lifetime of an iPad for music production?

Arvindmundhe

I really love the idea of using iPad a swiss army knife of audio production. It makes a ton of sense.

The one thing I worry about before going down the iPad route, is the lifetime of the device. I have a stack of iOS devices that are not being used (2 iPod touches, an iPhone 5) in part because new apps don't work on them and I'm not really sure how to get older apps back. A bunch of apps moved to 64 bit and thus I can't use them anymore. With a hardware synth, this is not a problem.

How much of a concern is this? Was it just a problem with the move from 32bit to 64bit? Is there a way to get back older apps that are compatible with my unused iPhone 5?

If I get an iPad, is it conceivable to use it for 10+ years, like you might do with a real synthesizer? Seems like the App Store updates tend to start breaking stuff after 3 years when your device is obsolete. Is there a way around this?

Because in theory, an iPad should last a really long time - there are no moving parts. Only thing that could go bad is maybe the jacks and the battery.

ToMess

I bought an air2 about 3.5 years ago and its still going strong, but cant run many instances of new very high cpu using apps like model d

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

BiancaNeve

Generally If the current version of an app won’t work with your device because of upgrades you will get the option to download the last version of the app that did.
Obviously this doesn’t apply to apps that never had a version that worked.

rs2000

iPads are quite reliable if you handle them right.
I'm still using my iPad 1 from 2010 with NanoStudio, Samplr, Lemur, Genome MIDI, Borderlands Granular and the thor and iMini synths from time to time. Works perfectly and with low latency still, except that I can only use the synths monophonic.
Even the battery must have been of excellent quality produced in 2010.

My doubt is not in the lifetime but much more in your expectation for it to be a 'swiss army knife' for audio production.
It definitely isn't. If you're about to replace your Win or Mac machine with an iPad, you're losing a lot of options.
I'm not saying you can't do full productins on the iPad, you can indeed, but not without a number of compromises and a more complicated workflow, and not everyone wants that.
I see the major fun in using restricted apps for what they are and focus on creativity instead of perfection.

The availability of apps currently is up to two factors:
First, the 32bit apps no more running on iOS 11+.
Second, the fact that apps are removed from the appstore from time to time so you cannot download older versions anymore.
I'd say though that most apps you have purchased in the past are still downloadable from the 'purchased' section of AppStore, even previous older versions for your iPod and iPhone 5.

brambos

Still using an Air 2 as one of my two main development iPads (and benchmark for performance - I always strive to make any plugin work smoothly on my Air 2, preferably in a setup with a handful of other mainstream plugins). I think the Air 2 is holding its own in terms of performance quite nicely still, in spite of its age.

rs2000

@brambos said:
Still using an Air 2 as one of my two main development iPads (and benchmark for performance - I always strive to make any plugin work smoothly on my Air 2, preferably in a setup with a handful of other mainstream plugins). I think the Air 2 is holding its own in terms of performance quite nicely still, in spite of its age.

The Air 2 is a rather high-spec device already.

brambos

@rs2000 said:

@brambos said:
Still using an Air 2 as one of my two main development iPads (and benchmark for performance - I always strive to make any plugin work smoothly on my Air 2, preferably in a setup with a handful of other mainstream plugins). I think the Air 2 is holding its own in terms of performance quite nicely still, in spite of its age.

The Air 2 is a rather high-spec device already.

Not anymore, is it? At the time it was still in stores it was already the entry-level iPad (next to the Pro), so by today's standards (for someone contemplating getting an iPad for music today) the Air 2 is really low-end, I'd say.

And from a development angle, aiming for even lower-end models would mean holding back progress and innovation. For certain things you'll simply need up-to-date hardware.

[Deleted User]

@Dawdles said:
If you’re really concerned about updates making stuff obsolete, just fill up with apps you dig and at some point stop updating your device same way you wouldn’t update firmware on a hardware synth if you thought it was possibly going to break it...

Dunno what shape the battery etc will be in after 10+ years tho....

