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You're another who seem to find decent performance in the iPad Air.

I'm going to restore to factory settings and see if I get better results from mine.

"Decent" and "going strong" are relatively terms.

Common sense would suggest iPad Air isn't going to run iOS 11 smoothly.

Look at the number of iPhone 6 Plus owners who complain their phone is slow with the latest iOS. And that phone uses an A8.
 
"Decent" and "going strong" are relatively terms.

Common sense would suggest iPad Air isn't going to run iOS 11 smoothly.

Look at the number of iPhone 6 Plus owners who complain their phone is slow with the latest iOS. And that phone uses an A8.

Yes, I’m sure iOS 12 won’t be supported on the Air..
That said, I just tried ‘resetting all settings’ on my original iPad Air running 11.1. and it feels noticeably snappier.

Maybe it’s simply a placebo effect.
Still, this has me considering returning my unopened 2017 iPad.
 
Yes, I’m sure iOS 12 won’t be supported on the Air..
That said, I just tried ‘resetting all settings’ on my original iPad Air running 11.1. and it feels noticeably snappier.

Maybe it’s simply a placebo effect.
Still, this has me considering returning my unopened 2017 iPad.

I don’t think you’re imagining things. Surprisingly, my Air 1 ran fairly well under IOS 11. Not the fastest in the world, but worth keeping with this version. But as said, IOS 12 likely another story.
 
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My spouse is still using her iPad 3 on a near nightly basis. She does not use it for productivity, but rather email, texting, and video consumption. While it can not be updated to newer and more secure iOS's she is not currently using it for financial transactions so there are no concerns.
Apple products if taken care of, last a really long time.
 
Actually, the reason I ditched my Air 2 in favor of the Pro 10.5 had nothing to do with the performance of the Air 2. It's just that the 10.5 had newer and better hardware. The superior screen of the 10.5 really did it for me, I just touched it several times and I knew I had to have it. This, I think, is why so many people upgrade perfectly adequate devices. Newer and better stuff is brought to market and customers have to have it.
 
Actually, the reason I ditched my Air 2 in favor of the Pro 10.5 had nothing to do with the performance of the Air 2. It's just that the 10.5 had newer and better hardware. The superior screen of the 10.5 really did it for me, I just touched it several times and I knew I had to have it. This, I think, is why so many people upgrade perfectly adequate devices. Newer and better stuff is brought to market and customers have to have it.

Oh, I still got the 12.9. :) I just kept the Air 2 too. Different functions for me. Now that I’ve experienced having both, sadly, I think I have to have two iPads!! One of these days, I may end up with the 10.5 as a replacement for the Air 2. But maybe not, because my needs for the smaller device are pretty basic.
 
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Similar here. Went from iPad 3 (dud is too kind a word) and Air 1 to 10.5 and 2017 9.7. What’s interesting to me is the Air 1 ran relatively fine under IOS 11, and seemed to have a ways to go. It was probably one of the best longevity bangs for the buck, I think.

My iPad 3 is still in light use, though not by me. A little underpowered for the display, but at least the higher resolution display didn't look dated as fast.

My current iPad Mini 4 has outlasted a few cases. I don't know what direction I'll go next. Bigger screen for magazine reading? For ebook reading, the mini size is better in my opinion.
 
The backdoor workaround is to install tvOS 10 Beta Profile on the iOS device that you don't want to get upgrade-nagged. This basically tells Apple's upgrade servers to ignore your device for upgrade nags. When you want to upgrade, simply delete the profile.

Well, decided to stay on IOS 11 as long as possible and keep my 2017 iPad performance perky and in the current state as long as possible. This was a great suggestion to nag proof. I’m wondering if you allow updates within IOS 11 or not, or just prevent future releases such as IOS 12.
 
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I don’t think you’re imagining things. Surprisingly, my Air 1 ran fairly well under IOS 11. Not the fastest in the world, but worth keeping with this version. But as said, IOS 12 likely another story.

Well, in the end, I sold my iPad Air and kept the 2017 iPad.

Four years is decent life span I suppose. The Air was probably good enough for another year, but it's lack of RAM affects my work flow. I usually have multiple tabs open in a browser and having to reload each time was a pain.

The added RAM in this 2017 is what will make the difference for me. Hoping this will last me another 4 years.
 
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I still have the last Retina iPad to be stranded on 10.3.3, a 2012-13 A6X model. Main things I use it for are as a notepad and also as a second display through Duet when traveling. 1GB RAM, 64GB SSD. I'm holding off on upgrades as long as I can. It's always been just a little sluggish with Duet but nothing too serious since Duet overhauled their code for iOS 10.
 
I still have the last Retina iPad to be stranded on 10.3.3, a 2012-13 A6X model. Main things I use it for are as a notepad and also as a second display through Duet when traveling. 1GB RAM, 64GB SSD. I'm holding off on upgrades as long as I can. It's always been just a little sluggish with Duet but nothing too serious since Duet overhauled their code for iOS 10.

The iPad 4? Marginally better than the iPad 3, but not by much as I understand. I just traded in my iPad 3 as it was so sluggish it became painful to use.

Well, in the end, I sold my iPad Air and kept the 2017 iPad.

