube doesn’t work for example (although I could use Safari, which works well).

I suppose there is a task I could find for it, but yeah, it’s definitely not my most-used device.

Web browsing, for websites that are still compatible, is smooth.

iOS 12 is not the utter perfection that iOS 9 is… but it’s close enough, unlike the disaster that iPadOS 16 is.
 
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brilliantthings said:
Every 4-5 years I buy an iPad Pro that is two years old.
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Agreed.

When the M4 iPP came out, I took a hard look at it, as I needed a replacement for my 2017ish iPP. However, the price/performance with the M4 didn't make sense to me, for what I use it for. I wound up buying a used cellular 2022 M2 iPP 12.9" 1 TB instead, for about $1200.

I also found a used AMK for less than $100.

That turned out to be a good decision, as it does everything I want. It's blazing fast, and I love the flexibility that built-in cellular gives me. If, for some reason, I ever decide to enable AI, it will do that too.

I expect that its eventual replacement will be purchased in similar fashion.
 
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Nhwhazup said:
How many years do you generally keep your iPad Pro before you find it’s time for a new one?
Click to expand...
About 5 years, but recently I made an exception. I had an iPad Air 5 11in. I was quite happy with for about a year and a half when Apple released the iPad Air 6 13in. The idea of a large iPad without the Pro price caught my interest. My iPads almost never leave the house and I use it a lot to read as well as watch videos, so a larger iPad for my incrementally aging eyes really appealed to me. So I opted to upgrade early and traded my M1 iPad Air for an M2 iPad air 13in. That was about a year ago.

I have a lot of customers who ask me the same question you posted. My general reply is keep it as long as you're happy with it, but don't let it die on you. If your iPad starts acting up--taking longer to charge, not holding its charge, generally acting wonky--don't wait until it actually dies and bricks itself and then you can't transfer your stuff from the old to the new (given a lot of people don't back up their iPads to the Cloud). If your iPad is getting creaky it's time to upgrade.
 
Nhwhazup said:
How many years do you generally keep your iPad Pro before you find it’s time for a new one?
Click to expand...
Many. Our daily-use iPads are ran until they stop getting OS updates.
Then are used offline as picture frames, e-readers etc. until the batteries fail.
Then are wiped and recycled.
 
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I usually hang on to my iPad Pro for about three years. After that the battery life starts dropping and apps feel a bit sluggish, so I upgrade then
 
i‘m on my third since 2010 - ipad 1, air 2. lost the 2 and the insurance replaced it with an air 3. still works great as a daily driver. I‘ve now given up on it being a laptop replacement and bought a Macbook air recently, and will probably replace the ipad with a new air next year or so.
 
Using a 12.9/256/2nd gen to reply to this thread right now. For my usage I see no need to upgrade. Yes I “want” a new M series but just can’t justify it yet. I still have quite decent battery life and it’s plenty snappy for what I use it for. But then I’m still, happily, using my 13 and 15 inch 2015 MacBook pros so a new 14 inch MacBook Pro will probably come before a new iPad.
 
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5 and a half years before I upgraded from my 2018 iPad Pro to the M4 model. I don’t really have a fixed timeline in mind. More of a “when I feel it’s time”, and honestly, the iPad hasn’t really changed much in the last half a decade.

Not that it’s a bad thing for me, because my own workflow has also more or less stabilised since 2016.
 
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thadoggfather said:
M1 iPad Pro is 4 years old. The idea of recycling M1 seems comical
Click to expand...
It is ridiculous indeed, but maybe it applies to older iPads. They were killed by iOS updates to the point of unpleasantness to use, and trying to keep them relevant is something many wouldn’t do.

The iPad 2 or 3 were horrible after four years. The M1 isn’t.

Newer models should have a longer lifespan.
 
So… I’m writing this on my iPad Air 2 (2014) 😅
Main purpose is using infuse for movies on flights once or twice a year to visit family. Sporadically, like tonight I’m using it on the couch whilst watching tv or in bed when I can’t fall asleep.
It’s slow but useable for consumption purposes, but now because it’s running such an old operating system it’s experiencing website compatability issues. This is making it hard to keep using, but buying a new iPad is not a cheap exercise.
 
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Warped9 said:
About 5 years, but recently I made an exception. I had an iPad Air 5 11in. I was quite happy with for about a year and a half when Apple released the iPad Air 6 13in. The idea of a large iPad without the Pro price caught my interest. My iPads almost never leave the house and I use it a lot to read as well as watch videos, so a larger iPad for my incrementally aging eyes really appealed to me. So I opted to upgrade early and traded my M1 iPad Air for an M2 iPad air 13in. That was about a year ago.

I have a lot of customers who ask me the same question you posted. My general reply is keep it as long as you're happy with it, but don't let it die on you. If your iPad starts acting up--taking longer to charge, not holding its charge, generally acting wonky--don't wait until it actually dies and bricks itself and then you can't transfer your stuff from the old to the new (given a lot of people don't back up their iPads to the Cloud). If your iPad is getting creaky it's time to upgrade.
Click to expand...
I’m definitely leaning this way. I do backup mine daily. I have the 11 inch Pro that is 4 years old. Still going strong. To buy the newer one would be around 2k before accessories.
 
acuriouslad said:
So… I’m writing this on my iPad Air 2 (2014) 😅
Main purpose is using infuse for movies on flights once or twice a year to visit family. Sporadically, like tonight I’m using it on the couch whilst watching tv or in bed when I can’t fall asleep.
It’s slow but useable for consumption purposes, but now because it’s running such an old operating system it’s experiencing website compatability issues. This is making it hard to keep using, but buying a new iPad is not a cheap exercise.
Click to expand...
Not cheap for sure.
 
I typically upgrade every other generation. Had a 9.7” which I upgraded to an 11” first gen. I upgraded in 2021 to the 12.9” M1 iPad Pro then to the 11” M4. I go back and forth as to whether I like the big or small iPad.
 
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I have an M3 Air. I won't upgrade until there is a meaningful enough upgrade from my Air. Lets say they add OLED and 120hz, thats when I would want to upgrade (Tim, please don't do it anytime soon...)
 
I've had my 2020 iPad Pro since it launched. It is just a beast, flies through anything I throw at it. I can't imagine it ever slowing down.

My needs have adjusted though, when it goes eventually I doubt I'll be replacing it. However I don't anticipate that even happening for another ten years. It's just so well designed
 
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