This.

I have old iPhone4 and I use it as standalone machine with loopy. I’m waiting to today’s release to get cheapo new 5s or 6 and use the cck3 with one of them. I will keep my iPhone5s as telephone and use one of bigger screens with bm3/etc in standalone format too.

Any iDevice from iPhone4 and above could do an amazing job. Even iPad1 as someone pointed.

LucidMusicInc

iPads will outlast Androids and possibly even PCs. The devices you mentioned are very old yet they are still supported by the latest iOS, which says a lot. You can still use Gadget and GarageBand on an IPhone 5. The iPad 2018 should get you many years of use and it’s very affordable, though I would recommend a Pro. I can’t foresee software getting more powerful than the hardware can handle in the music making realm anytime soon.

rs2000

@brambos said:

@rs2000 said:

@brambos said:
Still using an Air 2 as one of my two main development iPads (and benchmark for performance - I always strive to make any plugin work smoothly on my Air 2, preferably in a setup with a handful of other mainstream plugins). I think the Air 2 is holding its own in terms of performance quite nicely still, in spite of its age.

The Air 2 is a rather high-spec device already.

Not anymore, is it? At the time it was still in stores it was already the entry-level iPad (next to the Pro), so by today's standards (for someone contemplating getting an iPad for music today) the Air 2 is really low-end, I'd say.

And from a development angle, aiming for even lower-end models would mean holding back progress and innovation. For certain things you'll simply need up-to-date hardware.

Are you sure everybody will consider buying a new iPad every 2 or 3 years a no-brainer?
I think we can have both.
Reduced polyphony, fewer fx in parallel, smaller sample footprint, fewer virtual instruments for older devices, and the real deal for everyone ready to invest into iPads what he might otherwise have invested into a Macbook with easily twice the "lifetime".

brambos

@rs2000 said:

@brambos said:

@rs2000 said:

@brambos said:
Still using an Air 2 as one of my two main development iPads (and benchmark for performance - I always strive to make any plugin work smoothly on my Air 2, preferably in a setup with a handful of other mainstream plugins). I think the Air 2 is holding its own in terms of performance quite nicely still, in spite of its age.

The Air 2 is a rather high-spec device already.

Not anymore, is it? At the time it was still in stores it was already the entry-level iPad (next to the Pro), so by today's standards (for someone contemplating getting an iPad for music today) the Air 2 is really low-end, I'd say.

And from a development angle, aiming for even lower-end models would mean holding back progress and innovation. For certain things you'll simply need up-to-date hardware.

Are you sure everybody will consider buying a new iPad every 2 or 3 years a no-brainer?

That's not what I was saying, I was talking about: if you're buying an iPad for music today, getting an Air 2 would be the sensible minimum you should get IMO.

And yes, iPads and Macbooks are in different maturity stages. iPads are still improving so much with each generation (whereas desktops/laptops have reached minimum viable specs well over a decade ago) that getting a new one every three years if you're serious about mobile music as a hobby is not too much to ask. Don't forget that iPads retain their value quite well and you can typically still sell your 3 yo model for a fair few pesos.

rs2000

@brambos said:

@rs2000 said:

@brambos said:

@rs2000 said:

@brambos said:
Still using an Air 2 as one of my two main development iPads (and benchmark for performance - I always strive to make any plugin work smoothly on my Air 2, preferably in a setup with a handful of other mainstream plugins). I think the Air 2 is holding its own in terms of performance quite nicely still, in spite of its age.

The Air 2 is a rather high-spec device already.

Not anymore, is it? At the time it was still in stores it was already the entry-level iPad (next to the Pro), so by today's standards (for someone contemplating getting an iPad for music today) the Air 2 is really low-end, I'd say.

And from a development angle, aiming for even lower-end models would mean holding back progress and innovation. For certain things you'll simply need up-to-date hardware.

Are you sure everybody will consider buying a new iPad every 2 or 3 years a no-brainer?

