I'd expect 5 years minimum on my 2021 12.9" M1 iPP. There isn't enough to justify upgrading frequently as there isn't enough changing YoY.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPad Pro How long do you plan on keeping your iPad Pro?
- Thread starter Sensamic
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Forever. I don't sell my devices.
But I am not the typical target of your question, since I am not someone who has one iPad, which means selling the previous to buy the next. I am multi-device and rather tech person and have uses for my 5 pros and my 3 minis.
In theory I could sell one of the pro (10.5) and one of the minis (4), but the price I would get is so low (the 10.5 has a white spot and the mini 4 a dead battery) that I'd rather find a use for them than selling for a couple of bucks...)
I don't plan on buying a new iPad in the next 5-7 years at least, unless Apple makes a 14-15in pro.
But I am not the typical target of your question, since I am not someone who has one iPad, which means selling the previous to buy the next. I am multi-device and rather tech person and have uses for my 5 pros and my 3 minis.
In theory I could sell one of the pro (10.5) and one of the minis (4), but the price I would get is so low (the 10.5 has a white spot and the mini 4 a dead battery) that I'd rather find a use for them than selling for a couple of bucks...)
I don't plan on buying a new iPad in the next 5-7 years at least, unless Apple makes a 14-15in pro.
You make a good point. I usually sell to put the money towards a new iPad. With what you lose in selling them it might be better to just keep them? Or gift to a friend or family member? Just recently I upgraded last years (or was it 2020?) 13" M1 MacBook Pro to the 14" MacBook Pro. The upgrade still cost me around £1,000. Was it worth it? Well, maybe. The 14" is definitely an improvement but a £1,000 improvement? I'm not so sure....I need to keep my Apple devices for longer and not be drawn in by all the hype....Stop watching YouTube! ?
this year i replaced my iPad 11 Pro 2018 with iPad Pro 11 M1 model. but i didin’t do it cause the 2018 model was slow or something…the screen developed ghost touch and it was unusable.
the M1 iPad is great, but i feel no diference between this model and the 2018 one, speed wise.
to answer your question, at least 4 years.
the M1 iPad is great, but i feel no diference between this model and the 2018 one, speed wise.
to answer your question, at least 4 years.
This is what I usually do. Either keep (for old software or beta testing) or hand me down to family.
My mom has my old 2017 iPP 12.9 (she likes TouchID). She uses it for video streaming and video conferencing with family overseas. Her iPP 9.7 has issues with Google Meet with 8+ people (not enough RAM?).
If I don't have a use for them but they still have some value I tend to sell them to family and friends for cheap. If they have very little value (like below $50) I give them away to family and friends.
For instance my 10.5 pro has 256GB + LTE + accessories (smart keyboard, pencil, smart cover etc.). Ideally I would not sell the bundle under $450-500. But due to the white spot nobody would buy it for over $150 (which barely covers the accessories). I found a good use for it, but if I didn't I'd prefer selling it for $100 to a family member or a friend than selling to a stranger for a ridiculous $150
Other example my 2013 Macbook air 11 (8GB RAM, 512 SSD) is still serving me well, but when I buy the M2 Macbook (expected fall of next year), it will become somewhat redundant. But since it's old, battery has 1200 cycles and it's stuck on Big Sur, despite it being in great conditions, nobody would give me more than $150-200 for it. At that price, I'll keep it as a spare device or even just as a piece of history (just like my past phones, I have never sold any, so I have a collection dating 20 years)
Until either :
The battery life is too poor.
The latest iPad OS is not supported
It is too slow for the apps I use
7+ years
The battery life is too poor.
The latest iPad OS is not supported
It is too slow for the apps I use
7+ years
My wife and I both have 11" iPad Pros, 2nd gen and 3rd gen. Both 256 GB, wi-fi. I do not see any reason for replacing either of them for 3-4 years at a minimum. For our needs, these are both terrific devices.
I have zero reason to upgrade my 2018 11 inch Pro at this point. Once software calls for it, I will upgrade. As of now, I’ve been disappointed in the lack of pace regarding iPadOS development. At first, I felt it was just taking time to come up with proper touch first solutions, but now I am getting the sense that Apple is just slow playing this one and will never truly bring the OS up in capability to let’s say, macOS. Give me a dual boot option and I’d be thrilled - I’m hoping they bring back Boot Camp just for this.
