iPad Pro Speculate on the iPad Pros Life cycle.In 3

[TheRealAlex]

Judging by the news that Apple has supported the iPad 2 for 2,000 days has me thinking. With ALL of the iPad Pros advantages Apple Pencil, Smart Connector and so on how long will Apple continue support for the iPad Pro line ?

My estimation is about 1,000 days or 3 years ? Why ? Because Apple will eventually cut support for devices with just 2GB of RAM as the limiting factor. Also in 3 years the iPad Air 2 will be 5 years old. Also a device with 2GB of RAM.

I won't go into speculation about phones because they are different animals and people do not keep them past 2 years they get dropped etc. Even though Apple supports them.

Apple will however IMO keep supporting the 12.9 Pro which has 4GB of RAM but in reality if your budget can afford a 12.9 Pro with all the improvements I can imagine coming in 1 or 2 years few of these giant tablets will even be around at least the original ones.

 

[ActionableMango]

Apple's documented support policy is 5 years after the last date of manufacture. So we will know when support ends for the iPad Pro when they stop selling them, plus 5 years.

For example if we speculate that new iPad Pros come out in March 2017, then support would end for existing iPad Pro on March 2022.

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Dammit after finishing writing all that, I just realized that by "support" you actually meant the iOS cutoff date, not the end of support date. So I guess I'm off topic a bit, but I'll leave it because it might interest people to know the official documented support policy.

 

[bensisko]

Judging by the news that Apple has supported the iPad 2 for 2,000 days has me thinking. With ALL of the iPad Pros advantages Apple Pencil, Smart Connector and so on how long will Apple continue support for the iPad Pro line ?

My estimation is about 1,000 days or 3 years ? Why ? Because Apple will eventually cut support for devices with just 2GB of RAM as the limiting factor. Also in 3 years the iPad Air 2 will be 5 years old. Also a device with 2GB of RAM.

I won't go into speculation about phones because they are different animals and people do not keep them past 2 years they get dropped etc. Even though Apple supports them.

Apple will however IMO keep supporting the 12.9 Pro which has 4GB of RAM but in reality if your budget can afford a 12.9 Pro with all the improvements I can imagine coming in 1 or 2 years few of these giant tablets will even be around at least the original ones.

So... there are some loose threads.

Are you talking about 3 years total or 3 years from today?
Also, there's going to be some BIG questions as to what support really means and what's "usable" vs. just supported.

Apple will continue to support (allow upgrade of iOS) the 9.7" iPad Pro for quite some time - probably at least 4-5 years after it's release. What might happen is that the 9.7" iPad Pro (and iPad Air) may not be able to take full advantage of the new OS. You may be able to RUN iOS 13, but you won't get the super special 3D virtual assistant or the new stickers in Messages.

I seriously don't expect 2 GB RAM to be an issue any time soon. Maybe by the time they reach iOS 13, they'll re-engineer iOS, but I seriously expect some other hardware to make the 9.7" iPad Pro "obsolete" before the 2 GB RAM becomes a block.

 

[TheRealAlex]

So... there are some loose threads.

Are you talking about 3 years total or 3 years from today?
Also, there's going to be some BIG questions as to what support really means and what's "usable" vs. just supported.

Apple will continue to support (allow upgrade of iOS) the 9.7" iPad Pro for quite some time - probably at least 4-5 years after it's release. What might happen is that the 9.7" iPad Pro (and iPad Air) may not be able to take full advantage of the new OS. You may be able to RUN iOS 13, but you won't get the super special 3D virtual assistant or the new stickers in Messages.

I seriously don't expect 2 GB RAM to be an issue any time soon. Maybe by the time they reach iOS 13, they'll re-engineer iOS, but I seriously expect some other hardware to make the 9.7" iPad Pro "obsolete" before the 2 GB RAM becomes a block.

Sorry about the thread title couldn't clean it up or find the option.

Anyways I took an educated guess given that the iPad 2 had 2,000 days of iOS compatability, kinda shocking how little they have improved on the iOS front and good news for those holding on to an iPad 2.

What I meant was iOS support and the ability to Update your device to the latest OS.

My guess is 1,000 days or 3 years from March 31st 2016. Why ?

