Posted 23 January 2024

Which ipad to buy

My daughter's (12 years) 5 year old samsung tablet finally given up and she looking to buy an ipad with her own money.

We are lucky that we have friend who work for apple so will be getting discount but as a Samsung user I have no idea what she should get as we want something that will get good few years worth of software updates.

We could get following
Ipad air gen 5 but it comes in at £700+
10th gen ipad cheaper but I hear I might as well buy gen 4 ipad air.

We could get following refurbed

Ipad air 4th gen its around £400 but since it was released in 2020 will it still get updates.

Ipad 11in Pro gen 2 (newest is 3rd I think) for around £500+

My thought is ipad 11in Pro it cheaper than air gen5 but practically same spec.

Just wonder other people thoughts she got budget for all of them so just don't want to over waste on her money.

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23rd Jan
Maybe ask your friend who works for Apple?
Author
23rd Jan
I did (its her husband)she said she doesn't technically need the ipad air gen 5 but I am more interested in opinion of longevity of apple supplying updates for tablet released in 2020/21 and also ideally want it still running whatever she wants to run on it for ear to come as her x tablet was pretty slow now

I have a Android background so aware we get like 3 years only.
24th Jan
you'll probably find the battery will be at the end of its life by the time Apple remove support for it anyway. iPads are glued together so to replace the battery is not as easy of a job it used to be.
24th Jan
Without looking I've no idea regards the model differences ie what's more pro about a pro but if it's longevity then would the most recent model receive updates the longest.
24th Jan
For everyday use the 10th Gen iPad is a great shout.
24th Jan
New iPads coming March/April. If you buy in Summer iPad from student store you get a free pen as well. (edited)
24th Jan
Please send a link for this.
25th Jan
Got my daughters 5 and 11 an iPad Air 4th gen from eBay last year. Excellent device will last years. Cost me £300 prob still available for that price or similar used like new condition. Iv had iPads for years and that’s definitely the one you should get for children.