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

It's a Bad Time to Buy the Low-Cost iPad

Genelec8341 said:
I have Apple Intelligence turned off on the devices I own that do support it.
I'm not influenced by this article.
Click to expand...
Article actually says the A16 iPad is a great choice for those who don't want the missing "features" That's why I purchased one at a good discount. Gemini App, ChatGPT, and Grok apps work just fine.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: snipr125 and Kon_P
hubsoad said:
I do not mind at all about Apple Intelligence.
Click to expand...
A glowing review right there. What upset me is when you turn Apple Intelligence off one would think it's gone, trusting Apple. But go into App settings and all of the Intelligence toggles are still on by default. No documentation about what that means. Apple did it by choice for some reason.
 
I’ve been on the fence of maybe buying an iPad for a couple years now

I’ve never had a use for one for its entire existence but now I’ve found one

I’m a life long musician trying to learn to read music finally and would love a little screen that I could prop on my main keyboard that would display sheet music

Even the cheapest iPad feels like a lot of $ just for that

Maybe a new one will make this one cheaper

I might even use it in the kitchen for recipes and read the news on it now and again

I think they are just overpowered and thus overpriced for what I need

I have a Mac Studio for computing and an iPhone for iPhoning
 
  • Like
Reactions: jchap
The real world effect this will have is that Apple will rapidly discontinue all support for non-"AI" supporting SoCs.

The fact that they're still perfectly fine is irrelevant.
 
Charlie Bonesx said:
I’ve been on the fence of maybe buying an iPad for a couple years now

I’ve never had a use for one for its entire existence but now I’ve found one

I’m a life long musician trying to learn to read music finally and would love a little screen that I could prop on my main keyboard that would display sheet music

Even the cheapest iPad feels like a lot of $ just for that

Maybe a new one will make this one cheaper

I might even use it in the kitchen for recipes and read the news on it now and again

I think they are just overpowered and thus overpriced for what I need

I have a Mac Studio for computing and an iPhone for iPhoning
Click to expand...

You gotta compare it to the competition though. Other tablets for the same price are not what you'll want.

As many issues with I have with the way Apple treats it, it is meant for exactly what you describe and it will last a long time.

In your case yeah, wait until the new one comes out and buy the current one on clearance.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jchap
segfaultdotorg said:
I'm not worried about Apple iIntelligence support. Does it support the Google Gemini that will replace that?
Click to expand...

Newp. I have absolutely no evidence to base this on except over a decade of carefully observing Apple's software support policies.

On that basis I am 100% confident that it will not, even though it is obviously fully capable since Gemini is on it right now.

Same exact reason older iPhones can't use the ChatGPT integration of which it is glaringly obviously fully capable.
 
CarAnalogy said:
You gotta compare it to the competition though. Other tablets for the same price are not what you'll want.

As many issues with I have with the way Apple treats it, it is meant for exactly what you describe and it will last a long time.

In your case yeah, wait until the new one comes out and buy the current one on clearance.
Click to expand...

yeah we have a handful of android tablets at work for little tasks where you just need a touch screen for something (mostly time punch clocks, damn I miss punch cards,) they are overpriced too for what they are doing

but I would never buy one

iPad seems great, but I'd love an underpowered much cheaper one

give me a decent screen with an old binned chipped

iPad neo?
 
  • Like
Reactions: jchap
Maybe I'm in the minority, but I think it's always a great time to buy the base iPad.
It's a great value and product.

I still have a nearly 5 year old base model iPad 9 in my rotation.

It works stunningly well for what I do with iPads (consume text, video & audio content).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jxdawg, ChrisMac47 and jchap
Charlie Bonesx said:
yeah we have a handful of android tablets at work for little tasks where you just need a touch screen for something (mostly time punch clocks, damn I miss punch cards,) they are overpriced too for what they are doing

but I would never buy one

iPad seems great, but I'd love an underpowered much cheaper one

give me a decent screen with an old binned chipped

iPad neo?
Click to expand...

You should probably just get an even older iPad or Android tablet then. I don't really want to see them go any lower than the base iPad already is.
 
Possible that it will indeed come this year. The current entry level iPad, though 2 years old and even if it lacks Apple Intelligence, can consider buying it if the price is right. Think it will get software support for many more years.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mganu
They wont miss much. Sooner rather than later you will need to pay a subscription fee to get that AI ability, at least an amount that wont run out very quickly like the free version will. So a new ipad without that apple toll will be just like that ipad you should not buy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TVreporter
turbineseaplane said:
Maybe I'm in the minority, but I think it's always a great time to buy the base iPad.
It's a great value and product.

I still have a nearly 5 year old base model iPad 9 in my rotation.

It works stunningly well for what I do with iPads (consume text, video & audio content).
Click to expand...

My 2017 5th gen iPad still works great for streaming video and webbrowsing. I wouldn’t recommend someone get one in 2026. But it works better than it should for a nine year old device.
 
  • Like
Reactions: turbineseaplane and TVreporter
Böhme417 said:
Unless you need the processing power and aside from the display, there isn't much of a difference between them. Why pay $200+ more for a refurbished device when you can get the base iPad for $300? For the people just using social media, watching content, and surfing the web, the basic iPad is completely fine.
Click to expand...
The prices are not the same here in Sweden compared to USA.
Here in Sweden you get a iPad 11 for $450, including taxes.
The base ipad is rarely on low sale, and if they are the price is down $20-30.
A refurbished iPad Air M2 cost $480 including taxes, so for ME the choice is simple.
That’s why I wrote “imo” in the beginning of my post🙂
 
Last edited:
I recently bought one from a friend who was given an iPad Pro and I must say, coming from iPad (6th gen) it feels really nice and fluid as "just" a base iPad. Its main uses are watching YouTube and taking notes for university lectures using the 1st gen Apple Pencil.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: TVreporter
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