iPad Air What is the iPad Air 1st Gen (2013) Good for Nowadays?

[HappyDude20]

I was gifted an iPad Air first Gen and love having a tablet but admittedly is sluggish for web browsing and YouTube viewing. Am wondering if others still
Use this one. I’d sell it but seems I’d be lucky if I got anywhere north of $80 for it.

I used it admittedly to just read books in iBooks. Hoping i could use it for more productive purposes though.

 

[Moneymiike420]

Streaming music,light web surfing/games/YouTube,Facebook,Instagram

 

[HappyDude20]

Streaming music,light web surfing/games/YouTube,Facebook,Instagram

Streaming music is good and light web surfing. I’d forgo using FB, Ig and YouTube.

I visited the Apple store earlier today and I loved how fast even the $329 baseline iPad was. Wouldn’t mind upgrading.

It’s a shame this device is on its last legs considering it looks and feels brand new.

 

[appltech]

Hi! Although the 1st gen ipad may look and feel new, i'd concentrate on the perspective of using this device in the future. As of today, it can't support the latest iOS 15 meaning it doesn't have latest security updates either. There's also a lot to consider hardware-wise : the CPU is quite old, the amount of RAM may not be up to modern standards, the screen quality is a few generations behing. Don't forget the battery : if the device is around 8 years old and it still uses the original battery, you'll probably have to replace it soon

 

[fromsixtozero]

Frisbee ! ?

 

[admwright]

This iPad is my only one and used every day. Mostly reading, web browsing and some games. It was bought the day they were released and the battery still gives 10+ hours from a charge.

 

[azentropy]

I just gave away mine to a softball league and they are going to use it to run an app to control their scoreboard.

 

[HappyDude20]

This iPad is my only one and used every day. Mostly reading, web browsing and some games. It was bought the day they were released and the battery still gives 10+ hours from a charge.

Yes I am impressed with mine and the battery life. 8 years later and am still getting close to 10 hours as well.

I just gave away mine to a softball league and they are going to use it to run an app to control their scoreboard.

One dedicated purpose seems to be the way of older iPads.

I used my iPad Air last night to browse the web (kinda slowly), watch a YouTube video or two and read an iBook. It works, but just not blazing fast like the current offerings.

 

[400]

Mine got me a reasonable trade in for a new one.

 

[psxp]

My son has been using my old iPad Air. Still works amazing for Youtube and minecraft and gaming he plays. It was a 32G version too but space had become an issue. I was going to get the new standard ipad for him, but in the end I gave him my 256G 10.5" iPad Pro and upgraded to a 256G 2020 iPad Pro for myself which I got on a decent deal. The old ipad Air was worth something like $50-75 on apple trade in. It is still in perfect shape. I am thinking of using it as a "jukebox" screen/player system. I started making a dedicated jukebox a few years back from an old mini PC but it was going to be really "clunky" to use with the software thats out there. I abandoned the project and actually made a Virtual Pinball machine and recently a Mame arcade cabinet.
Using PLEX / Spotify on the old iPad Air I think I can make a decent Jukebox. The other option would be a home automation control panel. I have smartthings, and various other smart devices around the house. Thats another option.

 

[Duncan-UK]

Funnily enough I gave my mother an iPad Air first gen only yesterday to replace a 3rd gen iPad. It’s perfect for her and less bulky. She’s also got my original 1st gen iPad and was impressed when I showed her my new 12.9 iPad Pro. Could be some time before she gets that one!

 

[HappyDude20]

Funnily enough I gave my mother an iPad Air first gen only yesterday to replace a 3rd gen iPad. It’s perfect for her and less bulky. She’s also got my original 1st gen iPad and was impressed when I showed her my new 12.9 iPad Pro. Could be some time before she gets that one!

I am not making this up but a few months ago I also gifted a first Gen iPad Air to my grandma. She used to have the same 3rd Gen new iPad and it was time for an upgrade. She loves this first Gen iPad Air. Of course she really only uses iMessage and the YouTube app. Perfect for her but not for me trying to run a business online.

 

[HappyDude20]

My son has been using my old iPad Air. Still works amazing for Youtube and minecraft and gaming he plays. It was a 32G version too but space had become an issue. I was going to get the new standard ipad for him, but in the end I gave him my 256G 10.5" iPad Pro and upgraded to a 256G 2020 iPad Pro for myself which I got on a decent deal. The old ipad Air was worth something like $50-75 on apple trade in. It is still in perfect shape. I am thinking of using it as a "jukebox" screen/player system. I started making a dedicated jukebox a few years back from an old mini PC but it was going to be really "clunky" to use with the software thats out there. I abandoned the project and actually made a Virtual Pinball machine and recently a Mame arcade cabinet.
Using PLEX / Spotify on the old iPad Air I think I can make a decent Jukebox. The other option would be a home automation control panel. I have smartthings, and various other smart devices around the house. Thats another option.

I have the very first 2010 iPad as a ‘jukebox’ in my bedroom docked to some cool speaker. It’s great and I use this ancient 11 year old iPad just for the music app. Only drag is iOS 5 requires you to unlock the iPad in order to play/pause or change the song.

 

[1BadManVan]

Streaming music is good and light web surfing. I’d forgo using FB, Ig and YouTube.

I visited the Apple store earlier today and I loved how fast even the $329 baseline iPad was. Wouldn’t mind upgrading.

It’s a shame this device is on its last legs considering it looks and feels brand new.

The base model would be a significant upgrade over that first gen Air. Considering it’s over 8 years old now, I would say it served its purpose.

 

[Digitalguy]

It’s a shame this device is on its last legs considering it looks and feels brand new.

My iPad 2 feels brand new and has 93% battery health.... but it's unusable...
A7 + 1GB RAM is very sluggish today, so unless you are very patient it's only good for things where power does not matter such as plex or remote desktop (if the screen is not too small for you)

People generally underestimate browsing both with tablets and computers, they say "a low end or old devices are still good for office and web browsing..." while to have a decent browsing experience today you need a powerful enough device (something like A9/A9X or later, or dual core i5 for laptops, which is roughly equivalent). Even the mini 4 and air 2 are pretty sluggish, though less than the air 1 and mini2/3, but the gap has shrunk after iPadOS which made A8 devices struggle more (while A7 stayed on IOS). The A7 is on par with Atom chips on laptops and those do not offer a pleasant browsing experience....