iPad IPad 9th Gen for mild gaming use?

[waynewayne]

Elderly parents are looking to upgrade from a pretty old set of iPads (not sure on which gen but will be entry level and at least 5+ years old).

I can see basic 9th gen 64gb iPads for around £300 with the 5th gen Airs almost double at £575.

The basic iPad should be fine - BUT grandkids like to play some games. Can a 9th gen handle that? It’s usually simple free games with some Minecraft thrown in so not overly demanding I don’t think. The current old iPads seem to cope so I think i should be fine - but wanted to check if I am missing anything?

Also has anywhere in the UK got particularly strong iPad deals at the moment That can beat the above prices?

 

[floral]

Elderly parents are looking to upgrade from a pretty old set of iPads (not sure on which gen but will be entry level and at least 5+ years old).

I can see basic 9th gen 64gb iPads for around £300 with the 5th gen Airs almost double at £575.

The basic iPad should be fine - BUT grandkids like to play some games. Can a 9th gen handle that? It’s usually simple free games with some Minecraft thrown in so not overly demanding I don’t think. The current old iPads seem to cope so I think i should be fine - but wanted to check if I am missing anything?

Also has anywhere in the UK got particularly strong iPad deals at the moment That can beat the above prices?

The 9th gen iPad is definitely capable of mild gaming... A13 is no joke. It can run most games smooth as butter if you aren't intentionally trying to give it a work out.

 

[Username-already-in-use]

The 9th Generation iPad has better graphics performance than most mid-tier Android phones. It will run games fine.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

9th gen is good, but if the plan is to keep these for another ~5 years like the last ones, I’d go for 10th gen (A14) or Air 5 (M1). The 9th gen is going on 18 months old already.

 

[sam_dean]

Elderly parents are looking to upgrade from a pretty old set of iPads (not sure on which gen but will be entry level and at least 5+ years old).

I can see basic 9th gen 64gb iPads for around £300 with the 5th gen Airs almost double at £575.

The basic iPad should be fine - BUT grandkids like to play some games. Can a 9th gen handle that? It’s usually simple free games with some Minecraft thrown in so not overly demanding I don’t think. The current old iPads seem to cope so I think i should be fine - but wanted to check if I am missing anything?

Also has anywhere in the UK got particularly strong iPad deals at the moment That can beat the above prices?

If you personally have iPads then why not hand it down to them and get yourself a new one?

 

[Annv]

It should be ok with games. Even my 6th gen iPad can do that. And I play relatively heavy titles like Total War series. No problem with Command and Conquer Rivals, Plague Inc., as well as with Zooba, Clash Royale, Dragon City, Among Us or Soul Knight that my son likes.

 

[JamesMay82]

My 8 year old uses the 9 gen cellular and its fine for games and homework. I’d be tempted to get your folks a cellular one through EE or similar as they usually have deals on + easier for them to use out the house or if they don’t have Wi-Fi at home.

 

[Ctrlos]

Elderly parents are looking to upgrade from a pretty old set of iPads (not sure on which gen but will be entry level and at least 5+ years old).

I can see basic 9th gen 64gb iPads for around £300 with the 5th gen Airs almost double at £575.

The basic iPad should be fine - BUT grandkids like to play some games. Can a 9th gen handle that? It’s usually simple free games with some Minecraft thrown in so not overly demanding I don’t think. The current old iPads seem to cope so I think i should be fine - but wanted to check if I am missing anything?

Also has anywhere in the UK got particularly strong iPad deals at the moment That can beat the above prices?

In a word: yes.

The long version? The iPad, even the 9th base model is a gaming monster. It will handle anything on Apple Arcade. You can play pretty much every JRPG worth buying released between 1986 and 2000. Game Streaming via xCloud or PS Remote Play is really good.

 

[Vivian125]

Based on YouTube if iPad 9 can play Genshin Impact (the game that requires 23GB of storage) very smooth, then it can run majority of games with no problems. Even iPad 8 from 2020 also runs it, and so iPad 9.

 

[1BadManVan]

9th gen will be more than enough for any current games out there. My kids use iPad Air 3's for gaming with the A12 chip and they perform fantastic, even running genshin impact at 60 fps

 

[karlcrazyman]

It sounds like the basic 9th generation 64GB iPad would be a suitable choice for your elderly parents' needs, including basic tasks like web browsing and email, as well as light gaming. While the 9th gen iPad may not have the most powerful processor or graphics capabilities, it should be sufficient for simple free games like Minecraft.

It's worth noting that the 9th gen iPad has an A13 Bionic chip, which is a significant improvement over older entry-level iPads, so it should perform better than their current devices. Additionally, the 9th gen iPad supports the latest version of iPadOS, which will ensure that the device is up-to-date with the latest security features and software improvements.

If your grandkids do end up playing more demanding games in the future, it's possible that the 9th gen iPad may struggle to keep up. In that case, you could consider upgrading to a higher-end model like the iPad Air or iPad Pro, which have more powerful processors and graphics capabilities. However, for now, it seems that the basic 9th gen iPad should be a good choice for your parents' needs.

 

[karlcrazyman]

you may want to try some of the tips commonly suggested for improving battery life, such as turning off unnecessary background app refresh or location services, adjusting screen brightness, or reducing the frequency of email or other notifications. If these tips don't help, you could try contacting Apple support or taking your device to an authorized repair center to diagnose any potential hardware issues.