All iPads Want to upgrade from an Air 3. Help!

[ACG12]

I want to keep price under $500 and it seems my best options are:
10.9” base iPad (really like the yellow)
iPad Air (A14)
iPad Pro 11” (A12x).

My mind is telling me it’s a no brainer, get the iPad Pro because of the 120hz display and quad speakers. But I’m worried about long term support with the older chip. Could I realistically expect it to keep getting supported for another 3-4 years? It’s already a 4 year old device….

 

[chrfr]

I want to keep price under $500 and it seems my best options are:
10.9” base iPad (really like the yellow)
iPad Air (A14)
iPad Pro 11” (A12x).

My mind is telling me it’s a no brainer, get the iPad Pro because of the 120hz display and quad speakers. But I’m worried about long term support with the older chip. Could I realistically expect it to keep getting supported for another 3-4 years? It’s already a 4 year old device….

Right now, the 64GB 5th generation iPad Air is on sale at Amazon for $519. If I were in your position, I’d scrape up an extra $19 and get that.
The 2018 Pro is just too old, in my opinion.

 

[Digitalguy]

Yes, not only it's realistic, but I think it's even likely that the 2018 A12x with 4-6GB RAM and CPU power overall similar to A14 will be supported as long as the 2020 air. Not only that, it has stage manager contrary to the other models.
A9 is still supported, will probably be dropped next year, but A10 will get iPadOS 17, A10X might even get iPadOS 18, A12 will get at least 18 if not more and the quad core A12X will get at least 19 if not 20 (and that's a 8 year support, more or less in line with the air 2 or the original pro, nothing strange about that for what was a flaghip device)
The thing to keep in mind is what battery are you getting.
Now this is compared to the Air 4, if you manage to get a Air 5 for a decent price, that a very different story.

 

[ACG12]

Right now, the 64GB 5th generation iPad Air is on sale at Amazon for $519. If I were in your position, I’d scrape up an extra $19 and get that.
The 2018 Pro is just too old, in my opinion.

What about the 2020 iPad Pro? It’s $549 refurbished on the Apple Store.

Double the Storage at 128gb and 6gb RAM. That does make a lot more sense than the 2018 iPP

 

[Username-already-in-use]

How important is ProMotion to you? If it doesn’t matter that much, then there’s a lot of value with an Air 4 or Air 5. If you’re looking for 6-8 years of support, then the Air 5’s M1 might be compelling for you.

If ProMotion does matter, then I can see the A12X/Z models still being supported until 2025-6.

 

[ACG12]

Yes, not only it's realistic, but I think it's even likely that the 2018 A12x with 4-6GB RAM and CPU power overall similar to A14 will be supported as long as the 2020 air. Not only that, it has stage manager contrary to the other models.
A9 is still supported, will probably be dropped next year, but A10 will get iPadOS 17, A10X might even get iPadOS 18, A12 will get at least 18 if not more and the quad core A12X will get at least 19 if not 20.
The thing to keep in mind is what battery are you getting.
Now this is compared to the Air 4, if you manage to get a Air 5 for a decent price, that a very different story.

I’m really thinking about upping my budget another $50 and going iPP 2020 form the Apple Store refurbished.

Seems like a crazy good deal without any of the cons of the non pro iPads. 128gb (ideal storage amount as 64gb is pushing the limit), 120hz, quad speakers. A12z with 6gb of RAM would definitely be a good thing for smooth performance long term use.

 

[Digitalguy]

What about the 2020 iPad Pro? It’s $549 refurbished on the Apple Store.

Double the Storage at 128gb and 6gb RAM. That does make a lot lore sense than the 2018 iPP

the 2020 pro will definitely be supported for longer than the 2020 air... so yes that's an option too, especially if you get it with a new battery

 

[ACG12]

How important is ProMotion to you? If it doesn’t matter that much, then there’s a lot of value with an Air 4 or Air 5. If you’re looking for 6-8 years of support, then the Air 5’s M1 might be compelling for you.

If ProMotion does matter, then I can see the A12X/Z models still being supported until 2025-6.

ProMotion isn’t the end of the world, I’ve never owned a device with 120hz display but it’s very nice. My wife has an M1 IPP and my son has a 2018 iPP, the few times I’ve used it, I was wowed by the display.

I’m more concerned with sound quality. My biggest gripe with my Air 3 is the speakers, I hate that they’re only on the bottom. I want more sound!

 

[Digitalguy]

I’m really thinking about upping my budget another $50 and going iPP 2020 form the Apple Store refurbished.

Seems like a crazy good deal without any of the cons of the non pro iPads. 128gb (ideal storage amount as 64gb is pushing the limit), 120hz, quad speakers. A12z with 6gb of RAM would definitely be a good thing for smooth performance long term use.

Absolutely, that's a great device, I have the 2018 one with 6GB RAM (like the 2020) since it has 1TB and it's still an amazing device and 128GB will increase the longevity even more than software support.
I plan on using my 2018 pro well past the end of support (security on iPads is a non issue) but lack of storage is probably the main reason why people upgrade (together with battery...)
For me promotion is not a big deal, but quad speakers is a must, and the 11 pro is the minimum I would want (I use the 12.9 and Macs which have even louder speakers)