I upgraded from the 2021 12.9 to the M4 13" but a big driver was getting an upgrade for my wife's Air 2 - she happily took the 12.9 + MKB. But I'll usually pass on older iPads to family members if I see something in the new models that really interests me. Having the M4 13", the next update will be a long way off; I can't think of anything that would really compel me on the h/w side.
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iPad Pro How old before trading?
- Thread starter Nhwhazup
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Every two to three years I get a new iPad. I use the iPad a lot so I’m motivated. Plus I like to pass along the older one while it is still rather new. I give it to my wife or other relatives.
If it was just me I might keep them longer.
If it was just me I might keep them longer.
Just like performance was the issue with 32-bit iPads (or the Air 1), battery life has been the issue with 64-bit iPads after enough iOS updates.
It’s a bit of a shame because it affected the final devices with the 9.7-inch screen design. I value them because they were the final iteration of Apple’s original idea for the iPad (both the 9.7-inch iPad Pro and the 6th-gen iPad). The 9.7-inch iPad Pro specially, it had every feature which some iPads even lack today, but battery life was significantly affected.
Even on iOS 12 it is significantly worse than it was on iOS 9.
But at least for me, like I said, iOS 12 is a little too incompatible nowadays. I will probably find some use for it, but it won’t be used as much as I used it these past 9 years.
Source? You must be pricing them at crackhouse fire sale. I’ve not seen on eBay any M4 13 inch models for less than $1,000.
Curious to know what does not work anymore? I guess youtube for one. I am on iPadOS 13 on my 9.7 (but I hardly use it anymore since it got screen issues), on 10 on my mini 2 (but I only use that for 1-2 apps) and on 15 on my 11" M1 (because that's the only way to be able to run Windows 11 virtualized). iPadOS 15 seems to be the minimum for a lot of apps, go to 14 and a lot more stuff is not compatible... but with 15 virtually everything is compatible
I’ve been using iPads for 11 years and currently have an M2. My M1 was fine, but when my fiancée came over from Italy, I handed that one off to her—so now I upgrade only when necessary. Gone are the days when I’d jump at every new Apple release. I still like their hardware, but the software—not so much. 🤷♂️
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I thought the same. But the tech manager recommended the strategy of getting the new battery and thus a recycled device. The battery capacity is not degrading very fast so the point may be moot. I may just wait until the Back To School sales kick in and get something then.
what is even a "tech manager", a genius bar person? Indeed if they detect physical issues in the iPad when inspecting it they will refuse the battery service
YouTube doesn’t work anymore. With an overlay, it asks to update as soon as you open the app.
I had some issues with Netflix, too, but I tried on another iPad on iOS 12 and it works. It would be surprising, as Netflix recently worked on iOS 10 for me. Maybe I have to try again.
Safari is very incompatible now, with many websites staying blank.
The Reddit app stays blank now, too. All of these apps barring Safari worked until not too long ago. If I start looking for more, I’ll probably find more stuff.
iOS compatibility has improved, but six versions appear to be a little too much. It’s not even my secondary iPad now so it doesn’t bother me too much, but as a fan of the 9.7-inch iPad Pro it is a bit of a shame.
iOS 12 isn’t as good as iOS 9, but it’s decent.
I have iOS 10 on an iPhone 6s, and I reckon it’s not too usable. If you use your Mini 2 for a couple of apps I reckon you’ll be fine, though.
My iPad Air 5 on iPadOS 15, like you said, seems totally fine for now.
We are both lucky enough to have several devices on multiple iOS versions, so we can play this little game of switching devices for compatibility and assigning different usage patterns based on that. Sadly, many cannot do that.
I’ve had to update a family member’s iPhone 11 on iOS 14 to iOS 18 for compatibility reasons. Surprisingly, battery life is completely fine. There’s a lot of lag on some apps, though. The music app is a disaster, for example.
But it doesn’t matter too much, because for the iPhone the main aspect is battery life (which collapsed with iPhones like the 6s, I would know, I have one on iOS 13 and iOS 15 is presumably even worse). Relatively small performance issues aren’t an impediment. Disastrous battery life is, and the 11 has apparently been spared for now. I expected it to be a disaster, and it matched my testing on iOS 14 after I updated.
I have a 2018 iPad Pro that I use as a backup and it is still very useable. 7 years and counting!
Yeah, as I have mentioned in the past battery life got a big hit with iPadOS but has not changed much since (not taking battery health into account).
Luckily iPadOS 15 for now is very compatible and so hopefully I can keep Windows 11 on my M1 for another couple of years, if very little works in a few years I will update (with 16GB RAM I have no fear of performance degradation, which is often at least in part liked to lack of RAM) because I care more about iPadOS than Windows on an iPad, but for now I am glad I can have both...
After going through multiple Android tablets which began to show degradation in performance within a year and my iPad still running strong after three years, I’m waiting to see just how long I can run this one.
My first iPad was the Mini 2 and I sold it after 2 years because it was so slow.
After that I bought iPad 5th gen and sold after 2 years, because it was so slow.
Latest and currently is the 11" Pro from 2020 and I been using it for 4 years now, and planning to get 1 one more year of it, so 5 years total.
The battery is starting to show its age.
Planning to buy a refurbished 11" Pro M4 next spring.
After that I bought iPad 5th gen and sold after 2 years, because it was so slow.
Latest and currently is the 11" Pro from 2020 and I been using it for 4 years now, and planning to get 1 one more year of it, so 5 years total.
The battery is starting to show its age.
Planning to buy a refurbished 11" Pro M4 next spring.
Storage capacity was the reason I traded in my first iPad (Gen 8) for a new Gen 11. I don't really pay attention to how long I have my devices. Now, if they'd name the devices the way they are planning to rebrand the various OSes, I'd be more cognizant of how long I've had a device. [Next year's (2026) OS release will be macOS 26.]
I had 12.9 2018 from October 2019 to October 2024: no problem at all with all the activities, included iMovie to create surgical videos from big original files.
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Congrats to a nice buy!
It’s still very capable after 4 years, and using it on 18.5.
I did actually try a iPad Pro 12.9 with the M2 chip and the M2 opened apps a little faster than my A12, and the response was more fluid. But it was hundreds of seconds of difference.
I don’t do heavy stuff on my iPad, otherwise it would be a large difference.
I think you can still get a few more years out of it, and also updates, but it’s an old A12 CPU from 2018, so it might not be the fastest on the planet in the future🙂
Thank you for the reply. That’s some good use you got out of it!
Sorry, a little mistake: from October 2019 to October 2024, so five years of good usage. I upgraded only because I want the 11 M4 to have more portability.