We have a 2014 iPad Air 2 for our daughter which still runs fine for her apps etc I just bought the 12.9 pro and im very happy with it and I'd expect 7 years like we have on this Air 2 - I went with 1TB for the 16 gig ram to hopefully give me the longevity.
Speaking of Longevtivity - do you guys recommend turning it off if its not being used for days etc?
Speaking of Longevtivity - do you guys recommend turning it off if its not being used for days etc?
It’s probably good for longevity.
Alas, for me, it messes with iCloud sync. I get nagged with multiple “Update Apple ID Settings” even after multiple sign-ins when the device is offline for a while. Keychain, in particular, gets messed up.
Hence, I don’t bother turning off the iPads. I just have an Automation/Shortcut set up to remind me when I need to charge.
I absolutely love getting new gadgets but I haven't had any desire to upgrade from my 2018 IPP. It still performs like a champ and I use it for multiple hours each day.
ah Yes, good point. I just noticed that after switching on my work laptop after the Christmas break.
Yeah I remember when I was a kid in the 90's and even in my early 20's in the early 2000's we'd upgrade computers quite regularly and they always felt like massive improvements but these days aside from the M1 breakthrough they've all been incremental in my mind. I'm still enjoying my 2014 iMac and it seems fine for my usage. I recently had to grab some files from an old fire wire drive and man that made me appreciate the modern connections!
I still have my previous 9.7" pro and that feels sluggish as hell with some games or when multitasking. When the 2018 starts to feel like that it will be time for an upgrade.
I just got my first IPad Pro. My 2018 6th gen passed down to my wife and still running fine. So I figure 4-5 years out of this M1 Pro should be easily obtainable without too much of a performance hit
Don't get me wrong the M1 chip has been a pretty powerful release on the Mac side of the fence. It has been pretty meh on the iPad side, but that's not why I'm posting...
The biggest difference between the early 2000s when you were upgrading your PC frequently and now is less about the hardware itself (in loose terms) and more about the software side of the puzzle. Mobile development took off and unlike the desktop world where performance isn't scarce it is on mobile devices. So you have developers now focused on writing the most efficient software they can which in turn means less room to notice the performance bumps from hardware improvements except in very specific workflows.
I said hardware in loose terms earlier as you have a combination of forces hampering developers in this area. They went from 1 major computing device to target to many. So the additional hardware device types means less improvements as developers have limited attention like the rest of us (well I'm a dev, but you get the idea). Focusing on Desktops in 2000 was a lot easier than trying to focus on Desktop, iPhone, iPad, Mac, and etc in the modern world.
The M1, and its wider ARM to Desktops transition, will end up causing the last holdouts in the desktop space to shift their focus to efficiency from a software perspective too. Once they do... You'll see the "gains" of the ARM chips to seem just as unnoticed as phone improvements are now...
But the winner will be longer battery life all around as all of the efficiency in ARM is driven by the goal of minimizing power use to extend that battery life further...
I know we're on a tech forum and we're all soft of edge cases in our devotion to tech, but we'd all be better served by upgrading these devices a lot less frequently. For the upgrade geeks we should focus more on generational upgrades than incremental ones IMHO.
I’ve had an iPad Pro 10.5” for 4 years. Don’t see me upgrading until it dies.
I sold my 2018 12.9 on to a young tattoo artist last night. He was excited to get a new iPad with a pencil to do his design work. I am sure it is going to get more than a few more years of good use.
makes sense and yes I agree about the upgrade frequency. using my phone as an example I always change at 2 years when my contract is up even when there isn't anything wrong with my current phone and im a light user (no gaming). plan to use my 12 longer this time if I can resist the urge lol
I keep my iPads until they become annoyingly slow, which takes longer with each model. I kept my iPad 2 for a year and a half, my iPad 4 for three years, and my 2017 9.7" iPad for four years. I recently got a 2021 12.9" iPad Pro, so I imagine I'll get four or five years out of it.
Usually I’m on a 3 years upgrading cycle, but with the price raising generation after generation sooner or later I will stop buying one. My 12.9” M1 and Magic keyboard were insanely expensive.