The new iPad Pro (2024) and iPad Air 6 only landed two weeks ago, which means many people will soon be wondering what to do with their old tablets. Well, new data has revealed what most iPad owners do in that situation – and surprisingly, the vast majority are sticking with their Apple slate.
a new report Research from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), which tracks the behavior of returning iPad buyers in the 12 months to the end of March 2024, shows that a whopping 67% of iPad owners kept their old tablet rather than replacing it. exchange.
Within that 67% group, the report found that 31% gave their old iPad to a friend or family member, underscoring the longevity of Apple’s tablets and their potential for reuse. This is also very different from iPhone owners: in the same period, only 11% of iPhone owners gave their old phone to family or friends.
The other big difference between iPad and iPhone owners is the number of people who trade in their old device when upgrading. Of iPad owners, only 6% use Apple Trade In or other resale sites, compared to 42% of iPhone upgraders.
This suggests that iPad owners are holding on to their devices longer, giving them negligible resale value. Or it simply shows that you can do more with an old iPad than with an iPhone.
While most iPad owners kept their tablets or considered them a hand-me-down, a significant portion (23%) were also forced to upgrade because their iPad was lost, stolen or broken. That’s a bit of a surprise considering the equivalent figure for iPhone owners is just 6%, but iPads do have more screen space that can accidentally crack or break.
What can you do with an old iPad?
If 67% of iPad owners keep their old tablet or pass it on to friends and family, what exactly do they do with it?
For many, old iPads will simply become travel TVs, gaming devices or e-readers. Or if they are really old models, others can unfortunately become expensive trays. For example, the original iPad Air still looks relatively modern for a ten-year-old tablet, but Apple discontinued it in 2019. It stuck on iOS 12, where most app developers subsequently stopped using it.
But if you have a more recent iPad, you can do more interesting and creative things with it. One option is to turn your iPad into a digital photo frame, which you can achieve by playing with the settings (for example, setting the ‘Auto-Lock’ mode to ‘Never’) and using the Photos app.
If you want to continue using an old iPad, it’s important to keep an eye out for important security updates, as Apple still occasionally releases patches for devices that are almost a decade old.
But whether you’re buying one of the best iPads new or looking for used iPad Pro bargains, there’s certainly a lot you can do with your old tablet. Another popular option is to turn it into a digital recipe book (with added FaceTime) for your kitchen.