So I’ve had my ipad 2 now since 2011, a little over six years. It recently spazzed out on me, though, and is hardly working at the moment. I’m guessing it’s probably not going to work very well ever again.
My stepfather (who is old fashioned and not really into or well versed in new tech-type of stuff) is chiding me–a bit–on it, claiming it was probably due to my not taking care of it well or having caught “some viruses” on it or other things. Me, I told him “Uh, no…what it is is…six years is actually quite a long time in the tech universe for things like this. It’s not uncommon for people to replace computers or tablets or mobile devices well before six years is up”.
Now, I’m sure you’ve had tons of tech devices that you’ve forever, okay? I just know there will be some posters who probably have the same phone or mobile device that they’ve had for a decade now. But for one, I’m talking about a tablet…
.for two, I’m not disputing tablets can (and may) last for a very long time. I’m merely suggesting that–after six years–it shouldn’t be surprising to anyone that an Ipad might start to not work so well any more.
But what do you think? What do you think is the replacement time for a tablet (tablet specifically) is?
I said 4-5 years though, if the option was there, I would have said 3-4 years (2 is too few). More a function of OS advances and apps demanding more than the hardware can take although I wouldn’t be surprised if they make tablets to quality standards thinking “If this craps out in three years, who cares?”
I’m also assuming the bulk of the use is web browsing, email, Twitter, etc. If you’re trying to run some cutting edge stuff on your device then mildly obsolete hardware may not work.
Tablets, notebooks and similar battery powered things you carry around have about a 3-5 year life on average. If you take good care of a product it can last longer but even so by 5 years out most portable tech is getting kind of wheezy compared to the new stuff anyway.
Yup. The limiting factor is not failure of the device, but obsolescence - it can’t take the latest updates to the operating system, therefore it can’t run apps that require the latest updates. So you have more and more apps that either run badly or won’t run at all. The thing doesn’t break; it just gets clunkier and clunkier in operation until you decide to upgrade.
How long before you reach this point partly depends on when in the cycle you bought and partly on your tolerance for performance which is suboptimal compared to what you would get from a newer model. You can often get good deals on brand new models that are about to be discontinued- they’re clearing out inventory - and the item you buy will work fine for two, three, maybe four years. If you had bought the same item when it was first launched (or if you wait a while and buy the next model when it’s launched, you’ll get four, five, maybe six years out of it.
I also still use an iPad 2 purchased in 2011 (June, to be specific). It seems a bit slower than it used to be to load internet pages, but other than that, it still works great.
People I know who have bought other tablets (mostly Samsungs) have replaced them every 2 years, give or take.
I’m still using an original model Kindle Fire that was won in a work raffle in late 2011. After five years, it’s definitely showing its age. I have rooted it and used to run the Google Play store on it, but since about a year ago some of the software needed to make that work kept continuously crashing on the tablet and I’ve had to give up on it.
Its lack of hardware means it can really show its age even when web browsing. The only reason I haven’t bought something newer is that I can’t decide how much tablet I want and if I want an updated Fire model or something that runs Android Marshmallow instead so I don’t have to go and root the new one right away.
My iPad 2 also fizzled after about six years. I had recently done a cloud backup. For a nominal fee i swapped my dead tablet for a used replacement, and three years later I’m still using the replacement.
I’m tending towards ‘more often than I would replace a laptop’ - so less than 3 years. I guess it depends on how heavily the thing is used and how much travelling it does - a machine that lives on my bookshelf and is only used for quick googling is going to last longer than a machine that lives in my backpack and gets beaten around and handled on a daily train commute.
Well for the price of iPads I would expect them to last a decade with complimentary weekly polishing service and a lifetime guarantee - but I get about 5 years. It gets a pretty fair workout. I make that sucker pay for what I paid…!
Curiously, just as I was posting this and listening to music through my Senheisers, lefty died. Just like that. Oh well. 12 years, can’t complain.
I will complain about the inconvenient timing though. Bastard! Why now…?
I chose 4-5 years, though it depends on what you’re doing. In my experience, sealed batteries start to lose life more quickly as the device ages, which can hamper the usability of a mobile device.
Besides that, it also depends on software updates and what features you want or need. My Nexus 10 still works fine, but I’ve also decided that I must have a finger scanner on any device I’m currently using-- so outside of the device age (2012), it also didn’t meet my current hardware demands, or regular OS updates. I replaced it with an iPad last year and donated it to my folks, who just do light browsing/reading from time to time. Outside of the battery (which technically can be replaced), it should serve their needs for years to come.
But in general, I agree with you. 6 years is fine for an upgrade, for any number of reasons. Your stepfather would hate to see my phone upgrade schedule, or that of some people I know. Replace years with months.
I’ve had my current tablet (call it T1) for about a year. It’s running fine.
Its predecessor’s (call it T2) screen died after two years of faithful service.
The tablet before that (call it T3) just didn’t have enough memory or storage space to handle what I wanted it to handle after a couple of years. On the other hand, technically it still runs and I used it between the demise of T2 and the arrival of T1. And it’s sitting quietly in the corner just in case something happens to T1.
Tablets are a new enough technology that it’s hard to say at this point what their natural lifetime is or should be. But AFAIK most of them are built to be replaced rather than (easily) fixed if something goes wrong (like the battery wearing out or the connections developing problems.
Yeah, we were hand-me-downed an original iPad that was about 3 years old when we got it, and it worked for another two before two things started happening.
The battery started losing its ability to hold a charge. This isn’t necessarily unusual- lithium ion batteries have a finite lifespan regardless of how much they’re cycled, or not.
After a certain point, nerarly EVERY app we tried to download in the app store wasn’t rated for that iPad, and nor was the latest OS version.
So essentially they’re building in a certain degree of obsolescence by using batteries with a finite lifepsan, w*hich can’t be changed easily. * and backing that up by EOL-ing the OS/apps for that particular device.
To me the battery life issue is the most infuriating; I’ve already had a perfectly good Kindle become unusable because the battery won’t hold a charge (a ca. 2012 Touch, FYI), and had to replace my Galaxy S5 battery, and replace several camera batteries- all at about that 4-5 year mark. I’d be particularly torqued if I’d bought a $500 device and the manufacturer tells me I have to pry the damn thing apart and partially disassemble it to replace a $15 battery.
I bought a few 8" kindle fires when they were on sale for $35. Those are for road trips for the kids or other randomness. If they last 1 year I’m surprised.
I am a real die-hard when it comes to keeping electronics running and useful. I have two tube radios from 1945 still going. My desktop is (mostly) several years old. Etc.
But tablets are another thing. The vast improvements in speed, size, battery life, etc. that are ongoing makes keeping a big old heavy slow tablet around a noticeable problem.
So I’d say 2-3 years.
For now.
In a few years the cycle will slow down. They won’t be able to get much cheaper, the screen resolution will be high enough for any reasonable person, the number and speed of the processors will be good enough, etc.
One issue that unfortunately might persist is OS upgrades. New version of apps might require the latest OS and the tablet maker might not provide an update.
If bought on the really cheap end, perhaps 2 years, if high quality 5 or so. I do think iPads can go longer than Androids, just different philosophies, and prices so you do pay for that extra time up front.
I just heard that my original kindle is still being used. I really liked the paperwhites, but couldn’t justify buying one when my kindle was just fine.
I found out a friend’s son didn’t have a kindle. With my friend’s permission, I gave the son my kindle and he loves it.
I don’t own one and I have no plans on getting one but my expectations would be 6-7 years. My main computer is Mini older than that and I still sometimes use my Clamshell (early blue model) and 520c for some things.