Comment by simonmales
5 years ago
I was gifted an iDevice but sold it recently as Apple stopped supporting it. Having spent years bringing all PCs back to life with Linux all I could do was think what a waste of hardware!
I agree totally with ipadlinux.org!
> Obsolete iPads could be affordable personal computers and useful for project builds. We believe Linux is the key to bring new life to these devices.
Looking forward!
This is one place where apple’s ban on alternative browser engines really hurts users, IMO. I’d be pretty comfy using an old iPad that was out of security support, _if_ it had an up to date browser. But since browser engine updates are tied to OS, there’s no way for obsoleted iPads to keep being safely used as cheap browsing machines. in this sense it might even be possible that using an outdated android is safer, if you’re just browsing and you’ve got an up to date browser.
What iDevice? The iPad air 2 from 2014 is supported on iPadOS 14 [0] and iOS 14 goes back to the iPhone 6s from 2015 [1]. Even though older devices "aren't supported", Apple still might release an essential update for older iOS like they did with 13.7 [2], 12.4.9 [3], and 10.3.4/9.3.6[4].
0: https://www.apple.com/ipados/ipados-14/#content-toggle-spati...
1: https://www.apple.com/ios/ios-14/#content-toggle-fast-loadin...
2: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210393#137
3: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211940
4: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210239
6 years is generous in the mobile hardware space, but when compared to traditional PC hardware, which the iPad is increasingly competing against, it is very disappointing for a piece of hardware to be out of luck after 6 years.
On Windows, any Windows 7/8/8.1 users got a free upgrade to Windows 10, and the minimum requirements for Windows 10 are the same as Windows 7 (other than for disk space, Windows 10 requires less). So that's any Windows PC in the last 11 years can still get an OS with security updates. And of course, you can always install Linux on a Windows PC.
The Apple side doesn't go quite as far back, but still most 2012 macs can install Catalina which will be supported until 2022. And Linux is pretty well supported on the non-T2 macs (pre-2015) as well.
PCs didn’t have as long of life in the 90’s to the early 2000’s, either. In 2008 only 33% of PCs were over 3 years old. Today it’s over 60% (haven’t found a more exact statistic). iPads were going through a similar maturing process and rapidly iterating on performance and features. It’s why I can accept the notion of hardware being obsolete sooner when being an early adopter.
The big thing that makes really old iPads not worthwhile to reuse is the battery. It often becomes cost ineffective to replace them. I’m looking at my 9.7” Pro with a cracked corner of its screen. Replacing the battery will damage the screen more causing a replacement for that, too. PCs don’t have the same expectation of parts wearing out - many easily can run 10 years with no hardware maintenance.
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Also, you can install whatever you want on a PC regardless of how old it is. But on iOS you can't download an older version of the app unless you've owned it previously. I do have an iPhone 4 and it's useless because I can't get any apps for it.
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While windows 10 nominally has the same requirements as win 7, it is in my experience unusable without an SSD, whereas win 7 was very usable. YMMV
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> The Apple side doesn't go quite as far back
Oh they do, people have managed to get Big Sur running on Mac Pro 4.1 machines from 2009.
The problem with keeping Mac Pros usable is the GPU side since one is forced to use AMD, but the new drivers for new cards IIRC require AVX support on the CPU.
iPad 2. Also had an iPad 3, both are no longer supported by Apple.
Hurts, because the hardware still works.
I still read hacker news every day on something similar (I don't remember exactly), but no posts hosted on medium.com will open. And there is no ad blocker available as far as I know.
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Yes. My iPad 4 (A1458) is doomed. No updates and new releases of apps don't work because the OS version isn't supported. I'm perplexed as to why the app store would even let me update those apps at all.
yup, my 2 still works passably as a youtube watcher though
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I’ve been hoping to see a project like this surface for vintage iPhones. Even devices going back to the iPhone 4S are absurdly fast in a way, great networking, would make fine brains for robots and all sorts of devices. It’s a pity that so many disappear from the world in one way or another.
I actually still have a 5s that I barely used due to country zone restrictions at the time. It would be cool to unlock this and get this running on a Linux os
There are third party repair places that may be able to fix your iPad for you although if it's the digitizer or screen, it may cost more to fix than the iPad is worth.
A new iPad is around AU$500, a replacement LCD is around $35, a replacement digitiser around $25, and the tool set around $15.
The expensive part is labour. If you're willing to risk some time and money on failure you can have a go yourself, there are excellent guides online.
I have an iPad 2 that I bought new long ago and have since given to my young children. Unsurprisingly one of them dropped it and the screen stopped working. I ordered the kit, opened it up, and reseated the LCD. Would have gone flawlessly if I'd been more careful while opening it up, as it stands I now need to replace the digitiser, but it's still much cheaper than a new tablet, especially while my elder daughter is in a phase of thinking she is smarter than us and can ignore warnings like "if you balance that on your knees it will fall off and break."
That's a new iPad, not the iPad under discussion, which is worth much less. You can often buy a replacement out-dated model for around that $75 mark, and that's ignoring the time cost of trying to fix the broken one.
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Even if you don’t get new OS versions, you still get OS patches and security update for several more years. Also the App Store still seems to support devices seemingly forever. I was still able to download apps on my iPhone 3G seven years after I bought it. In terms of useful working life, these things are incredible.
Unfortunately you can’t download apps that the publisher removed from the store (EA Games, looking at you) even if you paid for them. If you don’t backup the IPAs (and/or don’t have a way to install them...) then you’re stuck. At least you can get a refund from Apple if you can find your iTunes/App Store purchase receipt.
Why do you need a receipt? Seems like Apple would have all of that information..
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