PSA: iOS8 & iPad

[W2R]

I went to Best Buy this afternoon to check out the iPad Air 2. The salesman showed it to me and offered me $200 for my (16 GB Wi-Fi only) iPad 2 if I bought the iPad Air 2.

Problem was, maybe I was in a bad mood or something, but it just didn't float my boat. I dunno. It just didn't DO it for me somehow. Honestly I'd rather have what I've got. I guess I should be glad because I saved $299 plus tax.

So much for that idea.

 

[M Paquette]

I went to Best Buy this afternoon to check out the iPad Air 2. The salesman showed it to me and offered me $200 for my (16 GB Wi-Fi only) iPad 2 if I bought the iPad Air 2.

Problem was, maybe I was in a bad mood or something, but it just didn't float my boat. I dunno. It just didn't DO it for me somehow. Honestly I'd rather have what I've got. I guess I should be glad because I saved $299 plus tax.

So much for that idea.

Heh. If you change your mind, BB is running this promo through November 15, 2014. I think that their $200 offer is the best trade-in for the iPad 2 currently available (for moving to the Pad Air 2). (Gazelle and NextWorth are offering $85, and Amazon is offering 'up to' $150.)

 

[braumeister]

Satisfaction is always in the eye of the beholder.

I discovered another advantage to moving up to the Air this morning.

I subscribe to the digital version of the local newspaper, and it's the first thing I read each morning, on my iPad.
With the old one, the print was too fuzzy to read it as presented, so I had to zoom in on the page for each article I was interested in.
But with the retina display, the print is sharp and clear, so I can just go through it page by page, exactly as if it were a paper newspaper. That's an unexpected treat!

 

[Meadbh]

I went to Best Buy this afternoon to check out the iPad Air 2. The salesman showed it to me and offered me $200 for my (16 GB Wi-Fi only) iPad 2 if I bought the iPad Air 2.

Problem was, maybe I was in a bad mood or something, but it just didn't float my boat. I dunno. It just didn't DO it for me somehow. Honestly I'd rather have what I've got. I guess I should be glad because I saved $299 plus tax.

So much for that idea.

I'm glad to hear this, W2R. I thought (oh horror!) that you were turning into a Big Spender.

 

[W2R]

I'm glad to hear this, W2R. I thought (oh horror!) that you were turning into a Big Spender.

I know, I know! My motto of the year is "You can't take it with you."

I guess I need to work harder at finding something that appeals to me.

 

[tulak]

I bought an iPad Air 2 yesterday. It's very responsive and I'm glad to have the bigger screen again. A little backstory, my son needed an iPad for school, so I gave him my iPad Air at the beginning of the school year and used his original iPad Mini in the meantime. I figured I'd wait until Apple refreshed their tablets before buying a new one. Part of the reason I wanted to use the iPad Mini was to see if I liked the screen size/form factor. There are definitely aspects of the Mini I liked, but his was old with an inferior screen (too much pixelation) and it was slow. And that was running iOS7. I think iOS8 would be much worse. So in the end I decided to go with a larger tablet. Plus, Apple's upgrade of the Mini this time around is next to useless.

Last night I was able to unexpectedly use a new feature on the iPad. My sister called me on my iPhone and I was prompted on the iPad to answer the call. I answered and we chatted for a bit with me using the iPad. This isn't a feature I'll use often, but I was impressed with the seamless integration across devices. Apple really does have a knack for making end to end scenarios work seamlessly.

 

[tulak]

I know that iOS8 has made it easier for your iPad to connect through your iPhone. From what I've read, as long as both devices are associated with the same Apple ID, then you can automatically connect your iPad WIFI to your iPhone's personal hotspot. I don't have iOS8 on my iPad (too old), so I haven't had a chance to try it out, but it's the main reason I plan on getting a WIFI only iPad. I only hope that the battery drain on the iPhone isn't too bad.

I'm posting this on my iPad that's connected to the personal hotspot on my iPhone. I selected the iPhone's hotspot and the iPad automatically connected. No prompting for password. Now to see how badly my iPhone's battery drains.

 

[Chuckanut]

After a few days of running my iPad 2 with iOS 8.1, I have not found it to be particularly slower or worse than running in iOS 7. Overall, it seems about the same - slower than the new iPads, but not so bad that I need to run out and buy a new iPad.

 

[Midpack]

After a few days of running my iPad 2 with iOS 8.1, I have not found it to be particularly slower or worse than running in iOS 7. Overall, it seems about the same - slower than the new iPads, but not so bad that I need to run out and buy a new iPad.

Repeating myself for the possible benefit of others, the iPad 2 hardware changed slightly in Mar 2012. iPads made before then, like mine, may have more trouble with iOS 8.x. However, mine is now useable but very slow with iOS 8.1, noticeably different than the original iOS 8.0.0...

And iOS 8.x is far, far slower and more troublesome than iOS 7.x was on my iPad 2 (new Jun 2011) - no comparison, evidently unlike some others here. FWIW

(Much to my surprise) My iPad 2 has a trade in value of $173-$200 at present, so I will trade for an iPad Air 2 as soon as the specific model I want is in stock at Best Buy or Simply Mac. I'd be willing to bet the iPad 2 won't be included when iOS 9 rolls out, and the trade in value will decrease or become non-existent sometime well before iOS 9 (presumably in about a year). YMMV

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/ipad/ipad-faq/differences-between-ipad-2-models.html

 

[Meadbh]

Repeating myself for the possible benefit of others, the iPad 2 hardware changed slightly in Mar 2012. iPads made before then, like mine, may have more trouble with iOS 8.x. However, mine is now useable but very slow with iOS 8.1, noticeably different than the original iOS 8.0.0...

All Differences Between iPad 2 Models & Which to Buy? @ EveryiPad.com

Hmmm. I have a late 2011 iPad 2. Based on your experience I think I will pass on iOS 8. Thanks for the heads up, Midpack!