How long will iPad Air be usable for?

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Kiwirider007

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#154727 5-Nov-2014 19:55

A few years ago I was lucky enough to get an iPad2 for Xmas from my wife and Mother in law. It was the top model with all the options and the most memory, so not overly cheap. After installing the iOS8 (which I wouldn't have done had I known the issues) my iPad is suffering the go slow that many others are experiencing.

I must be doing something right as my wife and Mother in law have mentioned that they may be able to get me a replacement iPad again for this Xmas & B'day, but they are a little frustrated that the gift they spent a lot of money on is now not really working after a relatively short time.

I feel a bit guilty about the situation, and I don't want them to get me another iPad to be in the same situation in 2 years time (I realise there will obviously be updated tech, but I just want an iPad that is still usable). To try and keep the cost down, I have looked into refurbished models, and I can get a good deal on a 32gb iPad Air, but will this be unusable in a couple of years with the software of the time, or would the processor in the iPad Air be able to handle software updates for longer than my iPad 2. Sorry, I'm not really up with the play with the processor specs and what they mean, hence my question.

The other option is of course to get the iPad Air2, but for the 64gb model, it's another $320 so not insignificant, however I do understand that the processor has been improved again for this one. Given my situation, would it be worth paying the extra money as it will mean the iPad will be usable for a lot longer, or is the extra money not really going to extend the usable life (the extra features of the Air2 aren't all that important to me).

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#1169522 5-Nov-2014 20:00

I'm still using an iPad 3 with no problems at all, if that is any indication.

Brumfondl

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#1169524 5-Nov-2014 20:03

I have the v4 iPad that is now 2 years old and is working fine and dandy with iOS 8. I envision using it for a few more years yet. I admit that I don't do anything spectacularly taxing on it, though :)

As for you iPad 2, Bill Bennett tweeted the following earlier today:
Managed to improve iOS 8 performance on my iPad 2 by re-installing everything from scratch

So you may find doing that helps you :)

Brumfondl

Kiwirider007

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1169530 5-Nov-2014 20:10

Cool thanks for that. I may just do a factory restore and reinstall everything like you've mentioned, as if I sell it I will do a factory restore anyway I guess.

alasta

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#1169546 5-Nov-2014 20:38

I tend to replace mine every two years to get optimal performance, but an iPad that is three or even four years old should not be 'unusable'.

The iPad 2 was released when the product was still maturing so I think you'd probably get better longevity out of the newer models. If you intend keeping your next iPad for a long time then definitely go with the Air 2.

lxsw20

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#1169575 5-Nov-2014 21:25

gehenna: I'm still using an iPad 3 with no problems at all, if that is any indication.

Interesting. Seen a few people reporting their 3 is really suffering with iOS 8

PhantomNVD

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#1169586 5-Nov-2014 21:49

lxsw20:
gehenna: I'm still using an iPad 3 with no problems at all, if that is any indication.

Interesting. Seen a few people reporting their 3 is really suffering with iOS 8

And then others (like me) have had no issue at all?

My biggest issue is that they made it redundant only 6 months after release (the only model they did that too also!)

Handle9

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#1169588 5-Nov-2014 21:52

PhantomNVD:
lxsw20:
gehenna: I'm still using an iPad 3 with no problems at all, if that is any indication.

Interesting. Seen a few people reporting their 3 is really suffering with iOS 8

And then others (like me) have had no issue at all?

My biggest issue is that they made it redundant only 6 months after release (the only model they did that too also!)

They did do that for a pretty good reason - they really are the worst performing ipad. The screen was such a game changer though, my first iPad was an iPad 2 which I immediately sold for an iPad 3 as the screen was so much better.

All our iPad 3s at work have become nearly unusable now, the iPad 4s are still perfectly usable.

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Wade

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#1169589 5-Nov-2014 21:52

No problems here with ipad3 running iOS8

IMHO ipad3 from ipad2 was a fairly large step, and subsequent models far less incremental, an air will outlast a 2 in technological years

alasta

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#1169590 5-Nov-2014 21:54

My 3rd gen was really good, although admittedly I never upgraded it to iOS 8.

It was my understanding that the 4th gen was essentially just a 3rd gen with lightning port.

Brumfondl

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#1169592 5-Nov-2014 21:58

alasta: My 3rd gen was really good, although admittedly I never upgraded it to iOS 8.

It was my understanding that the 4th gen was essentially just a 3rd gen with lightning port.

4th gen had an upgraded processor and a few other bits as well. I really love my 4th gen and it was a huge upgrade over my iPad 2.

Brumfondl

Handle9

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#1169593 5-Nov-2014 21:59

alasta: My 3rd gen was really good, although admittedly I never upgraded it to iOS 8.

It was my understanding that the 4th gen was essentially just a 3rd gen with lightning port.

The 3 has an A5X, the 4 the A6X. The performance is way way better on the A6X.

http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/tablets/ipad-4-more-than-twice-as-fast-as-ipad-3-benchmarks-reveal-1108743

JamesL

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#1169599 5-Nov-2014 22:17

iOS 8.1.1 might fix the performance issues?

http://9to5mac.com/2014/11/03/apple-releases-ios-8-1-1-beta-to-developers/

nathan

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#1169602 5-Nov-2014 22:22

lxsw20:
gehenna: I'm still using an iPad 3 with no problems at all, if that is any indication.

Interesting. Seen a few people reporting their 3 is really suffering with iOS 8

Me too, my perf is noticeably worse on 3 with iOS8.

Id go back to 7 if I could

What intrigues me is Apple shafts it's customers like this, knowing that they're just going to buy a newer model like the OP

The least they could do is allow a way to roll back to iOS7

dickytim

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#1169644 6-Nov-2014 06:32

The ipad2 is now 4 year old technology. I would have thought 4-5 years would be about right for this type of device.

That said I would not have upgraded a ipad2 to ios8 and I have left my girlfriends ipad4 on ios7 as she doesn't like change! That said my 4 performed perfectly on ios8.

maslink

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#1169663 6-Nov-2014 07:20

I also have a 64GB iPad 2 (well it's the kids now, but used every day) running IOS8 with absolutely no issues - seems pretty rock solid. Personally I think that 4 1/2 years (given that IOS9 is unlikely to be released until Oct 2015) is actually pretty good for a tech gadget / computer.

The iPad2 was released in March2011, so at present it is ~3 1/2 years old (design and specs, if not your particular model). If yours is only a couple of years old, then you must have gotten it around the time that the iPad3 was released. By buying at the start of the release cycle you will get the max life out of your device.

Having said that, I also have an original iPad (now ~4 1/2 years old) which is 'stuck' on IOS 5.1.1, and with some minor limitations it is still perfectly useable, and runs everything that was available the day it was released (and more) - so unless you need the new IOS features, the actual working life is probably longer than 5 years - which I think is pretty good.

My recommendation would be to go for the Air2 - it does have a substantially faster CPU, Graphics and more RAM even over the original Air, all of which are likely to lead to at least an extra year - if not 2 years - of useable life (i.e. on the latest OS). The Air2 has a three core processor for particularly fast multicore performance. (See the benchmark data at http://browser.primatelabs.com/ios-benchmarks. for a comparison of the performance). Having just gotten an Air2 myself, I would say that the difference in the 'feel' (i.e. responsiveness, visual appearance) over the iPad2 is like night and day.

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