Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iPad for Child

zachlegomaniac

zachlegomaniac

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 20, 2008
806
370
Hi there,

My son has been using our iPad mini 1 for apps like Sesame Street Go, etc., and it's at the point where it needs to be upgraded to handle some of the apps without constant crashing. It's terrible when I pick it up to browse on Safari as well (it's the only iPad my wife and I have ever owned). It appears the new iPads are going to appear in March, and the Mini 4 is getting pretty old. Ideally, I'd like to purchase shortly after launch so we don't have to worry about replacing it for a long time, but this thing is kind of crippled. I did a full restore on it, and only put a handful of apps back (no music, video, etc.), but it didn't seem to help much. My mistake was upgrading to iOS 8 (and then 9 as they suggested that would help at the Apple Store), but that's neither here nor there at this point.

If I see an iPad Air 2 at a great price with the holidays approaching how many years do you think I can get out of it? I suppose I shouldn't update the iOS beyond 10 even if that's what I'm encouraged to do by Apple since it didn't work out well for the original Mini. I'd love to hear your input before I make a purchase.

Thank you!

ZLM
 
The mini 4 is actually newer the Air 2, and has the same gen processor as the Air 2 (mini 4 is double core and Air 2 is triple core). They also both have 2gb of RAM. So I would think they would both have about the same useful life span.

It sucks that you have to replace your old iPad now when an update is likely in the Spring, but hopefully with the coming holiday season, there will be good sales. If device size isn't a factor I'd just grab whichever one you can find for a better deal.
 
  • Like
Reactions: profets
Night Spring said:
The mini 4 is actually newer the Air 2, and has the same gen processor as the Air 2 (mini 4 is double core and Air 2 is triple core). They also both have 2gb of RAM. So I would think they would both have about the same useful life span.

It sucks that you have to replace your old iPad now when an update is likely in the Spring, but hopefully with the coming holiday season, there will be good sales. If device size isn't a factor I'd just grab whichever one you can find for a better deal.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your input. Maybe we'll just hobble through to the spring and wait for the update. It is for a child, anyways, so it's not like it's needed for productivity or work. I just don't want to think about replacing it for a good long while.
 
zachlegomaniac said:
Thanks for your input. Maybe we'll just hobble through to the spring and wait for the update. It is for a child, anyways, so it's not like it's needed for productivity or work. I just don't want to think about replacing it for a good long while.
Click to expand...

The best way to get the most life out of a computing device is to buy it right when it's released, that's for sure.

I don't know what your budget is, but another possibility is to watch for a sale on the 9.7 iPad Pro, and get that. I know it's more expensive than the older models, but if you plan to keep it for a long time, the extra cost could be offset.

I just wish we knew for certain that iPads will be updated in the Spring. It's so hard to predict what Apple would do next, it makes buying decisions very difficult.
 
  • Like
Reactions: zachlegomaniac
I remember when my oldest stole my iPad.. now I've got 3 kids and still only the one iPad. Have to figure out a plan to stop the arguments. Lol
 
  • Like
Reactions: zachlegomaniac
My daughters are using my old iPad 4 and mini 2. No issues here; they both work great for Netflix, kids' games etc.

They both NEED to keep working ok for them, too! As there is no way anyone is inheriting my 12.9" iPad Pro just yet.
 
  • Like
Reactions: zachlegomaniac
Yeah my sister's Mini 2 still works fine for her. Some of the apps on the Mini 1 just keep crashing. Someone told me it was because of a difference in the RAM, but i think the 4s and the Mini 1 both have 512. If it was lag the little guy could definitely live with it. I tried telling him that when I was his age I had to settle with coloring books and the back of cereal boxes. He didn't seem care.

Three year olds, dude....



E4o7eD7.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: M. Gustave and Peter K.
The wife and I have had Air 2's and the kids have had Mini 4's for about a year now. They all still work like new. We are hoping they will last another 4 years.
 
I might be selling the air we have and buying 2 mini 2's on Black Friday. Hoping they last 4 years as well.
 
My two year old daughter has an iPad 1, the original. It's not fast but she can watch some YouTube when she's sitting next to me or a few kids games. She only gets it on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday mornings for 30min. But she enjoys it a lot. My son, 5 years and a week old, uses an iPad mini 1 also to watch some YouTube and a few games.
Both iPads are old and asthmatic, but they keep on running and the kids enjoy them a lot.
It's a pity yours is crashing, because waiting a few months could be enough for a new 3Gb memory model which is also most likely to be a lot better future proof.
 
  • Like
Reactions: zachlegomaniac
zachlegomaniac said:
Hi there,

My son has been using our iPad mini 1 for apps like Sesame Street Go, etc., and it's at the point where it needs to be upgraded to handle some of the apps without constant crashing. It's terrible when I pick it up to browse on Safari as well (it's the only iPad my wife and I have ever owned). It appears the new iPads are going to appear in March, and the Mini 4 is getting pretty old. Ideally, I'd like to purchase shortly after launch so we don't have to worry about replacing it for a long time, but this thing is kind of crippled. I did a full restore on it, and only put a handful of apps back (no music, video, etc.), but it didn't seem to help much. My mistake was upgrading to iOS 8 (and then 9 as they suggested that would help at the Apple Store), but that's neither here nor there at this point.

If I see an iPad Air 2 at a great price with the holidays approaching how many years do you think I can get out of it? I suppose I shouldn't update the iOS beyond 10 even if that's what I'm encouraged to do by Apple since it didn't work out well for the original Mini. I'd love to hear your input before I make a purchase.

Thank you!

ZLM
Click to expand...
The iPad Air 2 is over two years old. My 'round number' tech age is replacement at 3 years, although you could probably get 4 out of it with no problems. So you are looking at a solid 2 more years.

I would definitely update with each iOS iteration.

Good luck!
 
  • Like
Reactions: zachlegomaniac
My wife has the mini 1, and my daughter uses it also for games. We do not have the problems you mention. It is a bit slow, but nothing serious. Therefore I would recommend to do a clean reinstall first; this may solve the crashes and the lag in browsing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: zachlegomaniac and M. Gustave
My daughter has also been using an original iPad mini for several years. We bought it when it first came out, so not bad being 4 years old now and still running ok, though it has slowed quite a bit. Likely going to replace it in the spring if there's updates (or discounts on the mini 4, for example).

Also, not bad to keep an eye out on reforms from apple, there's been decent pricing on the Air 2 or mini 4.

Actually, strangely the mini 4 and Air 2 are the same price. Or maybe not so strangely since they're very similar with internals and you're mainly just choosing a size you prefer.
 
My youngest kid has uses my old 16GB iPad 2. It works fine for his needs.

Considering most of his friends don't have their own iPads, I think he is doing quite well.

I hope to upgrade him to an iPad Air 2 so that he can try out the new coding app Apple has released.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back