Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iPad What led you to get a new iPad?

What led you to upgrade to a new iPad model?

  • Total voters
    41
Saturn007

Saturn007

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jul 18, 2010
1,615
1,519
Was wondering what led people to give up on or pass along an older iPad and go for a newer one.

Interested in which changes made the difference for you!

You can pick more than one…

Please comment on your reasons, rationales, especially for Other.
 
I upgraded from an iPad mini2 to an iPad Pro 11”, I looked at the mini6 & really wanted to like it but just didn’t gel with it & preferred the FaceID & screen on the Pro.
 
I had the iPhone 4 on contract and after that decided I wanted an iPad too, but wasn’t going to until Retina came. Thus I was one of those people who had the iPad 3, buying it at what I thought was mid cycle, when I had the spare cash to buy it outright. That was a little over a month before the iPad 4 was released. I didn’t use it for a few years having got a Now TV box for streaming in 2014 and wasn’t planning to replace it at all, until 2018 when I started using it more and apps were slowly starting to require iOS 10+. I had taken a liking to the Mini so resisted buying the 6th Gen mid cycle and jumped on the iPad Mini 5 when it came out.

Mini 5 to 6 was my having developed a liking for the form factor, also the colour as I would have bought Rose Gold or Purple had they been offered on the Mini 5. I sold my Mini 5 so my “loss” was £351, which seems very good value for something that was used heavily for 2.5 years - less than 50p per day.

I do occasionally want a bigger screen, so since the Mini now feels like Apple are positioning it closer to the base than the Air, I think I will keep this 6 for as long as possible for the cellular and buy a WiFi Air 6 or 7 when I next want/need an upgrade. After the iPad 3’s lack of use I can’t justify Cellular on a larger iPad, whereas it was definitely the right call for me on the Minis.

Currently in the market for an Air 4 or 5 but for a gift and not for me. My first upgrade was a need, the second a want.
 
For me, it’s a combination of things that made me upgrade from the 2017 Pro.

  • FaceID - easier to use than TouchID with keyboard+mouse
  • 1TB storage
  • Logitech Crayon support - my Apple Pencil 1 died, the Crayon is good enough for note taking and works on any iPad released after 2018
  • Performance - some sites were starting to stutter and apps/tabs were reloading or crashing more often on iOS 13/14 vs 12
  • Battery life - the 2017 Pro just didn’t last as long as it used to
 
  • Like
Reactions: kazmac and LibbyLA
My first iPad was an iPad mini and soon after the iPhone 7 Plus came along. I thought they were too close in size so I upgraded my iPad to the 5th generation and then the 7th generation iPad. This time I sold it and upgraded to the 2021 iPad Pro 11 Inch just a few days ago. I though about the new iPad Air, but the speakers, M1, LiDAR, FaceID, and more make the jump worth the price difference which isn’t even that big of a gap.

Primary uses include media consumption, photo editing, FaceTime calls, and music playback (djay app).
 
  • Like
Reactions: TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️
Saturn007 said:
Was wondering what led people to give up on or pass along an older iPad and go for a newer one.

Interested in which changes made the difference for you!

You can pick more than one…

Please comment on your reasons, rationales, especially for Other.
Click to expand...
I upgraded my to a Mini 5 from the Mini 4 because:
  • Support for the Apple Pencil
  • Higher storage capacity (256GB vs 32GB on the Mini 4)
  • The last generation of the form-factor (home button)
The Mini 5 for me is the ultimate omni-ereader, notetaker, netbook device.
 
For me the biggest factor was that my 10.5” iPad Pro was just not cutting it anymore after 5 years. So improved performance and battery life were the primary factors. Another factor was that my old Smart Keyboard for it was frayed at the edges and falling apart. Eventually you just can’t get accessories for older products, and I’m not going to pull the John Siracusa thing were I buy 5 in advance and keep the spares in my attic. I also wanted to get FaceID and support for Apple Pencil 2.
 
iPad Air 2 was getting a tad slow.. But I was really just tired of fighting my kids for its use.

Got an Air 4, and they have taken over the Air 2. The former is amazing of course, but nothing beats the design of the Air 2 - It really is 'air': Thinner, lighter and better to hold.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️ and Saturn007
iPad Pro 10.5 white spot issue+new M1 on horizon+wanted bigger screen.
 
My Air 2’s battery finally died. I didn’t need cellular in a work from home culture. The Air 4 is very thin and light by comparison.

