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Laurencia7

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 3, 2009
252
0
Pretty great deals on iPads online, but i want to know if they are even worth buying if the hardware and software is old and outdated?

I'm just curious if the older ones are even worth buying.
 

Savor

Suspended
Jun 18, 2010
3,742
918
Using an iPad 2 as a hand me down. Battery life still holds up but I only use it for video playback. I love how loud the speaker is. Still get 10h+ of video playback. Standby can last for over a month. Very large battery capacity only to power a low resolution display.

Depends what you will use for it for since this is a half decade old device. Alot of my videos are at 360p and doesn't look too blown up and pixelated. Mine is only on 8.3 and I can already see a slight stutter when I scroll. And Wi-Fi isn't very strong or fast. Browsing on Safari ia slow. The A5 chip is less laggy for iOS7 just like the iPhone 4s was.
 

braddick

macrumors 68040
Jun 28, 2009
3,926
1,022
Encinitas, CA
Recently picked up an iPad2 running iOS4 from a member here on the forums. I enjoy using it almost about as much as my Air. Surprisingly, they both run at about the same speed- give or take. Of course, the Retina display is head and shoulders better than the 2, yet it's nostalgic to use the former as it does make me appreciate the latter!
 

sjleworthy

macrumors 68000
Dec 5, 2008
1,505
826
Penarth, Wales, UK
love my ipad 2, but my 1 regret is upgrading the Os to something more modern. completely makes it almost in-operable. and to be fair i didn't have per-knowledge to assess this.

I'd give money to be able to downgrade to a much earlier ios. Thanks Apple for my now inoperable lump of metal and glass.
 
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keysofanxiety

macrumors G3
Nov 23, 2011
9,539
25,302
Recently picked up an iPad2 running iOS4 from a member here on the forums. I enjoy using it almost about as much as my Air.

love my ipad 2, but my 1 regret is upgrading the Os to something more modern. completely makes it almost in-operable.


Oh boy yes, iOS 4 was a beast. My iPhone 4 on iOS 4 was an utterly-butterly experience! :D Every OS from there was just a little further away from that.

iOS 5 fed my iPhone a few beers and made it hiccup now and then. It lost a little coordination but still could drive around, albeit a little slower and more cautiously.

iOS 6 was a bit of a meanie. iOS 6 tripped up my iPhone and broke its ankle. It was hobbling badly after that and never quite recovered.

iOS 7 pushed my poor little iPhone into a meat grinder, flicked the switch, and walked away. I had to say goodbye and buy a 5S :(
 

Laurencia7

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 3, 2009
252
0
Oh boy yes, iOS 4 was a beast. My iPhone 4 on iOS 4 was an utterly-butterly experience! :D Every OS from there was just a little further away from that.

iOS 5 fed my iPhone a few beers and made it hiccup now and then. It lost a little coordination but still could drive around, albeit a little slower and more cautiously.

iOS 6 was a bit of a meanie. iOS 6 tripped up my iPhone and broke its ankle. It was hobbling badly after that and never quite recovered.

iOS 7 pushed my poor little iPhone into a meat grinder, flicked the switch, and walked away. I had to say goodbye and buy a 5S :(

This is hilarious, I bet they do it so you get fed up with the phone and buy the newer one.

Honestly, I would use the ipad 2 like any ipad, I've never had one just figured since they are basically a hundred dollars I'd finally get one. Especially since the new ones are more expensive but will be outdated and apparently trash five years from now. Why don't apple products retain some value?

Any hoot, I would be using the ipad for watching netflix, emails, and maybe a few games but nothing major.
 

keysofanxiety

macrumors G3
Nov 23, 2011
9,539
25,302
maybe a few games but nothing major.

Something as simple as Angry Birds running on iPad 2 lags badly on iOS 7. Though it wouldn't on iOS 4/5.

The newest OSs have just glued up the gears. I'd honestly say go for it if there was an easy way to install an earlier OS. They're massively capable, providing they're not on an OS running the hardware on full just to creak out an animation. Unfortuantely Apple no longer sign the earlier OSs... :(

I think an iPad Air would be a better shout -- I'm just thinking of you and genuinely you'll quickly be thinking: "why didn't I pay a little extra to get something more capable?"

Best to avoid an iPad 2 or iPad 3 in 2016 I'd say, unless there was a way of installing an earlier iteration of iOS on it.
 

Channan

macrumors 68030
Mar 7, 2012
2,889
3,118
New Orleans
Considering iPad 2 is finally no longer receiving updates, and performance is pretty bad on the latest OS, I wouldn't recommend it. I suppose it would be a good device for not a lot of money to see if you'd even enjoy using a tablet, but you probably won't enjoy using that tablet much.
 
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