Four years is decent life span I suppose. The Air was probably good enough for another year, but it's lack of RAM affects my work flow. I usually have multiple tabs open in a browser and having to reload each time was a pain.

The added RAM in this 2017 is what will make the difference for me. Hoping this will last me another 4 years.

Good move, I think. Traded in both my iPad 3 and Air 1 at the same time in favor of the regular 2017 5th gen. Couldn't be happier with this model. As with you, also looking forward to 4+ years, especially by freezing it at IOS 11 or 12 at the latest. I’m not quite sure how that plan will work out yet, though.
 
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My Mini from 2014 still works just fine for everything I need it for. Mostly, that's as an emergency backup device, and for when I'm traveling light.
 
The iPad 4? Marginally better than the iPad 3, but not by much as I understand. I just traded in my iPad 3 as it was so sluggish it became painful to use.
The iPad 4 was significantly faster than the iPad 3. Even on iOS 9, the iPad 4 was quite serviceable. Nowhere near as bad as the iPad 3 was (even when compared to an iPad 3 running iOS 6).

https://www.anandtech.com/show/6472/ipad-4-late-2012-review

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The iPad 4 was significantly faster than the iPad 3. Even on iOS 9, the iPad 4 was quite serviceable. Nowhere near as bad as the iPad 3 was (even when compared to an iPad 3 running iOS 6).

Well, interesting not owning the 4. All I remember is my iPad 3 64gb was pretty pricey back then, and became pretty sluggish pretty fast with the next couple releases of IOS. Probably my worst iPad experience.
 
Well, interesting not owning the 4. All I remember is my iPad 3 64gb was pretty pricey back then, and became pretty sluggish pretty fast with the next couple releases of IOS. Probably my worst iPad experience.
You're certainly not alone in that.

That said, while the iPad 2 did fare better than the iPad 3 in terms of iOS updates, the iPad 2 was probably remembered more fondly than its actual performance merited. I found the iPhone 4S quite unbearable on iOS 8 so I can't imagine the iPad 2 (which had the same chipset and RAM) performed any better.

Imho, Apple really should've just delayed the retina iPad release and gone directly to the iPad 4. There was precedent for a longer than 1 year gap between device releases anyway (iPhone 4 to 4S).
 
You're certainly not alone in that.

That said, while the iPad 2 did fare better than the iPad 3 in terms of iOS updates, the iPad 2 was probably remembered more fondly than its actual performance merited. I found the iPhone 4S quite unbearable on iOS 8 so I can't imagine the iPad 2 (which had the same chipset and RAM) performed any better.

Imho, Apple really should've just delayed the retina iPad release and gone directly to the iPad 4. There was precedent for a longer than 1 year gap between device releases anyway (iPhone 4 to 4S).

Well said.
 
I used iPad Pro 9.7 last year and upgraded to 10.5
Recently got the iPad 2017 from Costco as they are just for $270
iPad 2017 is very capable and I don’t use pencil or keyboard, just browsing on safari. Besides the speakers, I dont miss the laminate screen on the 10.5 Pro coz after I put on the tempered glass screen protector, screen is very glossy anyways. Also I expect more from the iPad 10.5 like faceid and 3D Touch and I am also recouping $350 after I sold my iPad 10.5. Maybe next year when there is a redesign I will jump back to the pro.
 
Lol so you switched from Apple who supports their products for at least 4 years, to Samesung who you could buy a brand new flagship and be stuck on that OS forever? Interesting choice


You outlined some very good points there but when a device that was lightening quick when new, all of a sudden is so slow that even basic activities like browsing the web or checking email, there are few options but to buy a new one. This is not the case with laptops. My 15 inch 2012 MacBook Retina is as lightening quick as when I bought it and I could easily not replace it for another 3-5 years.

My 10.5 iPad Pro on the other hand, run a huge risk of being slower in 3-5 years but this time I will pushback on updates as much as I can.

This multifaceted obsolesce is what what pushed me to swap from Apple to Samsung and surprisingly my 2 year old phone has nearly all the software features of the Galaxy S8 but is faster then when new. My iPhone 5S became slower with time.
 
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Lol so you switched from Apple who supports their products for at least 4 years, to Samesung who you could buy a brand new flagship and be stuck on that OS forever? Interesting choice

I was tempted by Samsung because I was fed up with is devices slowing after a few OS updates. My iPad 3 which I traded in a few month ago had during its last 2 years been so slow I didn't bother using it for anything but playing YouTube videos in the kitchen. Browsing was too painfully slow to even consider.

Surprisingly my phone is still as snappy as it was when new and the high DPI still looks amazing - hence why I haven't bothered upgrading yet. The iPhone X Plus or Galaxy S9 Plus might tempt me depending on their price and flagship features.

My S6 Edge Plus has periodically been updated to newer versions of Android and is my no means not stuck. Further more I am not the first person to update my OS as stability and speed are more important. I always consult forums for complaints for weeks, if not months, before I update to a new OS.
 
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Yeah a bit too optimistic I’d say. It really depends on your requirements. If you just do basic stuff on your iPad then just get the iPad 2017 and you’ll be fine for 3 years I’d hope.

This is what I did. This is my first tablet so if I get some good life out of the 2017 for less than $300, then I will consider it a great purchase and look at upgrading to one of the more premium models.
 
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