But the biggest win is the fantastic slim Smart Folio with all its magnets and ease of removal. Had I known about that years ago, I would’ve made the switch back then.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Saturn007
My iPad 7 is dying, as is mom’s 2020 Air, but we’re holding off for now. I want to see what the general consesus for the 2022 Air is as I had bad luck with the M1 11” iPad Pro. I wish the Air was lighter because we both have bursitis as a result of one handed use with the Air too (we haven’t found a stand that works well for our individual needs.)

Because of these, I am waiting for sales for the 256gb iPad 9. Mom has a hard time using the Air and wants the home button again. And I’m enjoying drawing on my iPad 7 again too, so we’ll see.
 
Seriously though, my rationale has changed over time. I have bounced between screen sizes frequently, depending on which devices I own in conjunction with my iPad(s). I love thinking about this sort of thing so I'm going to try to list out all the iPads I've purchased and a brief reasoning for why I got it...

  • iPad (first-gen) - the long-rumored Apple Tablet finally came to fruition. I was 14 when it first launched and my mom was nice enough to drive me up to the local Apple Store so I could pick up my reservation. They had someone playing bagpipes and were handing out coffee. Cheers and clapping when each person walked out. It was awesome. In hindsight it's crazy that I was able to save up enough to purchase that outright. No idea how I did that.
  • iPad (third-gen) - incredible new Retina Display
  • iPad mini (first-gen) - wanted to try out the new, smaller form factor. Couldn't justify having two iPads so I returned it to Best Buy
  • iPad Air 2 - thin and light design. Processor leaps were not at the point of diminishing returns yet and my third-gen iPad had a measly 1GB of RAM, causing slowdowns and app refreshes frequently
  • iPad Pro 12.9" (first-gen) - the massive screen size and the Apple Pencil were appealing to me as a college student.
  • iPad Pro 9.7" - all the power and capability of the 12.9" in a smaller form factor. Had a tough time deciding between 12.9" vs. 9.7" but ultimately kept the lighter and more portable / compact 9.7" and sold its big brother
  • iPad Pro 10.5" - the Goldilocks-sized Pro. ~20% larger screen than the 9.7" in roughly the same body size, plus ProMotion. Those ********, getting me to upgrade 3x in basically a year as they swapped the Pro screen sizes around. Lol. Sold my 9.7"
  • iPad Pro 12.9" (third-gen) - now the larger 12.9" got a SHINY brand new design and was made a decent bit more compact / lighter, so I went back up in screen size. Magic Keyboard made it an excitingly portable alternative to my 15" MBP
  • iPad Pro 12.9" (fifth-gen) - mini-LED!!! I'm a sucker for a nice screen. Ended up selling this when I purchased my 14" MBP as I found the devices too overlapped in screen size / general use cases
  • iPad mini 6 - iPad-less at this time with a 14" MBP, I figured it would be the perfect companion between the Mac and my phone. Love the handheld form-factor of the mini, and was so pleased that they finally made it a worthy product with all of the updates this generation got
  • iPad Pro 11" (third-gen) - though I still have the mini, I really miss having a buttery smooth 120Hz device that runs iPadOS. There's something inherently special about the UX there. Since the 2022 Air didn't get ProMotion and the reliable display analyst (Ross Young) is saying no mini-LED on the 11" this year, there was no longer a point for me to wait for the 2022 updates.

So yeah... right now my iPad setup includes the iPad mini 6 and iPad Pro 11" (third-gen). And that first-gen iPad is still kicking around at home. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: BigMcGuire
My 1.5 year old Surface Pro 7 stopped accepting touch input and I wasn’t willing to buy another or pay $800 to have it fix. So I took out the trash and bought a 11 Pro instead. Far better device for my needs. It’s nice using a device again that doesn’t have to be stapled to my 2lb USBC battery pack.
 
I ordered a 256gb wifi Air on Friday to replace my 3 year old 64gb wifi gen 3 Air. I tend to replace my tech every 3 years, I needed more storage, and the USB-C connector were the compelling (for me) upgrades.
 
My 12.9 2018 USBC port quit and Apple said they don't repair those, they would just sell me the same model at market value of $650. I didn't think spending that much on tech that is 3 plus years old made sense. So my wife ordered me a 12.9 IPP 2TB
 
  • Like
Reactions: BigMcGuire
UltimateSyn said:
Seriously though, my rationale has changed over time. I have bounced between screen sizes frequently, depending on which devices I own in conjunction with my iPad(s). I love thinking about this sort of thing so I'm going to try to list out all the iPads I've purchased and a brief reasoning for why I got it...

