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We're not talking about a "PC". We are talking about iPads.


You just proved my point. And even in that distorted definition of "future proof" there is no iPad that going to be adequately usable in 7 years.

Well let’s say 5 years more than likely is probably someone’s “Future proof ideal time frame” that is a good little while.

5 years looks easy with iPads from what I’ve found on this forum. I’m still fairly new to the whole iPad scene. And when I first started looking on this forum, it amazed me how many people still run the first gen 12.9 IPP with no reason or desire to upgrade it.
 
Well let’s say 5 years more than likely is probably someone’s “Future proof ideal time frame” that is a good little while.

5 years looks easy with iPads from what I’ve found on this forum. I’m still fairly new to the whole iPad scene. And when I first started looking on this forum, it amazed me how many people still run the first gen 12.9 IPP with no reason or desire to upgrade it.
Lol, that’s only because you haven’t used them during the early days back when performance was comparable to Pentium III.

Realistically speaking, the first longevity iPad model is the iPad Air 2. Iirc, A8X and A9 bench around Core 2 Duo E8400 level. Paired with a decent SSD and GPU, a C2D E8400 build runs Windows 10 better than a lot of cheap laptops sold today with Win10 preinstalled.

The iPad 2 (2011-2016) may have received updates for a long time but it ran quite poorly past iOS 7. The iPad Air gets a lot of flak but it actually aged more gracefully than the iPad 2.

Besides, if there’s one thing Apple’s good at, it’s marketing. Chances are plenty of MR members would be updating by next Apple keynote. Lol, I think I’ll go into withdrawal if I have to wait 5 years before getting new tech. :p
 
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Edit: link already provided. I apologize
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Don’t the 2017 iPad pros support usb 3.0
You are correct, the reason why i wrote USB2 is that Aditya mentioned an iPad Air 3, which, although more recent than the Pro 2017, is stuck with USB2.
 
yes, although at usb2 speeds
not only that but you will probably need a powered hub, as lightening has a very low power output... so what *easily" mean is debatable...
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The 2017 iPad Pro’s do but the newer iPad Air 3 doesn’t
yes, but even then, a powered usb 3.0 hub will probably be necessary (which may limit use on the go)
 
Well let’s say 5 years more than likely is probably someone’s “Future proof ideal time frame” that is a good little while.

5 years looks easy with iPads from what I’ve found on this forum. I’m still fairly new to the whole iPad scene. And when I first started looking on this forum, it amazed me how many people still run the first gen 12.9 IPP with no reason or desire to upgrade it.
And it still comes back to what I originally said. ANY iPad that is currently being sold as new by Apple today will have 5 years of productive life. And since that is the case, there is no need to agonize over which model is "future proof" (where the "future" = 5 years).

Longevity is not the primary concern... but the function. A 1TB iPad Pro offers far more function than an Air 3 (at 4x the price), but it won't last 4x longer than an Air 3. Buying a 1TB iPP for primary purpose of longevity is not a wise financial decision... buying it for the functions and capabilities is.
 
And it still comes back to what I originally said. ANY iPad that is currently being sold as new by Apple today will have 5 years of productive life. And since that is the case, there is no need to agonize over which model is "future proof" (where the "future" = 5 years).

Longevity is not the primary concern... but the function. A 1TB iPad Pro offers far more function than an Air 3 (at 4x the price), but it won't last 4x longer than an Air 3. Buying a 1TB iPP for primary purpose of longevity is not a wise financial decision... buying it for the functions and capabilities is.
I think I'll get at least 10 years out of my 2 1st ipad pros (12.9 and 9.7) but I have 6 ipads, each for a different use case, so the use of battery (which is the real killer in terms of usable life if you use something a lot) is spread among many devices...
 
I might regret it, but ended up taking it back. And Best Buy has 11 on sale today. Going to go purchase.
 
I think I'll get at least 10 years out of my 2 1st ipad pros (12.9 and 9.7) but I have 6 ipads, each for a different use case, so the use of battery (which is the real killer in terms of usable life if you use something a lot) is spread among many devices...
Caveat is software support.

You usually get ~2-3 years of app updates after Apple drops firmware updates. If the app doesn’t rely on online services to function then this is a non-issue. If it does, it means the app could potentially stop working once the developers drops updates for older firmware.

Mind, we’re now at year 3-4 of the 1st gen Pros so you’re already 1/3 of the way to 10 years. :p
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I might regret it, but ended up taking it back. And Best Buy has 11 on sale today. Going to go purchase.
I think you’ll probably appreciate having USB-C. If I could be content with 64-256GB, I’d opt for one.

I’m waiting for 1TB LTE pricing to drop to more affordable levels or for a 326 ppi display upgrade to 11” (it’ll be like 2 iPad minis side by side). Whichever comes first. :p
 
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I think I'll get at least 10 years out of my 2 1st ipad pros (12.9 and 9.7) but I have 6 ipads, each for a different use case, so the use of battery (which is the real killer in terms of usable life if you use something a lot) is spread among many devices...

Well you’re already 3/4 years into the 10 years on your 1st pros. As fast as technology and software changes, in 10 years your gen 1 pros will run like gen 1 mini’s.
 
You can future proof a PC just fine. I think it is Mac products that are questionable.

And I think people only mean like 5 years when they refer to future proofing. Maybe 7 years tops.
Which is more than possible.

I think most iPads are used for 3-5 years anyway. It’s not a PC and the times when a current computer wouldn’t handle the next version of their desktop OS are long gone except maybe for some gamers. Future proofing is a rather dead concept for most people these days in my opinion.
 
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I think I'll get at least 10 years out of my 2 1st ipad pros (12.9 and 9.7) but I have 6 ipads, each for a different use case, so the use of battery (which is the real killer in terms of usable life if you use something a lot) is spread among many devices...

I’d never want to use my Pro for 10 years. Come 5 years the tech is probably so advanced that I just want to try something newer. Besides, batteries age all the time. Sure, a bit slower when not in use every day but to expect significantly longer product life- not so sure.
 
As fast as technology and software changes, in 10 years your gen 1 pros will run like gen 1 mini’s.
I doubt it. iOS 9 on the first gen Mini was like trying to run Windows Vista on Pentium III. Even the iPad Air on iOS 11/12 isn't that bad.
 
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