That's not what I was saying, I was talking about: if you're buying an iPad for music today, getting an Air 2 would be the sensible minimum you should get IMO.

And yes, iPads and Macbooks are in different maturity stages. iPads are still improving so much with each generation (whereas desktops/laptops have reached minimum viable specs well over a decade ago) that getting a new one every three years if you're serious about mobile music as a hobby is not too much to ask. Don't forget that iPads retain their value quite well and you can typically still sell your 3 yo model for a fair few pesos.

Yes, no question about that

slowmotionblues

I've a mini2 that does the job for me. To be fair though, I use most apps as standalone through my mixer and sample them onto ableton.

Norbert

I change every year cause I am still not quite happy with the power of those machines regarding my expectations and workflows. It's getting there, mind you. The 10.5 is really potent. After this iteration, if the ipad pro X is very good (I started learning digital painting so I want to switch to 12.9 anyway), I might stick with it a few years though. Unless of course, some devs want to push it to the limits again, as they usually tend to do XD

richardyot

iPad Air 2 was the best tech purchase I ever made. It's still holding its own, even though there are more powerful models available. It's luck though, it just so happened that model was the sweet spot in the cycle. I don't think the Air 1 faired as well, because it only had 1GB of RAM.

OscarSouth

Air2 and Mini4 still rocking hard for me.

Don’t feel the need to update yet, and when I eventually do I’ll wait for a generation or two into whatever the next ‘paradigm’ will be/is.

Tarekith

I sell my current iPad and upgrade to the latest as soon as they are announced each year. Over the course of 2-3 years is basically the same price as hanging on to an iPad for that amount of time then buying a new one. The resale value drops dramatically a week or so after new ones come out, beat that and you can always stay current and never need to worry about CPU or compatibility.

bresk

@Dawdles said:
If you’re really concerned about updates making stuff obsolete, just fill up with apps you dig and at some point stop updating your device

This I have my Ipad3 still on ios 7 and it is working perfectly.

AudioGus

@Tarekith said:
I sell my current iPad and upgrade to the latest as soon as they are announced each year. Over the course of 2-3 years is basically the same price as hanging on to an iPad for that amount of time then buying a new one. The resale value drops dramatically a week or so after new ones come out, beat that and you can always stay current and never need to worry about CPU or compatibility.

But then you have to deal with people and money. Ick.

crony

Well...Just bought a 12'9 2nd gen 64 Gb, 550$...in replacement of a pro 12'9 32Gb that I've sold 440$, but bought 800$ , so the upgrade costed me 470 $ but I also got 32 Gb more, all my apps and setup of the previous one restored in 15 minutes...
Compared to a synth, you'll probably loose more money (you don't sell a synth almost 50% of his value 3 years after) but having a consistent workflow is very nice...But you are also sure to have a larger audience to sell your iPads rather than "only" musicians.

Will

@bresk said:

@Dawdles said:
If you’re really concerned about updates making stuff obsolete, just fill up with apps you dig and at some point stop updating your device

This I have my Ipad3 still on ios 7 and it is working perfectly.

Yep. A relatively old device will not be able to do whatever the current day's new hotness is but so long as you take the device for what it is, and then lock the thing down, should be fine. And as someone mentioned earlier, relative to today, even 2010 devices are still quite capable of doing their thing.

The only thing my Air 1 can't do is run a ton of newer AUs at once. Model 15, etc, works totally fine with minimal latency. Just can't run two of them.

Also agree that the battery is probably a fair concern over the long haul.

[Deleted User]

@richardyot said:
iPad Air 2 was the best tech purchase I ever made. It's still holding its own, even though there are more powerful models available. It's luck though, it just so happened that model was the sweet spot in the cycle. I don't think the Air 1 faired as well, because it only had 1GB of RAM.

Had a few issues with mine earlier in the year, but iOS 12 has given it a boost. Considering it’s nearly 4 years old, I can’t complain.