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Three years on, Apple said to be finally set to call time on the iPad 2

AI is reporting that Apple is finally planning to discontinue the iPad 2 “in the near future.” While it’s an unconfirmed report, it would be no surprise at all – the surprise being that a model launched almost three years ago remains on sale today. Also, it should be noted that the publication called for the demise of the Mac Mini, which obviously hasn’t happened just yet.

The longevity of the iPad 2 is believed to be due to its popularity in the education market, where the $100 saving over the current iPad Air adds up to a lot of cash across a whole set of tablets for a classroom or school. It also makes sense for short-sighted institutions invested in 30-pin infrastructure who may need more time to move to Lightning.

The current-generation iPad mini with Retina display sits at the same $399 starting price as the iPad 2 but over at 9to5toys.com we’ve seen discounts by $100 or more including an ongoing Walmart deal.

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Comments

  1. Douglas Brace - 10 years ago

    I work in educational technology. For educational purposes, the retina display isn’t as important as saving money. The iPad 2 works just fine for it’s target market.

    • Ben Lovejoy - 10 years ago

      Makes sense – it’s still a very capable device

    • B.Harrison - 10 years ago

      The mini doesn’t work in many schools because of state testing requirements. Saving money is very high on the list. Good tech departments have a plan for the life cycle of the device. I think we are just now getting to the “what comes next” phase for the early adopters.

    • Robert Rooney - 10 years ago

      I’m in the same boat, and I can tell you that it’s not a big deal to move to Retina. Apple will just do as they’ve always done with the mobile devices and just kick the older generational models down the price structure. So the price will just become the same. But then we’ll have the benefit of finally having a singular inventory with universal parts. No more 10W Power Adaptors and 30-Pin cables separate from the 12W units and Lightning cables. That’s a huge advantage for IT, be it commercial or educational.

  2. Q - 10 years ago

    Meh, it’s still a required device. Many services use iPad 2 for their things, like SumUp for a Cash-System or every other possibility. Of course, iPad 2 is very old (and feels old) regarding iOS7. It just doesn’t perform as the iPad mini with same hardware specs.
    The day, Apple abolishes iPad 2, will be sad for the business/education usage of iPad 2.

    Personally, I thought about selling my iPad 2 (64/3G), but it’s still an useful device and after three years battery works as fine, as no other Apple product: 24-26h usage, 6-7 days standby.

  3. Samir Shah - 10 years ago

    What about India and Brazil?

  4. Vincent Conroy - 10 years ago

    My mother bought an iPad 2 this past year and it came with a lightning connector, so I’m not sure if Apple allows bulk orders to specify what kind of connector they’re looking for, but as far as I can tell, the iPad 2 comes stock with the Lightning connector.

    • The iPad 2 has the outdated 30-pin connector, none were ever made with the lightning connector. The first iPad to use the lightning connector is the 4th generation iPad with Retina Display, the model released about 18 months after the iPad 2.

  5. Alex (@Metascover) - 10 years ago

    What does ‘finally’ mean? Were you impatient about that or what?

    • Ben Lovejoy - 10 years ago

      An expression of surprise that they kept it on sale this long

      • Tallest Skil - 10 years ago

        I’ll say. They’ve killed two better models to keep it around.

  6. patstar5 - 10 years ago

    My 32gb iPad 2 is super slow. It lags on springboard and in apps. Sometimes I have to force quit an app because it doesn’t load. I wonder if apple will stop supporting original iPad mini since it has same processor as the 2. So no iOS 8 for neither? I’m through with iPads. Apple isn’t going to make me get another one just because this is laggy. I’ll switch to some other tablet.

    • Ben Lovejoy - 10 years ago

      Apple is only withdrawing it from sale, I’m sure it will continue to be supported

      • patstar5 - 10 years ago

        I hope they try to speed it up. OS X Mavericks was suppose to speed up performance. My mid 2010 intel core 2 duo Macbook Pro still takes 2-3 minutes to start up but it runs good once it gets going.

  7. Andy Brooks - 10 years ago

    An even bigger question to ask is why Apple is still selling the iPod Classic…

    • Ben Lovejoy - 10 years ago

      Yes, that has survived an amazingly long time. Some people like to be able to have their entire music collection on their iPod. I kept my 160GB Classic for that reason, but once iTunes Match came along it wasn’t necessary any more.

      • Air Burt - 10 years ago

        I have iTunes Match and my 160GB iPod Classic. For me, it’s more about battery life. I can save the battery on my iPhone 5 and utilize the battery on my iPod that still gets 40+ hours of play time. It definitely still works for those that don’t get decent cell coverage where they use it, too.

        I’m surprised they’ve done nothing with it. They could easily increase the storage (larger 1.8″ drives exist), make it thinner and/or drop the price. Even a quiet refresh would be fine.

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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