It’s time to Upgrade your older iPad
/By David Maffucci
Those of you who know me know that I’m not the kind of person who pushes upgrading unless there is very good reason. I believe that every device has a life cycle and that so long as your device is still technologically capable, there is no reason to replace it. Apple makes wonderful products which last a good long time. They are reliable and relatively durable which sometimes is both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that their long life gives you excellent value for your money.
The curse is that often times, the device will function even when it’s become technologically obsolete. This is the case for a number of older iPads. The device still appears to work but it’s become obsolete. Many people think of electronics like cars, as long as your car works, you can continue to drive it however electronics are actually not at all like cars in that regard. A car of today and a car of say 20 years ago still go about the same speed. Electronic devices of today are so much more capable of one’s released just last year that when you make that two, three or even four years we are often times talking about a computing power difference of many times over. If would be like if cars three years from now were able to go as fast as airplanes, that’s how different they are.
So Apple did something this past spring which has made me change my stance on iPad upgrades. They released a new iPad which publicly is simply called “iPad.” It’s actual full name is iPad (5th Generation) even though confusingly it’s actually the 8th 9.7” iPad Apple has produced. What sets this model apart however is that Apple gave the iPad a significant boost in performance (in testing, this new iPad is eight to ten times faster than an iPad 2) and they also dropped the price to an all time low starting price of just $329. In our travels we see lots of customers who struggle with ancient iPads like the iPad 2 from 2011, the first “Retina” iPad, the iPad 3rd Gen from 2012 and even the 4th Gen from late 2012. I’d even toss the first iPad Air from 2013 into that category as bring an older model iPad. Using one of those iPads takes patience as they are quite old and don’t have the computing power required by today’s Apps and sites.
This new iPad at the new, low starting price, offers owners of any iPad older than the iPad Air 2 from late 2014 compelling reasons to upgrade. Performance, screen improvements, better camera, lower weight, awesome battery life, more onboard RAM and storage, enhanced wireless capabilities and more are just some of the big advantages. I know it’s hard to replace something you have that still “works”, but with electronics working is not quite so binary. There is a sliding scale to working and I’d argue that any of those older iPads may “work” but they don’t work well anymore. It’s time you got back to loving your iPad and I believe that this new 5th Generation iPad will bring back that lovin’ feelin’ to both you and your bank account.
