All iPads How long should an iPads lifespan be?

[themaestro]

Still using my 2015 12.9 Pro. Never needed battery change

 

[macfacts]

The life of an iPad does not end with the end of OS updates. It ends when the (last) owner thinks that it has no use anymore... (because of hardware or software reasons).
So that's the first thing that should be dissociated (and unfortuantely is often confused on this forum), end of OS updates and end of usable life....
Having said that the usable life of iPads (regadless of how long they are supported) is much longer now than it was 10 or 12 years ago...

It isn't a good idea to use insecure software. With no more OS/browser updates,the iPad is only good as a ebook reader.

 

[Spacegray]

I still have an iPad 3 from 2012 in use for doing facetime with my mother.
I also still use an iPad 6th gen. for browsing and controlling my music devices. That still works fine but performance is dropping. I'm looking for a new one now.
Usually 5 to 7 years should be fine.

 

[Digitalguy]

It isn't a good idea to use insecure software. With no more OS/browser updates,the iPad is only good as a ebook reader.

I disagree. iPadOS is an extremely closed system. You need to go out of your way to install malware on your device. The only rare instances where it happens is with social engeneering when someone pushes you to install stuff that is not from the Apple store and even that takes some effort to accomplish. And it's a platform so closed that people who develop malware don't even bother with it. Windows, MacOS and Linux are much better targets. But if you are convinced that an iPad is like a Windows device where you can get malware just by browing, you are free to not use any unsupported iPad. Many people will happily run iPads that are unsupported for many years with no issues. And that's going to increase with devices like M1 or newer which are capable enough to outlast their supported life.

 

[Digitalguy]

My response is the same as what I would have said two years ago: I want my expensive hardware to last as long as possible. 10-15 years should ideally be the norm, especially when iPad hardware in particular is way overpowered.

If you take care of the battery it's totally feasible with M series devices that have 8GB RAM or more. And with the latest gen it's even easier to take care of the battery thanks to the 80% battery threashold. I have multiple iPad and I expect some of them to last for 10-15 years with no issues, especially as secondary devices. My 2013 iPad mini 2 is still perfectly fine as a music player (iOS 10), use it almost every day. My 2018 pro has still 96% battery health with 500 cycles. My M1 and M4 should last even longer thanks to their overhead (one has 16GB of RAM). This was not possible in the past, when iPad specs were quickly overwhelmed by software updates. Now they have specs on par with laptops and much more headroom.

 

[Greenmeenie]

I’m still rocking an 11” iPad Pro from 2018! These things really have a long lifespan.

 

[Septercius]

I'm still using a 2017 iPad 5th generation. Until recently, it's been performing fine, but as of late, I've noticed a lot of slowdowns and random freezes. The battery isn't lasting as long, and the percentage seems to jump around quite a bit. I think it might be headed to iPad heaven, sadly.