Joel Mathis writes for Macworld, “It’s been five years since I bought a then-brand-new iPad 2, and — unsurprisingly — the machine I bought back then now shows every bit of its age: There are cracks in the bezel, scratches on the back, and the 30-pin syncing/charging cable that it came with has some bare stretches of wire that need some electrical tape, probably sooner than later.”
“Yeah, it might make sense to replace it, trade it in, and flat-out retire it — considering how many iPad models Apple has in its stores today,” Mathis writes. “However, this aging tablet remains one of the most-used pieces of electronic hardware in my household.”
Mathis writes, “Our iPad 2—a basic, 16 GB Wi-Fi-only version, purchased new for $500 in spring 2011 —has proven so useful for so long, that I’ve often wondered if Apple didn’t essentially achieve perfection with its 2nd-generation tablet.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Not perfection: That thing is, like all iPads not named 12.9-inch iPad Pro, woefully RAM deficient. And the display could be better. Otherwise, if you’re only using one app at a time, yes, the thing was/is pretty much perfect.
As we wrote almost exactly year ago today:
For an unsubsidized device – contrary to iPhone that turns over every 1-2 years – Apple simply made and continue to make iPads too well for their own good. iPads last and last and last.
Furthermore, as we wrote in February:
Here’s the thing: The iPad saturated its addressable market so quickly and the iPads are so well made and last so damn long that unless Apple provides a really compelling reason to upgrade, most people are just not upgrading yet. We handed off our original iPads to relatives a couple years ago and they’re still being used! Yes, they lack sensors to support many modern iPad games, but they are still in use. We also have immediate family members still using perfectly working iPad 2, iPad 3, and older iPad Air and mini models. The obsolescence cycle for iPad rivals that of the Mac. It’s very long.
The iPad is not a niche product. It had unprecedented uptake and the devices have such long, useful lives that the replacement cycle still hasn’t really kicked in. When it does — and when the macroeconomy improves to the point where users can consider adding the joys of iPad to their computing lives — then we’ll see iPad unit sales growth again. In the meantime, Apple should redouble their efforts at improving iPad – adding Apple Pencil, Smart Connector, and multi-user support (to mention just three things) that will make the iPad even more appealing to buyers.