Succumbing to planned obsolescence

[carbonel]

Or possibly just the march of time.

I have a second generation iPad Air. That model came out in 2013, and I acquired it used in 2016. So I guess it doesn't owe me anything.

I just got off a phone call with Apple support that confirmed my suspicions that it's a couple of iOS versions behind, and can't be updated any further (except for security stuff). It works fine for reading ePubs with Marvin 3, using Wikipedia, and as a web browser, but it crashes a lot when I try to play games with it.

I think I am ready to buy a new iPad. I have a bit of windfall cash, which is how I'm justifying the upgrade. I like the iPad Air model, which is lighter and more svelte than the regular model. I'm trying to figure out whether it's worth paying an extra $150 to get the 256 Gb model instead of the default 64 Gb one. (The one I'm currently using is 32 Gb, which feels tight.)

I'd kind of like to go to the local Apple store to buy it, because then I can look at actual models and they might have tools to do an easy transfer from the old iPad to the new one. But it's $40 less at Amazon. I wonder if the Apple Store people would give any kind of freebie, like AppleCare, as compensation, if I asked.

And then there's the super-important question: of the five colors available, which one should I choose?

If anyone has thoughts on the general subject, I'd be interested in hearing them.

Comments

[ckd]

I had a really easy time transferring from my 2016 iPad Pro to my new one; you literally put them next to each other and press "import". Not sure how well that works with something on an older iPadOS version, though.

My personal preference is the Sky Blue color, but the Pro only comes in Silver and Space Gray so I went with the latter. I also ordered from Apple directly to get the free engraving (name, phone number, and email address, to make it easier to return if lost or stolen and recovered). As for storage, I've tended to go as high as I can in the past but now that external storage options are easier to use that may not be as big a consideration as it used to be. (I don't think you can install apps to the external device, though, so there are still advantages to more space on-device.)

[anne]

Mine is of a similar vintage, if not older...I got it 3rd hand from a certain blue shark. I can't get it to talk to my new Macbook Air, so I'll be interested to see what you decide.

I'm probably going for more memory because it turns out I hang on to things well past their intended expiration date. My previous laptop was 10 when it started to decay.

edit: wait, you said iPad Air. I have a regular old iPad. That's pretty different, sorry!

[the_shoshanna]

What? I have an iPad Air 2; I'm writing this on it, and it's completely up to date and running fine (though I don't play games). Do you mean an original iPad Air?

[carbonel]

I thought it was an iPad Air 2, but it looks like you're right. The model is A1474, which Google says is an iPad Air, not an iPad Air 2.

The iOS number is 12.5.3.

[guppiecat]

For me, the reason to get the new Air is that it supports the second generation Apple Pencil, which is a truly stunning piece of technology. If you have any interest at all in doing Apple Pencil things, you'll want the extra space. I can't stress enough how impressed I am with this tech. I've been around tech for a long time and the only tech purchase that comes close to being this impressive is way back when I jumped into the Nikon d800 line of cameras.

Frankly, I think that buying a modern iPad without the pencil is only using half of the technology you purchased.

So if it were me, I would get the 256Gb model + Apple Pencil 2 + case + a handful of apps (Procreate and Concepts would be my minimums).

I have no opinion on colours.

[carbonel]

What sort of things do you use the Apple Pencil for? I'm trying to figure out if there's anything I'd need it for.

I think I'm more likely to get use out of a keyboard, though I didn't miss it all that much when I went from my original iPad (that I had a Logitech keyboard for) to the current iPad Air.

[guppiecat]

Well, for me it's sketching, for art and for prelim diagrams. I use it to illustrate ideas, security architecture,flow maps, etc - but it could be for a lot of things. Almost anything you can do with pen and paper can now be done with the iPad.

It can also be used for games and hand-written notes, but I don't know much about that.

He's an ideas article: https://www.macworld.com/article/232669/reasons-to-get-an-apple-pencil-if-youre-not-an-artist.html

[carbonel]

Thanks for the link. It pretty much confirms that the way I use my iPad (for casual non-work use), it's unlikely to improve my life. Different users, different tasks.

But I'll bear it in mind. I did miss my Palm Pilot stylus for quite a while.

[graydon]

Nine years is a long time for a VLSI device!

On the one hand, more storage is always better (especially for games!), and in five years that'll be the normal amount. On the other hand, 256 GB of micro SD runs about fifty bucks. On the third hand, there isn't any option with an Apple device, and three times market rate isn't unusually piratical of them.

I'm not an Apple user and have no opinions about the hardware. From Charlie's comments, the Air is the current generation device and the iPad is roughly the previous generation Air.