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iPad iPad Pro 1st gen (2018) in 2023, still worth it?

J

jackv292

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 22, 2023
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Hi guys! I found a sealed iPad pro 1st gen from 2018 at 500 euros (545 us dollars), do you think is worth it in 2023? I think it will come with the original native OS in it, should I eventually upgrade it? If I do so, will it be much slower? And the last question, will the battery be damaged after 5 years stored in a box and never been activated? Tell me your opinions please, thank you for your attention! :)
I would only use it for media since I have a PC.
 
Greenmeenie said:
Yup. I’m still using my 2018 11” iPad Pro. I do all my content creating & media consumption on it. Still works great. I may finally upgrade in 2024 or 2025 when the iPad Pro gets OLED screen, but maybe not…I may just hang onto mine a lot longer!
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So you’d pay 500 Euro today for a five year old iPad instead of getting any current iPad if you had to get one?
 
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jackv292 said:
And the last question, will the battery be damaged after 5 years stored in a box and never been activated?
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If the battery sat empty for any length of time it will have lost most of its capacity and be ready for the garbage bin. If it left the factory at, say, 50% or 80% and only drained to 20% then it might still be good. Not sure what to expect, perhaps somebody has experience with how long an iPad will keep a charge when switched off.
 
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jackv292 said:
Hi guys! I found a sealed iPad pro 1st gen from 2018 at 500 euros (545 us dollars), do you think is worth it in 2023? I think it will come with the original native OS in it, should I eventually upgrade it? If I do so, will it be much slower? And the last question, will the battery be damaged after 5 years stored in a box and never been activated? Tell me your opinions please, thank you for your attention! :)
I would only use it for media since I have a PC.
Click to expand...
You didn't specify the specs. If this is the same as mine (1TB 6GB RAM) that's an amazing deal. If this is the 64GB version, not so much.
The 2018 11" came with IOS 12, definitely worth upgrading to a newer OS. The upgrade won't make it any slower, but will increase the amount of reloads if has 4GB RAM.
The battery will probably be fine. Apple leaves them around half full and they barely drain over the years if turned off.
I bought mine on the 31st of December 2020, at almost half the price new, and the battery was more than half full... (the fact that it's a 2018 model does not mean it was made in 2018, these were made till early 2020).
 
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It’s not a good deal. You’re paying $500 for a five year old processor. We all know Apple is going to favor the M-series chips moving forward. You can get a refurbished iPad Air M1 for the same price or if you can shell out about $100-$200 more, refurbished iPad Pro with M1.

Since you mention just media consumption, maybe iPad Air M1 is good for the same $500 price. Currently Amazon has them renewed for like $419
 
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As others have already said, if it’s the 64GB version of the 2018 iPad Pro, don’t buy it. I had that iPad during four years, and while its performance was great during that time, lately the 4GB started to make apps reload, and I started to run short of storage. Also, many new features of iPad OS 16 such as external display support or the higher resolution setting weren’t available for it.

Now I have a stunning M2 iPad Pro and I am very happy with it. If you find a good deal with the M1 iPad Pro, I think that would be a fantastic option, but take a look at the M1 iPad Air as well. Mind you, the M1 iPad Air starts at 64GB, I would avoid that capacity if you plan to use it many years.
 
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I think it would be more than able to do everything most users would ask of it today
I also think with how tech changes and drops in value, I’d offer $300
 
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Basic75 said:
The 11" iPad Pro from 2018 is sometimes referred to as "1st gen" because it was the first iPad Pro with an 11" screen.
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Ugh that’s just misleading. I didn’t see 11” in the topic title or main post either. I was about to correct but someone beat me to it.
 
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Smoovejayy said:
It’s not a good deal. You’re paying $500 for a five year old processor. We all know Apple is going to favor the M-series chips moving forward. You can get a refurbished iPad Air M1 for the same price or if you can shell out about $100-$200 more, refurbished iPad Pro with M1.