Given the Climate and Pace consumer are looking for new features. And developers needing more RAM. You can already see Apple giving in Selling the 7 Plus with 3GB RAM and iPad Pro 12.9 with 4GB

Also Apple needs to Create a Cutoff for some devices it's a 32 bit CPU for others it's 512MB of RAM

In 3 years I see Apple saying Any device with 2GB of RAM Can not Update to iOS 14

IPhone 6 6s 6s Plus IPhone 7 and iPad Pro 9.7.

7 Plus and 12.9 Pro if any are Around in 3 Years will be Updateable.

 

[MacModMachine]

Sorry about the thread title couldn't clean it up or find the option.

Anyways I took an educated guess given that the iPad 2 had 2,000 days of iOS compatability, kinda shocking how little they have improved on the iOS front and good news for those holding on to an iPad 2.

What I meant was iOS support and the ability to Update your device to the latest OS.

My guess is 1,000 days or 3 years from March 31st 2016. Why ?

Given the Climate and Pace consumer are looking for new features. And developers needing more RAM. You can already see Apple giving in Selling the 7 Plus with 3GB RAM and iPad Pro 12.9 with 4GB

Also Apple needs to Create a Cutoff for some devices it's a 32 bit CPU for others it's 512MB of RAM

In 3 years I see Apple saying Any device with 2GB of RAM Can not Update to iOS 14

IPhone 6 6s 6s Plus IPhone 7 and iPad Pro 9.7.

7 Plus and 12.9 Pro if any are Around in 3 Years will be Updateable.

the iphone 7 plus only has 3gb , for the camera.

ipad pro has the 4gb for the screen Realestate. (12.9")

ios10 works fine with just 2gb , no matter what. the ram is added to support features that require extra ram without decreasing existing system performance.

 

[Math889]

If they supported iPad 2 and IPhone 4s for too long. (And these devices are 32 bit with 512 MB of RAM. )Imagine how long they will support 2GB of RAM devices (Air 2,Pro,6s,6s Plus and others)with 64 bit architecture. These devices will have a great run , maybe even more than IPad 2 and iPhone 4s.

 

[ActionableMango]

Sorry about the thread title couldn't clean it up or find the option.

If you want to change the title, click the little "gear" icon at the top-right of the thread. It looks like this:

 

[Math889]

Sorry about the thread title couldn't clean it up or find the option.

Anyways I took an educated guess given that the iPad 2 had 2,000 days of iOS compatability, kinda shocking how little they have improved on the iOS front and good news for those holding on to an iPad 2.

What I meant was iOS support and the ability to Update your device to the latest OS.

My guess is 1,000 days or 3 years from March 31st 2016. Why ?

Given the Climate and Pace consumer are looking for new features. And developers needing more RAM. You can already see Apple giving in Selling the 7 Plus with 3GB RAM and iPad Pro 12.9 with 4GB

Also Apple needs to Create a Cutoff for some devices it's a 32 bit CPU for others it's 512MB of RAM

In 3 years I see Apple saying Any device with 2GB of RAM Can not Update to iOS 14

IPhone 6 6s 6s Plus IPhone 7 and iPad Pro 9.7.

7 Plus and 12.9 Pro if any are Around in 3 Years will be Updateable.

I doubt it .
Judging by what you are saying, the IPhone 7 will get only 3 major software updates??what about some devices that got 4,5 major software updates? iPhone 5 is a example . It shipped with iOS 6 and now 4 years later is compatible with iOS 10. I think IOS 13 will be the end of the road for 1GB of RAM devices. (6,6Plus) 5s (IOS 12). These devices with 2gb of RAM is plenty powerful.

 

[TheRealAlex]

I doubt it .
Judging by what you are saying, the IPhone 7 will get only 3 major software updates??what about some devices that got 4,5 major software updates? iPhone 5 is a example . It shipped with iOS 6 and now 4 years later is compatible with iOS 10. I think IOS 13 will be the end of the road for 1GB of RAM devices. (6,6Plus) 5s (IOS 12). These devices with 2gb of RAM is plenty powerful.

