Sorry guys, I got some pretty bad news
I tested out restoring the ipa files onto the iPhone 5, thinking that if this is successful, I can peacefully shift my iPad Air to iOS 10 too and then restore the ipa files to it as and when I need. But the apps simply won't restore fully, which came as a surprise to me (or maybe I gotten too naive this time...?) iMazing support told me that it could be that the files are too old for iOS 10 devices; they can only be restored fully onto iOS 7.x devices.
So after reading up and hard thinking, I observed the following:
1. Maybe it's time for me to learn jailbreak; the only other way to restore the ipa fully is on a jailbroken device, need to copy over the missing folders or better, just extract the ipa fully
2. There is really no way of returning to iOS 7.x after iOS upgrade
3. Practically everyone on the 2nd hand market (we use Carousell here) are selling their iPads cheaper than the refurb prices for various reasons, but they are all updated to at least iOS 9
4. I really liked the apps in question, too sentimental to sacrifice them for just one app
5. And anyway I can play that iOS 9 app on the iPhone 5 since it is already on iOS 10.3.1
6. And new iPad Pros, preinstalled with iOS 10, that I really want all these years can come out at any point of time (The April 14th better be right!)
7. Even if the release will not be so soon, seeing how iOS 10 plays nice with the iPad Air 1 according to you all, iPad Air 2 and the iPad 2017 will be more epic on iOS 10 due to their much superior hardware
8. Also, my parents are using iPad 2 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 P3100, which are way too old
9. It's time to move on from 32 bit devices like the iPhone 5, the iPad 2 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 P3100, due to lack of support (even the jailbreak developers aren't willing to touch these!)
10. But there's a possibility that I want to try out certain 32 bit apps
With these 10 points in mind and a heavy heart, I did not update the iPad Air to iOS 10.
Good news is that, thanks to everyone's input and this small exercise, I finally have a clear course of action to work with and plan for (rather than to plan only after getting the new iPad if any):
1. Get the new iPad Pro 12.9 inch once it releases OR get the iPad 2017 OR get the 2nd hand iPad Air 2
2. Let the iPad in step 1 be updated to iOS 10 and handle all apps that I need on a daily basis
3. Let the iPad Air with iOS 7.0 become a test bed for jailbreak, 32 bit apps and "legacy" apps
4. Make sure the iPhone 5 is empty, and then sell it off for what it is worth (i.e. "cut losses")
5. (Optional) If iPad 2017 or Air 2 is obtained, replace it with new iPad Pro 12.9 inch once released and then pass it to parents
6. (Optional) Get a 64 bit iPhone and/or Android as a spare phone (I use Android, entire family use iPhone)
Sorry for the lengthy post and the disappointment, but I hope at least this makes sense to all of us!
I tested out restoring the ipa files onto the iPhone 5, thinking that if this is successful, I can peacefully shift my iPad Air to iOS 10 too and then restore the ipa files to it as and when I need. But the apps simply won't restore fully, which came as a surprise to me (or maybe I gotten too naive this time...?) iMazing support told me that it could be that the files are too old for iOS 10 devices; they can only be restored fully onto iOS 7.x devices.
So after reading up and hard thinking, I observed the following:
1. Maybe it's time for me to learn jailbreak; the only other way to restore the ipa fully is on a jailbroken device, need to copy over the missing folders or better, just extract the ipa fully
2. There is really no way of returning to iOS 7.x after iOS upgrade
3. Practically everyone on the 2nd hand market (we use Carousell here) are selling their iPads cheaper than the refurb prices for various reasons, but they are all updated to at least iOS 9
4. I really liked the apps in question, too sentimental to sacrifice them for just one app
5. And anyway I can play that iOS 9 app on the iPhone 5 since it is already on iOS 10.3.1
6. And new iPad Pros, preinstalled with iOS 10, that I really want all these years can come out at any point of time (The April 14th better be right!)
7. Even if the release will not be so soon, seeing how iOS 10 plays nice with the iPad Air 1 according to you all, iPad Air 2 and the iPad 2017 will be more epic on iOS 10 due to their much superior hardware
8. Also, my parents are using iPad 2 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 P3100, which are way too old
9. It's time to move on from 32 bit devices like the iPhone 5, the iPad 2 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 P3100, due to lack of support (even the jailbreak developers aren't willing to touch these!)
10. But there's a possibility that I want to try out certain 32 bit apps
With these 10 points in mind and a heavy heart, I did not update the iPad Air to iOS 10.
Good news is that, thanks to everyone's input and this small exercise, I finally have a clear course of action to work with and plan for (rather than to plan only after getting the new iPad if any):
1. Get the new iPad Pro 12.9 inch once it releases OR get the iPad 2017 OR get the 2nd hand iPad Air 2
2. Let the iPad in step 1 be updated to iOS 10 and handle all apps that I need on a daily basis
3. Let the iPad Air with iOS 7.0 become a test bed for jailbreak, 32 bit apps and "legacy" apps
4. Make sure the iPhone 5 is empty, and then sell it off for what it is worth (i.e. "cut losses")
5. (Optional) If iPad 2017 or Air 2 is obtained, replace it with new iPad Pro 12.9 inch once released and then pass it to parents
6. (Optional) Get a 64 bit iPhone and/or Android as a spare phone (I use Android, entire family use iPhone)
Sorry for the lengthy post and the disappointment, but I hope at least this makes sense to all of us!
