Same here. The cellular modem was weak. Do you have a mesh router? That solved all of my work issues.
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All iPads How often do you upgrade your iPad?
- Thread starter The Game 161
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Maybe is it’s foldable, is my reason to upgrade but it would be a flimsy excuse. The Pro from 2018 have been perfect for me. It’s hard to top it. I’ll even change the battery life later on when that becomes an issue. Maybe is the screen stops working it’s a good time to upgrade.
Maybe they don’t want to waste apple employees time plus potential to ruin the iPad and them having to for the bill. Just my guess.
I’ve never bothered with a battery replacement. If I approached them and they refused, I wouldn’t accept that. If I’m paying for it, then I’m getting it lol.
Yeah, the elephant in the room is the fact that it’s just not in Apple’s best interest (profit-wise) to do battery replacements, even if it‘s the most beneficial course of action for the customer. One could suggest that Apple charge whatever price would make it actually worth Apple’s time, but of course that would mean basically matching the profit of a new iPad sale (the sale they would lose if a customer replaces the battery instead). But this would then make a battery replacement so expensive that it probably wouldn’t be worth it to the customer to do. It would also give Apple a terrible public image for making battery replacements prohibitively expensive. And handing battery replacements off to third party vendors doesn’t help either, because Apple still loses the new iPad sale.
A little rant here, but point being, Apple doesn’t really want people replacing batteries, even though it is the fiscally and environmentally responsible thing to do (assuming deteriorated battery life is the only issue a customer has with their device). They and a lot of tech companies count on the unnecessary waste of resources/environment/people‘s money. A couple years ago, Tim Cook explained in a shareholders meeting that iPhone sales were down because of a big surge in battery replacements due to its temporarily reduced price. People during that year were happy with their iPhones that ran like new, didn’t spend a lot, and in some year in the future there will be a big downtick in environment waste due to iPhones. The only one to lose out was Apple’s bankroll. So their (and many companies’) business model is directly at odds with financial and environmental responsibility (though they make up for some of the damage with their environmental efforts). It’s this dependency on irresponsibility that to me is a huge problem with consumer electronics today.
If I were to consider a battery replacement on a 3-4 year old iPad, I probably wouldn’t go to Apple for it. My step mum was quoted £99 to replace her iPad Mini battery, yet a local repairer did it for £40. If the product is within warranty I’d use Apple but definitely not when that has expired.
I have use 3 different iPad. Own 2. First iPad was my 1st job. When I had to leave that job and I brought my first own iPad so I can transfer all my data over to my iPad before give back iPad from work I borrowed. That was iPad 4. Then my current iPad Pro 9.7 (1st gen) and I only get this iPad because I really wanted Apple Pencil. I remember iPad Pro come out with Apple Pencil and I was hoping hoping standard size get it and it did. I think most likely I upgrade to my next iPad if current one can't update to new iOS anymore or new iPad have awesome feature I really really want. Right now current 9.7 Pro working fine for me.
For me next iPad I have to decide between Air or Pro but Pro cost so much more than Air and lucky my 9.7 Pro cost standard iPad before Apple raise Pro prices up. I probably end up with Air. Will see......
For me next iPad I have to decide between Air or Pro but Pro cost so much more than Air and lucky my 9.7 Pro cost standard iPad before Apple raise Pro prices up. I probably end up with Air. Will see......
I upgrade about every 3-4 years. By then something I want usually came out that merits an upgrade. This last upgrade was because my 10.5 did not do spatial audio and I really wanted that so I got an 11, but I don't see myself upgrading again any time soon.
With the current Apple policy, it takes several years (probably 4-5 five of either intense use or poor battery care) for a battery to achieve a status of "eligible for replacement". By that time, they count on the fact that your product is starting to be old enough for replacement, except it's a very "future proof iPad". Older iPads were not very future proof, but they are now becoming more and more future proof...
I had this dilemma with 2 of my iPads, my mini 4 and first gen pro 12.9 (all the other, including the oldest ones have very little battery wear), both 5 years old.
My 12.9 cost me almost $1000 back then (128GB model), plus I had invested in pencil, smart keyboard, smart cover and other third party accessories. And it still works amazingly well for its age, as this was one of the most future proof iPads ever made (first iPad to get pencil and smart keyboard, now available throughout the line, as well as quad speaker and big size, still pro only, and a few more perks such as USB 3.0 and variable refresh rate, though limited to 60hz). So it was a no brainer paying $100 and getting a new one.
The mini 4 cost me around $500 (64GB model) and, while still supported, is much, much slower. It has no pencil support and is my "bed device".
For this one it does feel expensive to pay $100, as it has very little resell value... So probably not worth it...
Bought an Air 2 when they first came out and an Air 3 last year, still using the Air 2 from time to time.
For me, it would be every 3 years or so. I just bought my iPad Air 4 just four days ago and this for sure blows away my MBA 2019 out of the water.