All true, yet that ship has sailed, that paradigm of 5 years or 4 years worth of iOS updates has passed. Devices and Apps are providing more features and capabilities that rival Macs and it is likely the iPad Pro line will have to option to run Mac OS, and 2GB devices will stop receiving updates in order to give Apple greater freedom to expand and just do more. Also 3 years from now. Is a Long long time. Apple has a RoadMap at least that far.
Next Gen iPad Pros with possibly Intel CPUs will get an update or Optiion to run full Mac OS, as a counter to Microsofts very popular Surface Pro line. There's also evidence of iOS features making it to Desktop Macs and Laptops. And the reverse could be valid also. That iPad Pros can one day run Mac OS, just not devices with 2GB of RAM. Apple can easily separate the lines and they have. Different devices with different Feature levels

MacBook and MacBook Pro
iPad and iPad Pro
iPhone and iPhone Pro

With Mac OS possible on Pro level devices.

 

[Math889]

All true, yet that ship has sailed, that paradigm of 5 years or 4 years worth of iOS updates has passed. Devices and Apps are providing more features and capabilities that rival Macs and it is likely the iPad Pro line will have to option to run Mac OS, and 2GB devices will stop receiving updates in order to give Apple greater freedom to expand and just do more. Also 3 years from now. Is a Long long time. Apple has a RoadMap at least that far.
Next Gen iPad Pros with possibly Intel CPUs will get an update or Optiion to run full Mac OS, as a counter to Microsofts very popular Surface Pro line. There's also evidence of iOS features making it to Desktop Macs and Laptops. And the reverse could be valid also. That iPad Pros can one day run Mac OS, just not devices with 2GB of RAM. Apple can easily separate the lines and they have. Different devices with different Feature levels

MacBook and MacBook Pro
iPad and iPad Pro
iPhone and iPhone Pro

With Mac OS possible on Pro level devices.

Ok time will tell if you are right !

 

[bensisko]

All true, yet that ship has sailed, that paradigm of 5 years or 4 years worth of iOS updates has passed. Devices and Apps are providing more features and capabilities that rival Macs and it is likely the iPad Pro line will have to option to run Mac OS, and 2GB devices will stop receiving updates in order to give Apple greater freedom to expand and just do more. Also 3 years from now. Is a Long long time. Apple has a RoadMap at least that far.
Next Gen iPad Pros with possibly Intel CPUs will get an update or Optiion to run full Mac OS, as a counter to Microsofts very popular Surface Pro line. There's also evidence of iOS features making it to Desktop Macs and Laptops. And the reverse could be valid also. That iPad Pros can one day run Mac OS, just not devices with 2GB of RAM. Apple can easily separate the lines and they have. Different devices with different Feature levels

MacBook and MacBook Pro
iPad and iPad Pro
iPhone and iPhone Pro

With Mac OS possible on Pro level devices.

Even IF (and a very BIG "if") Apple brings MacOS to a tablet, I doubt it will be the iPad - it would be new hardware (and I seriously doubt it would run both iOS and macOS). I really think iOS and macOS are separate as far as Apple is concerned.

As I said, I don't see 2 GB RAM being the show-stopping feature - it will probably be another hardware requirement (such as processor) that cuts iPads off - and even then, not for quite a while (probably at least 2020 - barring any MAJOR platform changes).

 

[gobikerider]

Judging by the news that Apple has supported the iPad 2 for 2,000 days has me thinking. With ALL of the iPad Pros advantages Apple Pencil, Smart Connector and so on how long will Apple continue support for the iPad Pro line ?

My estimation is about 1,000 days or 3 years ? Why ? Because Apple will eventually cut support for devices with just 2GB of RAM as the limiting factor. Also in 3 years the iPad Air 2 will be 5 years old. Also a device with 2GB of RAM.

I won't go into speculation about phones because they are different animals and people do not keep them past 2 years they get dropped etc. Even though Apple supports them.

Apple will however IMO keep supporting the 12.9 Pro which has 4GB of RAM but in reality if your budget can afford a 12.9 Pro with all the improvements I can imagine coming in 1 or 2 years few of these giant tablets will even be around at least the original ones.

I have to disagree with ram being a issue considering the iPhone 7 has 2gb ram still. The iPad 2 lasted 5 years. I'd expect the A7 and up devices to last 6+