iPad Thoughts on upgrading iPad from iPad 3

[barrett14]

I currently have the iPad 3 (first retina version) and it has been great to me. However, ever since iOS 8 came out, it has slowed down significantly. Other than performance, none of the new iPads have really interested me enough to spend the money on one.

Is there any chance that the next iPad will bring anything thats a game changer? Or will it just be another faster iPad Air? I will probably upgrade regardless because my iPad 3 is just too slow right now.

 

[ocat]

I was able to speed up my iPad 3 by doing a full clean install, although as usage went on, it slows down on certain things, I would have loved to stay on ios 6 till the thing died, I dont have many apps on it and only use it for certain things, for myself, ios 7 and 8 hasn't been good on the ipad 3.

 

[FoxD]

Get the Air 2. I love it and I don't see lot changing in the next release, maybe retina hd but then it will probably be thicker. The thinness of the Air 2 makes it feel lighter and smaller than a mini.

I bought the iPad 3 and hated it from the beginning. It felt much more heavier and thicker than the iPad 2. I ended up just giving it to my Aunt. It was so sluggish too, worst iPad ever IMO.

The Air 2 is super fast and feels great. Wish my iPhone 6 Plus was as thin.

 

[strayts]

The latest iOS update made my 3 a little better. I too think that the iPad 2 (which I still use daily on iOS 7) is overall a better device than the 3. The 3 feels bulky, heavy, and the only significant feature is the retina screen. I'm waiting until the next iPad mini to see if they actually upgrade the guts of the thing. I love the size of the mini myself.

 

[aneftp]

IPad Air 2 in my opinion is an essentiall
upgrade for owners of iPad 2 AND IPAD 3.

IPAD 3 running a 3 year plus old processor. I kept mine on ios7.1 and even that still felt slow. Can't imagine I ios8

 

[highdefjunkie]

IPad Air 2 in my opinion is an essentiall
upgrade for owners of iPad 2 AND IPAD 3.

IPAD 3 running a 3 year plus old processor. I kept mine on ios7.1 and even that still felt slow. Can't imagine I ios8

I agree. Get the air 2. From a iPad 3, I'd say it's a game changer.

 

[Dan70]

I had an iPad 3 and upgraded to an iPad Mini 3. A lot of people on here would sway you to a Mini 2 but the gold finish and Touch ID for me personally is worth it. It's a brand new model and works great. My £0.02 for you.

 

[ryanflucas]

I was in a similar situation and upgraded this last month.

My previous was a 64GB iPad 3 Retina Wifi running iOS 8. Everything ran fine, my only gripe was that Safari seemed slow. I had restored the iPad twice since my owning it, so it may have been a fresher install that did the trick.

I replaced it with a 64GB iPad Air 2 Wifi. Everything is really fast and "snappier" as expected. My only gripe is in comparison to my last iPad 3, this iPad feels too thin. That isn't a bad thing, but it takes some getting used to. I also considered the iPad Mini, but decided the Air was better value.

I bought a Zagg Glass Screen Protector. After installing that, it ended up being defective. The tag that says "pull here first" to remove the plastic on the protector left a big square mark on the protector I couldn't buff out. I removed it and sent it back. It's currently in a Khomo case, but soon to be upgraded to an Apple Smart Case. The Khomo case has a hard plastic rear the Air 2 snaps into. When I removed it from the case to apply the screen protector, I had to be careful because of the iPad Air 2 thinness. When moving it in and out of the case, it's easy to apply pressure and have it show on the display (it's that thin). I think the Smart Case has a more flexible rear portion that would prevent this. I'm also planning on trying the Moshi iVisor protector as that worked great with the iPad 3. It wasn't available until recently otherwise I would have bought that instead. I've never had really good luck with Zagg products except for a whole device protector I installed years ago on a PSP.

 

[pdawg]

I upgraded from the iPad 3 to the iPad Air 2. It was the right choice with regards to speed, performance and general functionality. I typically wait a few years before upgrading, and this version felt solid. No regrets. I still have a 3 that I kept on 7.12.

 

[Teste]

I currently have the iPad 3 (first retina version) and it has been great to me. However, ever since iOS 8 came out, it has slowed down significantly. Other than performance, none of the new iPads have really interested me enough to spend the money on one.

Your mistake was upgrading the iOS. Apple obviously doesn't care about older devices, or they would optimize iOS better for them. If you get a newer iPad, you better watch out and don't upgrade the iOS; the iPad Air 2 will likely be as slow under iOS 10 as your iPad 3 under iOS 8.

 

[WC23]

I did the same thing, upgrading from the 3 to the Air 2. Biggest changes are the huge loss in weight and much snappier performance. The 3 was collecting dust but now I'm finding more uses for an ipad now that it is almost as fast as my retina MBP. Also using my phone less these days. Sold my 3 so essentially only paid $200 to upgrade. Totally worth it.

 

[pdqgp]

I have both....

I have an iPad 3 and a newer iPad Air Rev 2 both of which are on iOS8. The iPad 3 is noticeably slower but it's not a PIA slow. The overall experience on any iPad is basically the same as my old iPad one. There's nothing new that makes me say WOW! what a great experience. It's an iPad....that's about it.

