All iPads I hate iPads - which one should I get ?

[barmann]

Unfortunately, I have to get a new iOS device , to use a number of apps that are no longer compatible with or available for my iPhone 4s and its ancient version of iOS .

So I figured I'd just get the cheapest, most basic thing , that also supports the current iOS, and will hopefully last for a few years .
An iPad would be preferable over an iPhone due to its size, and of course I already have a perfectly fine 4s (...) .

The cheaper the better, so probably a used one - but what to get ?
I did a bunch of research of course, there have just been so many different models in recent years that I can't get my head around it ...

Storage capacity is no big concern, nor is top performance - it should run basic tasks and apps properly, nothing too demanding .
Screen size and quality don't matter either; if it runs the latest iOS, that should be adequate anyways .

Basically it's just to complement my Macs when the use of a mobile app is required .
Which should be illegal .

 

[imdropbear]

Just get the basic 10.2" iPad. Or a used 2018 9.7" iPad which is almost the same thing (same CPU and all) but should be cheaper

 

[Mainsail]

You can find the base iPad 7th gen on sale for about $250. Arguably, the best deal in tech. Use it for 3 years. Trade it in for $100. So, $150 for 3 years or $50 per year. One venti coffee at Starbucks per month.

 

[joeblow7777]

That’s easy. If you just want the most basic device that’s current, get the 7th gen iPad.

 

[benshive]

You can get a brand new iPad for $329. It's probably smarter to do that instead of getting the cheapest thing you can find and ending up in the market for another iPad in a year or two.

 

[rui no onna]

You can find the base iPad 7th gen on sale for about $250.

Yep this. Both Amazon and Best Buy had it for that price right now.

The $250 sale pricing tends to happen pretty often so if they're not on sale while you're looking and you're not in a hurry to get one, likely worth waiting until prices drop down again.

You don't really save a lot more going with the older 5th and 6th gen models and the extra GB of RAM means the 7th gen will likely last you at least a year longer.

 

[parker5011]

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Cheapest iOS device I’ve seen out there at the moment.

$70 for an iPhone 6s

 

[Neepman]

A Gen 7 for 249 (seems thats almost a constant sale price) is all most people would ever need it they are not storing a bunch of crap on it. As others have said, its the best value in tech besides a 200 buck chromebook. The iPad pros on the other hand...

 

[dumastudetto]

If you buy a current-gen iPad Pro, you won’t hate iPads anymore.

 

[AutomaticApple]

You can get a brand new iPad for $329.

I wouldn't buy it for $329. $249 is more reasonable.

 

[bobsamm]

9.7" gen 5 used.

 

[barmann]

Thanks a lot for the replies !

I looked further into the used market - I'm located in Germany btw. - and there really seems to be not much point in getting a used iPad , the prices are insane .

Especially since I can deduct the mandatory VAT when bying from a professional dealer, which is a whopping 19% over here .
With that, a new base iPad 7 / 10,2" is a little under 300 Euros ( 350€ - VAT ) .

I haven't found special deals yet on the current iPad 10.2 , but will keep looking .
Funny enough, the 2018 iPad 9.7 is sold by a few places for about the same price .

Alternatively I'm looking at iPhones ( SE , 6s ), but I hate the small touchscreens for more than phone calls and messaging , which my old 4s is still managing to do .
It's getting a bit limiting though, and the batterie might die any day .

 

[barmann]

Oh, and one more question - the lingo is really confusing to me sometimes , sellers seem to use whatever terms sound best .

Let's see if I got it right :

iPad 5th generation - iPad 6 , released 2017

iPad 6th generation - iPad 7.x , released 2018

iPad 7th generation - iPad 7.xx , released 2019

iPad 9.7 - term seems to be used by sellers for every iPad ( not Mini and Air ) made from 2010 -2018 .

 

[imdropbear]

You're right, iPad 9.7 usually means a normal (not Mini/Air/Pro) iPad with a screen diagonal of 9.7" (24.6 cm) and could be in fact from multiple generations.

With the 7th generation (the current one), they went up to 10.2" (25.9 cm) so a 10.2 iPad will always be a 7th gen. But again, The 7th gen 10.2 iPad is almost the same hardware as a 6th gen 9.7 iPad.

Cheapest I could find would be a 7th gen 10.2" iPad 275 € without VAT.

 

[smirking]

Even the lowest end iPad is a pretty amazing device these days. I got my wife a 6th gen over a year ago. I was very impressed at how much we got at the entry level price point.

 

[Richard8655]

Oh, and one more question - the lingo is really confusing to me sometimes , sellers seem to use whatever terms sound best .

Let's see if I got it right :

iPad 5th generation - iPad 6 , released 2017

iPad 6th generation - iPad 7.x , released 2018

iPad 7th generation - iPad 7.xx , released 2019

iPad 9.7 - term seems to be used by sellers for every iPad ( not Mini and Air ) made from 2010 -2018 .

