Life Span of an iPad

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BTR

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#129564 19-Sep-2013 16:31

I am interested to know what everyones thoughts are on the life span of an iPad i.e. how long would you hold onto one before you upgrade it? I am NOT interested in how long it should work for.

For example Apple give laptops and desktops a 5 year life span before they are considered obsolete, after this time part are no longer available even if you are willing to pay for them. With this in mind I replace my Apple desktop and laptop every 3 years

Going by this I am interested in knowing how long would you think the iPads life span should be before its classed as obsolete.

alasta

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#898602 19-Sep-2013 16:36

I replace my Mac every three years and my iPhone/iPad every two years. If I were strapped for cash then I would be reasonably comfortable stretching that out to five years and three years respectively.

mattwnz

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#898603 19-Sep-2013 16:36

1 year after they stop selling it, or remove iOS support for it.

For example the ipad 2 is over 2 years old, yet they are still selling it and offering iOS updates for it. The lifespan of the ipad 1 however was a lot less, as I don't think it even support ios 6, even though it was only a year older than the 2. I suspect some devices are being supported for longer due to other devices being sold. eg The ipad2 and ipad mini are largely the same specs, but people wouldhave complained if teh ipad mini got ios7 and the ipad2 didn't. Although the ipad2 is missing siri, even though the mini has it. The iphone 5c is largely the iphone 5, which is a year older, so I suspect that iphone 5 will get supported with ios updates for quite some time.

BTR

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#898606 19-Sep-2013 16:39

mattwnz: 1 year after they stop selling it, or remove iOS support for it.

For example the ipad 2 is over 2 years old, yet they are still selling it and offering iOS updates for it. The lifespan of the ipad 1 however was a lot less, as I don't think it even support ios 6, even though it was only a year older than the 2. I suspect some devices are being supported for longer due to other devices being sold. eg The ipad2 and ipad mini are largely the same specs, but people wouldhave complained if teh ipad mini got ios7 and the ipad2 didn't. Although the ipad2 is missing siri, even though the mini has it. The iphone 5c is largely the iphone 5, which is a year older, so I suspect that iphone 5 will get supported with ios updates for quite some time.

I have an iPad one and it can barely run anything these days without crashing.

Handsomedan

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#898619 19-Sep-2013 17:22

Yeah - I gave the kids my iPad 1 as it's unsellable and not able to be upgraded - I have turned off the app store on it, so they can use what's on it and nothing more.

It runs iOS5 and cannot be upgraded beyond that.

It still works really well, but it's obsolete now.

I'd say that on average an iOS device (iPad or iPhone) has a shelf-life of maximum 2.5 years.

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SaltyNZ

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2degrees

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#898622 19-Sep-2013 17:27

BTR:

I have an iPad one and it can barely run anything these days without crashing.

QFT :-(

iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

mattwnz

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#898632 19-Sep-2013 17:53

Handsomedan: Yeah - I gave the kids my iPad 1 as it's unsellable and not able to be upgraded - I have turned off the app store on it, so they can use what's on it and nothing more.

It runs iOS5 and cannot be upgraded beyond that.

It still works really well, but it's obsolete now.

I'd say that on average an iOS device (iPad or iPhone) has a shelf-life of maximum 2.5 years.

Pretty sure my ipad 2 is about 2.5 years, and with ios7 I would expect it to last at least another year. I would feel a bit ripped off if I had got an ipad 1 as they ceased ios support pretty early on. One good thing about apples recent slowness in updating stuff and using older processors on newer devices (eg the iphone 5c and ipad mini) is that the devices seem to get supported for longer.

dwl

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#898633 19-Sep-2013 17:57

If obsolete means able, as of now, to run some recent apps well I agree under 3 years for the iPad due to IOS, memory and processor limits. My iPad 1 is over 3 years old and still runs several key apps well, the battery life is about the same as new, and the screen still looks fine, but I'm saddened to say it is past it for some apps. Whether the newer iPads will suffer the same fate may be a separate story.

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Elpie

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#898642 19-Sep-2013 18:16

mattwnz:
Handsomedan: Yeah - I gave the kids my iPad 1 as it's unsellable and not able to be upgraded - I have turned off the app store on it, so they can use what's on it and nothing more.

It runs iOS5 and cannot be upgraded beyond that.

It still works really well, but it's obsolete now.

I'd say that on average an iOS device (iPad or iPhone) has a shelf-life of maximum 2.5 years.