IMO, Save your money and enjoy what you have.

 

[Closingracer]

Get the Air 2. I love it and I don't see lot changing in the next release, maybe retina hd but then it will probably be thicker. The thinness of the Air 2 makes it feel lighter and smaller than a mini.



I bought the iPad 3 and hated it from the beginning. It felt much more heavier and thicker than the iPad 2. I ended up just giving it to my Aunt. It was so sluggish too, worst iPad ever IMO.



The Air 2 is super fast and feels great. Wish my iPhone 6 Plus was as thin.

The thing is this is already a HD screen and is above 1080p but slightly below 2k or QHD display . Any retina HD display will just be a marketing gimmick and probably be a battery drain or as above said thicker

 

[Ledgem]

I have an iPad 3 and a newer iPad Air Rev 2 both of which are on iOS8. The iPad 3 is noticeably slower but it's not a PIA slow. The overall experience on any iPad is basically the same as my old iPad one. There's nothing new that makes me say WOW! what a great experience. It's an iPad....that's about it.

IMO, Save your money and enjoy what you have.

It depends on what you're trying to do with your iPad, I suppose. My iPad 3 was fine for web browsing, email, reading, and light gaming, but it struggled with certain games, load times and things like text search functions took a very long time, it didn't have the hardware necessary to watch videos that didn't come from the iTunes store, and it didn't support AirDrop to make getting files between my iPad and iPhone easier. Upgrading to the iPad Air 2 felt wonderful by comparison, speeding up a lot while also making some things possible that the iPad 3 simply could not do for me. Understandably, I felt that the upgrade was worthwhile.

 

[pdqgp]

It depends on what you're trying to do with your iPad, I suppose. My iPad 3 was fine for web browsing, email, reading, and light gaming, but it struggled with certain games, load times and things like text search functions took a very long time, it didn't have the hardware necessary to watch videos that didn't come from the iTunes store and it didn't support AirDrop to make getting files between my iPad and iPhone easier.

I can't speak to games as I don't use my iPad for gaming or anything like that. Movie wise, it seems to stream from my Plex Server fine and plays ripped movies just fine too. Not sure about movies from other sources or formats, etc. Airdrop, again, I can't speak to it as I don't use it.

Good insight for all though. It will be interesting to see where the iPad market goes. IMO it needs something new to reinvigorate it.

 

[chrisrosemusic1]

The 3 to the first Air was a huge jump imo, and with the Air 2 being even snappier, lighter, and thinner it's another leap more. It's definitely worth the upgrade now.

 

[Ledgem]

Movie wise, it seems to stream from my Plex Server fine and plays ripped movies just fine too. Not sure about movies from other sources or formats, etc.

My issue was probably the choice of application. I was using VLC, and it dropped frames when trying to play MKV files and stream from Plex on my computer. I can't remember now, but there may have been an error message associated with some of these efforts... either way, things were flawless on my retina iPad mini, so I knew it was an iPad 3 issue. I take it you're not using VLC - I'm glad you've found a media player that squeezes more out of the iPad 3.

It will be interesting to see where the iPad market goes. IMO it needs something new to reinvigorate it.

I agree. "Thin and light" along with battery life can only provide so much incentive to people who use the iPad for relatively less demanding usage, while the hardware advancements at this point are largely an incentive for people using the device for gaming. Apple could do a lot more with the device, I suppose they just need to decide what directions they'd like to pursue.

 

[macmee]

Kept the iPad 3 and bought a Surface Pro 3 instead - I'm a student and wanted note taking. I never did find a good stylus for the iPad

 

[Taco1933]

I was quite happy with my iPad 2 until I updated to iOS 8. It made my iPad unusable, so I christmassed myself an air 2. The upgrade has been nice but nothing groundbreaking. I previously had the wifi only model and now I have the LTE. That's been easily the best change. the rest is nice, but not amazing.

In the end I'm happy I did it. It's a huge upgrade versus my iPad2 today. Had my iPad 2 still been performing as it did when I bought it, there's no way I would have upgraded. It sucks that we're going to have to upgrade every several years just to keep a functional device, but I guess that's just the curse of computing.

 

[Internaut]

IPad Air 2 in my opinion is an essentiall
upgrade for owners of iPad 2 AND IPAD 3.

IPAD 3 running a 3 year plus old processor. I kept mine on ios7.1 and even that still felt slow. Can't imagine I ios8

Very much agreed. And it feels like an upgrade that will keep on going 3-4 years before future software starts to slow it down noticeably. My only complaint? I felt forced to upgrade to the Air 2 after iOS 8 had a big impact on the 2 and the first generation Mini. I'll be more careful about simply accepting OS software updates future.

 

[Kiimora]

I planned the upgrade from iPad 3 to Air 2 , so I did'nt ve to overthink my decision

Air 2 has a faster processor , more RAM , secured with Touch ID, fluid, feather weight compared to the "rock" IPad 3#, and a lot more

It was simply time to upgrade to the Air range#

 

[JonMPLS]

I went a long time on the 3. Still use it at home off and on. But when upgrading, I went with the rMini. Clearly a personal decision, but the mini size is "perfect" for me. Plus you will notice that it is faster.