iPad 4th gen replacement

[Mammut]

Hej guys!

Since iOS 11 seems to be just around the corner I wonder what to do with my parents iPad 4th gen. Since they are not that tech-savy, its normally up to me to help them with their computer / tablet / phone purchases. Currently their iPad is the oldest iOS 10-supported device and I think it won't be supported with iOS 11 plus it has some disadvantages compared to the newer models (especially its weight and thickness).

Normally I think it's time to move on with a new device when the software support ends for your current one, but in this case I'm really unsure what to do. My parents definitely won't need any fancy new iOS features - so from a software feature perspective, they would be perfectly fine just to stick with iOS 10. The question is whether the lack of security updates and bug fixes is a thing with iOS or not?

Replacement device from the current lineup would be the 2017 iPad, since the Pro won't offer any advantages for their usage pattern - from a revamped lineup it might be a potential iPad Pro 10.5" but thats reading tea leaves...

Looking forward to read your thoughts!

 

[JPack]

iOS 10.3 alone has over 90 fixes for common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs). So yes, iOS updates are important.

The iPad (2017) has the A9 processor and updates should last through iOS 13.

 

[Beerstalker]

If they spend a lot of time online with the iPad, then I personally think keeping their iPad on the latest iOS is important.

If they just play games, watch movies, listen to music, then I would say turn off the WiFi and keep using it. I'm still using a first gen iPad for my 4 year old daughter, but I only use it for music, movies, and a few games that still run on it. I have WiFi turned off, and if I want to change out the movies/music I just hook it up to my computer and do so thru iTunes.

 

[Mammut]

Thank you guys! You confirm more or less my first thoughts!

Well they are mostly online. No games, no videos. They use the iPad mostly for mails, web browsing, iMessage and Facetime. So I think the upgrade might be useful! Just wasn't aware of the fact, that the amount of security fixes per iOS version is that high - that's basically why I asked if being up-to-date is an important thing with iOS.

But I think decision is made: iPad will be replaced in the next months.