Pretty sure my ipad 2 is about 2.5 years, and with ios7 I would expect it to last at least another year. I would feel a bit ripped off if I had got an ipad 1 as they ceased ios support pretty early on. One good thing about apples recent slowness in updating stuff and using older processors on newer devices (eg the iphone 5c and ipad mini) is that the devices seem to get supported for longer.

iPad 2 was released in NZ in March 2011 so is already 2.5 years old. I'd be really surprised if it wasn't still perfectly usable for at least another year. Apple are still selling them new with the year warranty. I imagine they will cease sales long before they cease updates for it.

dickytim

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#898643 19-Sep-2013 18:24

I would expect to have mine usable for 4 years, but well supported for 3 years.

I have a 4th Gen but depending on the resale of my 4G 128GB 4th gen when Ipad 5 comes out I could be tempted to upgade.

Assuming the upgrade would cost arounf $300

mattwnz

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#898654 19-Sep-2013 18:37

Elpie:

iPad 2 was released in NZ in March 2011 so is already 2.5 years old. I'd be really surprised if it wasn't still perfectly usable for at least another year. Apple are still selling them new with the year warranty. I imagine they will cease sales long before they cease updates for it.

I think it also depends on the ipad 5 and mini 2, and if they will be released in october. If they are, then I guess the ipad 2 will only be sold for another month as new. ios7 I suspect will be the final update for both the mini 1 and ipad 2. As it runs ios 7 it will run all the newest apps probably for the next year, which isn't bad for a mobile device of this age, but then again they are still selling it new.

I had read that apple are providing older app download for older ios devices, but I haven't found any apps that do this yet.

alasta

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#898780 19-Sep-2013 23:07

BTR: I have an iPad one and it can barely run anything these days without crashing.

I always found my iPad gen 1 to be very, very crash prone. In hindsight I probably should have taken it in to get it checked out for faulty hardware, but the diagnostic apps I ran could never find anything wrong with it so I suspect it was just under-specced for typical apps.

surfisup1000

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#898787 19-Sep-2013 23:25

Each generation the ipad becomes more powerful and will have a longer lifespan than the previous gen.

ipad one became unusable fairly quickly. Ipad 4 should last a lot longer.

It's a bit like Pc's really -- they pretty much reached the required performance for non-specialist users a few years back and now manufacturers concentrate more on efficiency.

mattwnz

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#898792 19-Sep-2013 23:45

surfisup1000: Each generation the ipad becomes more powerful and will have a longer lifespan than the previous gen.

ipad one became unusable fairly quickly. Ipad 4 should last a lot longer.

It's a bit like Pc's really -- they pretty much reached the required performance for non-specialist users a few years back and now manufacturers concentrate more on efficiency.

That is potentially true, although I think it is the opposite of what has happened with pcs over recent years. As windows has moved to mobile devices, it has been altered to require less processing power, as mobile devices don't have as much power. So microsoft had make windows more light weight. Desktops benefit from this, due to windows being more lightweight, older hardware can run windows 8 better than 7 and vista.
Apple can cripple older devices in terms of the features it will provide to older ios devices. For example the ipad 2 and mini have the same processing power but only the mini has siri because it is newer, and apple want point of differences between old devices and newer ones. So potentially they will release new ios versions, that will need more and more processing power, so you have to keep updating your device to newer ones. They are really in full control over that sort of thing. They are hardly going to release an ios version that needs less resources.

Lizard1977

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#899628 22-Sep-2013 10:29

My wife decommissioned the gen 1 iPad that she bought on launch day, and bought a refurbished iPad 4 this year. Like others here, it became unusable about a year ago, and apps started crashing regularly. It's not completely abandoned, though, as it makes for a pretty decent XBMC remote for our Raspberry Pi, and we also use it as a secondary reader for digital magazines. Otherwise, it's pretty much defunct...

I'd give an Apple device such as the iPad about 3 years before it's struggling. That's true of the gen 1 iPad, but it's also true of my iPhone 4, which is now three years old and starting to creak under the weight of newer apps. When people at work tell me they're buying an iPhone, they often justify it with "it's expensive, but it'll last forever." I have to bring them back to earth by telling them that as good as an iPhone or iPad might be right now, it's likely to be functionally obsolete after about three years. And once you've bought into the app ecosystem, it can be hard to extricate yourself. So I advise them if they're buying an iPhone or iPad, to be prepared to upgrade in about 3 years. Not universally true, but broadly true based on my experience...