Since you mention just media consumption, maybe iPad Air M1 is good for the same $500 price. Currently Amazon has them renewed for like $419
Click to expand...

The iPad Air 5 (M1/8GB RAM) can be found quite regularly on sale for $499. Assuming similar deals are available in the OP's country, this is what I'd choose over the 2018 iPad Pro 11 particularly if it's just the base 64GB model.

The Air 5 has better longevity and support at the expense of some higher end features like FaceID, ProMotion and quad speakers.
 
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jackv292 said:
Hi guys! I found a sealed iPad pro 1st gen from 2018 at 500 euros (545 us dollars), do you think is worth it in 2023? I think it will come with the original native OS in it, should I eventually upgrade it? If I do so, will it be much slower? And the last question, will the battery be damaged after 5 years stored in a box and never been activated? Tell me your opinions please, thank you for your attention! :)
I would only use it for media since I have a PC.
Click to expand...
Tech advances rapidly. A five-year-old device is ancient even if it comes from an unopened box. Do not buy at that (very high for old tech) price. Look for something newer; and if it was me I would look only at iPads that accept the Apple Pencil 2 even if you do not intend to use a pencil at this point in time.

Old tech can certainly be usable (depending upon one's usage intent), but only if obtained for free or close to it.
 
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I’m using a 12.9" 2018 iPad Pro and if it were that I’d say yes, definitely. Performance is still great. But for a base 11" the price should be a tad bit lower to be worth it IMO. See https://asgoodasnew.com/ for comparison.

Edit: I missed that it’s still sealed. Then I’d say the price is very fair. For media consumption the power is certainly sufficient. One advantage of the 2018 Pro models is that they don’t have the huge camera bump yet.
 
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jackv292 said:
Hi guys! I found a sealed iPad pro 1st gen from 2018 at 500 euros (545 us dollars), do you think is worth it in 2023? I think it will come with the original native OS in it, should I eventually upgrade it? If I do so, will it be much slower? And the last question, will the battery be damaged after 5 years stored in a box and never been activated? Tell me your opinions please, thank you for your attention! :)
I would only use it for media since I have a PC.
Click to expand...
I have a 12.9" 2018 here that I bought used. Around 700 euros including the Magic Keyboard.
Recently, I decided to use it to check out iPadOS 17 and... I have no issues with it.
Sometimes I get page-reloads when switching between tabs but overall, performance is fantastic. Shockingly so - even compared with my iPad Air 5.

I use it for gaming, note-taking, office stuff, GarageBand, browsing, watching movies...

I checked the battery when I first bought it and it sat at 89% which struck me as odd. I would assume the previous owner had it replaced but the battery's manufacture date is also one from 2018...
With only 150 cycles in 5 years, I'm wondering if maybe it was plugged in most of the time.


Edit: Got carried away and didn't answer the question. I think mine holds up well - but you might indeed be better off getting a refurbed Air 4 or 5 just for the longer support and the fresher battery.

Screenshot 2023-08-22 at 22.31.47.jpg
 
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I would get a 2018 iPad Pro over an m1 iPad Air. Or an m5 iPad Air for that matter, because the pro has 120hz and Face ID
 
Just to address some of the comments here. Personally I would take a 2018 any day over and air 4 with the same storage. Pro 11 has too many advantages over the air 4.
Air 5 is a different story, but even then personally I'd be hesitant to trade the quad speakers but the added RAM is definitely a big deal.
 
I'm very satisfied with my 13" 2018 Pro, and can't see myself upgrading for a very long time. Or unless they add a 15"...
 
Pakaku said:
I'm very satisfied with my 13" 2018 Pro, and can't see myself upgrading for a very long time. Or unless they add a 15"...
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The query is not about whether or not 2018 customers are satisfied after 5 years of use but rather about what is appropriate to purchase in 2023. IMO the only reason to buy into the tail end of a 6-8 year high tech life cycle is if A) one values his/her time at close to zero and B) if one also gets a really really low price.
 
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