Wondering about this naming convention. iPad 5th generation typically means iPad 5, 6th generation is iPad 6, 7th is 7. Not sure what 7.x, 7.xx means. Dates are right.

 

[barmann]

Wondering about this naming convention. iPad 5th generation typically means iPad 5, 6th generation is iPad 6, 7th is 7. Not sure what 7.x, 7.xx means. Dates are right.

Thanks, so that's what the numbers are supposed to mean with iPads ?
I'm more familiar with Macs, where the model IDs are commonly used, and model years .

For instance, the 6th generation iPad has a model ID of 7.x ( like 7.5 ) , the seventh gen. a model ID of 7.xx ( like 7.11 ) .
The 5th generation iPad has an ID of 6.x .

I've seen several ads that seem to confuse those description - lots of iPad 6 on sale , that are fith gen. from 2017 . But technically, they are iPad 6 models by model ID , just not 6th generation models .

Model years are very often not mentioned, especially when it's an iPad 9.7 on sale - this time described by screen size ... - and those were built from the very beginning in 2010 .

Probably just honest mistakes by the sellers .

 

[rui no onna]

Thanks, so that's what the numbers are supposed to mean with iPads ?
I'm more familiar with Macs, where the model IDs are commonly used, and model years .

For instance, the 6th generation iPad has a model ID of 7.x ( like 7.5 ) , the seventh gen. a model ID of 7.xx ( like 7.11 ) .
The 5th generation iPad has an ID of 6.x .

I've seen several ads that seem to confuse those description - lots of iPad 6 on sale , that are fith gen. from 2017 . But technically, they are iPad 6 models by model ID , just not 6th generation models .

Model years are very often not mentioned, especially when it's an iPad 9.7 on sale - this time described by screen size ... - and those were built from the very beginning in 2010 .

Probably just honest mistakes by the sellers .

Unless you know the specific identifiers, doesn't really mean much. For example:

iPad Air 2:
iPad5,3
iPad5,4

iPad 5th gen:
iPad6,11
iPad6,12

iPad 6th gen:
iPad7,5
iPad7,6

iPad 7th gen:
iPad7,11
iPad7,12

iPad Pro 12.9 (2015):
iPad6,7
iPad6,8

Models - The iPhone Wiki

www.theiphonewiki.com

 

[Richard8655]

Thanks, so that's what the numbers are supposed to mean with iPads ?
I'm more familiar with Macs, where the model IDs are commonly used, and model years .

For instance, the 6th generation iPad has a model ID of 7.x ( like 7.5 ) , the seventh gen. a model ID of 7.xx ( like 7.11 ) .
The 5th generation iPad has an ID of 6.x .

I've seen several ads that seem to confuse those description - lots of iPad 6 on sale , that are fith gen. from 2017 . But technically, they are iPad 6 models by model ID , just not 6th generation models .

Model years are very often not mentioned, especially when it's an iPad 9.7 on sale - this time described by screen size ... - and those were built from the very beginning in 2010 .

Probably just honest mistakes by the sellers .

Yeah, I wouldn't pay attention to the iPad by device identifier as a number followed by comma, which is fairly confusing. Few retailers advertise or sell them that way, and it's used more within Apple as a technical designator. Otherwise, it's pretty straightforward as the generation number is also the iPad number, i.e., iPad 5th generation is also iPad 5, and so forth.

 

[1BadManVan]

iPad 6th or 7th gen, don’t go older then that if you want the current iOS. iPad 5th gen is likely on its Last year of support

 

[mi7chy]

If you're near a Micro Center it's $239.99. Wouldn't pay for one myself since they're dumb and oppressive devices but got gifted one for Xmas.

https://www.microcenter.com/product/612225/apple-ipad-7---space-gray-(late-2019)

 

[rui no onna]

iPad 5th gen is likely on its Last year of support

I doubt it's on its last year. It's faster than mini 4 and Air 2 and I expect that'll get dropped from the line up first.

Still, it's not much more money for the 7th gen and that one should last longer.

 

[BMox81]

Why don't you just buy an iPod touch? Runs iOS 13 and is $199.

 

[parker5011]

Why don't you just buy an iPod touch? Runs iOS 13 and is $199.

I think for $50 more getting an iPad would be worth it for me. Brand new, though, the iPod is the cheapest way to get recent chip and specs.

 

[rui no onna]

Brand new, though, the iPod is the cheapest way to get recent chip and specs.

Of note though, the A10 used in the 7th gen iPod touch is quite underclocked and slower than the ones used on iPhone 7 and iPads. From Geekbench it's just around the equivalent of the A9.

Another thing, I've been noticing more UI bugs in apps on my mom's 4" iPhone SE. I reckon developers are sorely wanting to move away from supporting 4" iOS devices.