Yes, for iPads it probably usually takes several years for a battery to need replacing or rather pass Apple’s battery test (for my iPhone it has taken a year). Though like you said, iPads should last even longer if one wants. For me, I only want to upgrade if I want new features, or reluctantly if I need to maintain compatibility with critical apps, but I never want to upgrade because of battery life. If that’s the only reason, I’d always want to just replace the battery.
But you’re right, as the cost of battery replacement reaches a higher percentage of the cost of a new device, it makes less financial sense to do so (though still environmental sense, although transferring ownership to someone else is fine). It is interesting though that it costs exactly the same to change batteries in both the iPad mini and the 12.9 ipp. I assume that means it’s pretty much all labor cost. And that’s part of the problem, Apple makes replacing the battery too difficult, resulting in expensive labor. Ideally a customer can order a fresh OEM battery (cheaper the device, more likely smaller the device and battery, therefore cheaper the battery) and install it on their own with nothing more than a precision screwdriver and 5 minutes of time. Customer and environment wins.
But companies, including Apple, know they’ll lose way too many sales if they make it as easy as that.
I've had a couple of instances where battery degraded relatively fast: iPad Pro 9.7 and 10.5 after a year of very heavy use. Granted, that was with 12+ hours onscreen time daily. Mind, even degraded I just lost maybe 1-2 hours onscreen time on the iPad compared to the 10+ hours I was getting before.
With iPhones, having a degraded battery is much more frustrating. I'd get random shutdowns doing something as simple as texting and the device wouldn't power back on unless plugged in. Then when it powers back on, it would show 100% charge. 🤦♀️
With the iPad, degraded battery means I just need to charge it a bit more often but the device remains entirely usable. With the iPhone, degraded battery means unstable operation.
I’ve got the 2018 model, I had the 2017 one... and I was dead set on keeping that one too. I wanted to avoid looking at that new design, because I knew it would tempt me to buying one. I waited only about a month or so and I caved.
The iPads are so well designed, they can last a long time. The screen is awesome on my 2018 model, if the 2021 screen models are substantially better.. then yeah, I’ll upgrade. But I recently purchased a Pencil and I gotta feeling.. the newer models will have a different Pencil to go with it.
I have the disorder where I see a new iPad ... realize it isn't enough justification for me to upgrade... see family without an iPad, offer them my iPad for 50% or less (with tons of accessories), then justify buying a new iPad.
I've gone through so many iPads this way... Apple loves me.
I've gone through so many iPads this way... Apple loves me.
Alas, I've ran out of immediate family members to give new iPads to. Now, I just buy new iPads and keep the old ones either for running older iOS versions and legacy apps or for beta testing new iOS firmware. 😅
The gen 2 12.9 was my first iPad personally. I'm currently waiting for an express replacement at which point this will be my 3rd copy of the gen 2. I hope to be able to sell it when the next generation comes out as I am not too keen on seeing if this 3rd gen 2 device develops touch sensitivity issues too. For me if it weren't for the potential for touch screen issues I'd hold off on upgrading until hardware differentiation forces me to.
The 2nd gen iPP is still a fantastic device and does everything I use it for well (which is general browsing, content consumption and light note taking). If I were a heavier user that taxed the device more I'd probably upgrade every other year but to be honest there wasn't much differentiation in performance between 2018 and 2020 versions to justify the expense so I dunno . .
The 2nd gen iPP is still a fantastic device and does everything I use it for well (which is general browsing, content consumption and light note taking). If I were a heavier user that taxed the device more I'd probably upgrade every other year but to be honest there wasn't much differentiation in performance between 2018 and 2020 versions to justify the expense so I dunno . .
I am kinda in the same boat. I had my 11 month old Gen 2 12.9 replaced about 2 weeks ago that also had touch issues and unresponsive screen. so hopefully between now and when the Gen 5 is released 🤞March hopefully. This Gen 2 will be up forsale
I upgrade when a feature/gimmick actually improves my workflow.
Air -> Pro12.9 (Gen1) = Smart Keyboard/Pencil
12.9 (Gen1) -> 12.9 (Gen2) = Storage. 32GB was a mistake
12.9 (Gen2) -> 12.9 (Gen3) = USBC. I thought this was a sign of actual Pro apps
12.9 (Gen3) -> 11 (Gen4) = Size. Pro apps never came so I wanted a tablet sized tablet
I started with the original iPad and went through every Mini. In looking back then I think I upgraded too often because in the end every model pretty much does the same thing. But overall then I’m glad I got to try out all the different models because I am very happy with where I ended up and see no reason to rush to the next model.
Air -> Pro12.9 (Gen1) = Smart Keyboard/Pencil
12.9 (Gen1) -> 12.9 (Gen2) = Storage. 32GB was a mistake
12.9 (Gen2) -> 12.9 (Gen3) = USBC. I thought this was a sign of actual Pro apps
12.9 (Gen3) -> 11 (Gen4) = Size. Pro apps never came so I wanted a tablet sized tablet
I started with the original iPad and went through every Mini. In looking back then I think I upgraded too often because in the end every model pretty much does the same thing. But overall then I’m glad I got to try out all the different models because I am very happy with where I ended up and see no reason to rush to the next model.