  • iPad (first-gen) - the long-rumored Apple Tablet finally came to fruition. I was 14 when it first launched and my mom was nice enough to drive me up to the local Apple Store so I could pick up my reservation. They had someone playing bagpipes and were handing out coffee. Cheers and clapping when each person walked out. It was awesome. In hindsight it's crazy that I was able to save up enough to purchase that outright. No idea how I did that.
  • iPad (third-gen) - incredible new Retina Display
  • iPad mini (first-gen) - wanted to try out the new, smaller form factor. Couldn't justify having two iPads so I returned it to Best Buy
  • iPad Air 2 - thin and light design. Processor leaps were not at the point of diminishing returns yet and my third-gen iPad had a measly 1GB of RAM, causing slowdowns and app refreshes frequently
  • iPad Pro 12.9" (first-gen) - the massive screen size and the Apple Pencil were appealing to me as a college student.
  • iPad Pro 9.7" - all the power and capability of the 12.9" in a smaller form factor. Had a tough time deciding between 12.9" vs. 9.7" but ultimately kept the lighter and more portable / compact 9.7" and sold its big brother
  • iPad Pro 10.5" - the Goldilocks-sized Pro. ~20% larger screen than the 9.7" in roughly the same body size, plus ProMotion. Those ********, getting me to upgrade 3x in basically a year as they swapped the Pro screen sizes around. Lol. Sold my 9.7"
  • iPad Pro 12.9" (third-gen) - now the larger 12.9" got a SHINY brand new design and was made a decent bit more compact / lighter, so I went back up in screen size. Magic Keyboard made it an excitingly portable alternative to my 15" MBP
  • iPad Pro 12.9" (fifth-gen) - mini-LED!!! I'm a sucker for a nice screen. Ended up selling this when I purchased my 14" MBP as I found the devices too overlapped in screen size / general use cases
  • iPad mini 6 - iPad-less at this time with a 14" MBP, I figured it would be the perfect companion between the Mac and my phone. Love the handheld form-factor of the mini, and was so pleased that they finally made it a worthy product with all of the updates this generation got
  • iPad Pro 11" (third-gen) - though I still have the mini, I really miss having a buttery smooth 120Hz device that runs iPadOS. There's something inherently special about the UX there. Since the 2022 Air didn't get ProMotion and the reliable display analyst (Ross Young) is saying no mini-LED on the 11" this year, there was no longer a point for me to wait for the 2022 updates.

So yeah... right now my iPad setup includes the iPad mini 6 and iPad Pro 11" (third-gen). And that first-gen iPad is still kicking around at home. :)
Click to expand...
My wife gave me back the iPad mini 6. She prefers her 11. So I’m in same boat as you. An 11 and a 6. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️ and UltimateSyn
Moved from an Air2 to base iPad 9 with Pencil.
I usually try to move on before a device dies and still has resale value, and after 5.5 years that moment of dying was coming nearer. While the Air2 was a great device by all standards, I can clearly notice the better / fresher battery (of course), and the iPad 9's screen is also better. After months of use I can honestly say the fact it is not laminated doesn't bother me at all.
I expected to make use of the pencil, and this is the major differentiator for me. With hindsight, I should probably have taken the logitech crayon instead as it is cheaper, works with more devices (in case I would move to an Air or Pro) and I have no need for pressure sensitivity. I do like however you can charge the thing using the iPad alone.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Saturn007
Going back to iPad (iPad air) after having a Samsung tablet for almost a year. I miss having Apple news, my Apple movies and all my apps. Also really wanted to have cellular on my tablet. Finally, found it awkward a bit reading in the Samsung tablet.
 
I’ve had almost every iPad made, mainly because I like to buy new gadgets, and with 4 adult kids, and 8 grandkids, I always have someone to hand my old ones down to.

That being said, I’ve really enjoyed my 11” pro. My only struggle right now is whether to go to the 12.9 because it’s my only computing device. The 11” is so perfect for traveling though - slips right in my purse. I know the 12.9 will be less perfect, but for the desk at home (95%) of my usage, it would be ideal.

Also, even though I know my pro is superior, and I won’t do it, I REALLY want the new Air in that gorgeous pink! Lol
 
  • Like
Reactions: Username-already-in-use and rui no onna
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back