iPad iPad 2 or 3rd gen for parent

[kiranmk2]

My mother has had an iPad 2 since 2011 and now I've decided to get my dad one too. He will only be using it for web-based things (no games). I initially looked for the iPad, but these seem to be about £260 2nd hand in the UK. The iPad 2 and 3 are about £180-200. I was originally going to go with the iPad 2 as it's lighter and slimmer than the 3rd gen and charges a lot quicker. However, the 3rd gen has 1 GB memory and Siri. I wouldn't like to get him an iPad2 and then find iOS 8 will drop support for the 2.

Any advice?

 

[MagicHAM]

Have you considered maybe an Ipad Air? It's the latest and has a faster processor and retina display. (It will make a lot of difference)

Or how bout an Ipad Mini. Is there any particular reason why you are going after the older models? Can't afford a new one for the folks?

The Ipad has a faster processor,slimy and light weight. Ipad Mini 2 with Retina is gorgeous , smaller then the Ipad Air and they are currently the latest models and you will get more support for them as most Apple Stores don't carry iPad 3's in stock or even iPad 2's anymore (since Apple has stopped selling them both).

Are you looking at a 16 gig small model for you dad since you said that he will only be doing web based things? That should be enough for him.

My husband was not budging on getting me the Ipad Air, even though I wanted an iPad 2 (figured I didn't need retina display, but boy i was wrong about that!) I am really glad he persistent though - I love my Air and watching HD shows and movies on this thing is just awesome!

Hope it works out!

 

[rui no onna]

My mother has had an iPad 2 since 2011 and now I've decided to get my dad one too. He will only be using it for web-based things (no games). I initially looked for the iPad, but these seem to be about £260 2nd hand in the UK. The iPad 2 and 3 are about £180-200. I was originally going to go with the iPad 2 as it's lighter and slimmer than the 3rd gen and charges a lot quicker. However, the 3rd gen has 1 GB memory and Siri. I wouldn't like to get him an iPad2 and then find iOS 8 will drop support for the 2.

There's no guarantee that either the 2 or 3 will get iOS 8. Chances are they both will but I wouldn't expect anything beyond that. The 3 has 4x the pixels as the 2 but only has the same CPU power, 2x GPU power and 2x RAM. I think it's worth the extra £60 to get the iPad 4. It really has much better internals than the 3 and will likely be supported until iOS goes purely 64-bit.

 

[MisakixMikasa]

My mother has had an iPad 2 since 2011 and now I've decided to get my dad one too. He will only be using it for web-based things (no games). I initially looked for the iPad, but these seem to be about £260 2nd hand in the UK. The iPad 2 and 3 are about £180-200. I was originally going to go with the iPad 2 as it's lighter and slimmer than the 3rd gen and charges a lot quicker. However, the 3rd gen has 1 GB memory and Siri. I wouldn't like to get him an iPad2 and then find iOS 8 will drop support for the 2.

Any advice?

I would say iPad 3. Retina display makes reading easier for older people. Not necessarily go to iPad Air or iPad mini retina... iPad 3 is sufficienf enough forWeb browsing

 

[campyguy]

I've loaned my VZW LTE iPad 3 to an 82-year-old friend for a few weeks, since I decommissioned her Win XP Dell. She's from Cork IE, now living in rural WA State. She asked about getting a Mini (but not a rMini) and has a Samsung Galaxy S3 but doesn't like Android tablets

I set up with her Gmail account, banking apps, iOS apps and web apps for news (CNN, BBC, Sky), and a few games (she likes hangman and card games, but I added and she's now addicted to majong!).

I honestly don't know if I'll get my iPad 3 back now. She likes the "heft" of the iPad 3 over the Air that I now use, and she likes the Retina screen over that of the Mini. She's been a friend of my mom's going on near 40 years, so I might just leave it with her when I visit in a couple of weeks!

Keep in mind that the WWDC is coming up in about 6 weeks, and there might be an announcement of a new iPad Air variant, which means that older iPad values will drop some more.

 

[s2mikey]

I would say iPad 3. Retina display makes reading easier for older people. Not necessarily go to iPad Air or iPad mini retina... iPad 3 is sufficienf enough forWeb browsing

I agree. The iPad 2 is a tough device to buy at this point unless it's extremely cheap. So, get the 3 unless you can almost steal a 2. The better display is worth it alone.

 

[kiranmk2]

Thanks for the advice so far. My dad has said he doesn't want a mini (he is 70 so thinks he might struggle with a smaller screen). As hinted at I'd be looking at a 16 GB model.

As mentioned he'll only be using it for webby based things (and BBC iPlayer, news apps etc) so performance isn't an issue (he's quite happy waiting >2 minutes for his old PC to boot up) - I'm more worried about if iOS cuts out one (or more) of the models that app availability will get worse.

In an ideal world I'd get him a 2nd hand Air or 4th gen but availability of these at sensible prices is a bit up and down.

 

[rui no onna]

As mentioned he'll only be using it for webby based things (and BBC iPlayer, news apps etc) so performance isn't an issue (he's quite happy waiting >2 minutes for his old PC to boot up) - I'm more worried about if iOS cuts out one (or more) of the models that app availability will get worse.

In an ideal world I'd get him a 2nd hand Air or 4th gen but availability of these at sensible prices is a bit up and down.

In general, performance is one of the reasons why Apple drops support for new iOS versions on older devices and that was something the iPad 3 was already somewhat lacking to begin with. The original iPad only received 2 major iOS updates. The iPad 3 has already gotten iOS 6 & 7 and it hasn't been available for retail for going on 2 years now. There's a possibility it might not get the next iOS release.

You're already spending £180-200 on an iPad. I think an extra £60-80 is worth it for what is in all likelihood at least 1-2 years more longevity. When the next iPad is announced, you can expect used/refurb prices on the iPad 4 to drop so if you can wait that long, that's another possibility.

 

[Badrottie]

Easy answer...Go for iPad 3 like you said it might support iOS 8 and it got Siri. Don't worry about weight as long as you don't tell him.