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Best older iPad for music making
So I’m curious barring getting one of the newer iPad Pros what’s an older cheaper iPad model that would hold up well for music making. My friend wants to get into iOS music apps and she doesn’t really wanna break the bank. Thoughts/experiences/recommendations?
Comments
I’m having a great time on my iPad Pro v1 went for that for about £250 late 2018 with 128gb, is lovely...
My 1st generation iPad Pro (2015) has stood the test of time. I haven’t had a reason yet to replace it.
+1
Though mine was £400 with 256Gb.
Solid machine.
I personally wouldn’t go older than an Air2. After that it’s get the best she can have for the price. Always keep in mind that a second hand iPad might need a replacement battery at some point, which is not cheap.
It’s always about the deal you can get at the end of the day. With new iPads though, I personally think the Air3 is the best value, as I don’t like the cheaper models screen as it’s not laminated or coated as well. If these things don’t bother her though, a cheap iPad will blow away my Air 2 most likely.
Some deals on older Pro models can be pretty decent on the second hand market, but you will have to shop around and while nice, not every older Pro model is much better than an Air 3 for music making. The older 10.5 Pro seems to be decent, if you can find a good deal. Some good deals on the older large Pros can be found too.
+1
iPad Pro 1st gen 12.9
Anyone else find the air 2 battery life utter useless ?
I use an Air1 as my old primary iPad. I can't run 20 AUs at once but can run plenty. Plus, stand alone apps like Garageband, Nanostudio 2, BM3, Cubasis... work totally fine.
It was great when I had my Air 2 new. Now I’m hooked up to the mains so often.
Fact is though, I’ve been running my Air2 for about five years day in and day out. I have my iPad on often for more than 8 hours most days. I’ve never had an electronic device where the battery has lasted over four years, bar my iPad and my old iPod!
End of this year I’m getting a new iPad !
iPad Pro 2016 9.7 still in running strong, but processor and RAM wise - 2018 iPad regular 9.7 is nearly identical, but you trade a worse plastic-ish screen and only 2 speakers. I have both, prefer using 2016.
Personally the 10.5 iPad Pro from 2017 is the sweet spot for used iPads. It has phenomenal screen and speakers, still has a 3.5mm headphone jack, and it has that 4GB ram that us musicians actually make use of.
The 12.9 pro gen 1 is also good, but it was introduced in 2015, so going to be 5 years old soon. you are just more likely to get something closer to end of life, especially important with the battery.
Look at the benchmark and the going price. It will help you make a more informed decision.
https://browser.geekbench.com/ios-benchmarks
You could always get an old iPad for net surfing, playing games and general day to day things etc and keep your better iPad (and its battery) as your music only scenario.
Current iPad Air and mini are giving you way much power for 500$ and 400$ US.
Am I mistaken or most music app only use a single core?
The standard new 32GB "iPad" price of $329 seems so cheap considering my 32GB Air 1 cost $600. And they're currently discounted to $279 at Best Buy.
It has been said by smarty devs types that single core is the way for music apps.
It isn't so cut and dry. The realtime audio thread is a single thread. But some music apps use additional threads for graphics processing and some do parallel processing and benefit from the additional processors. Some hosts make clever use of parallel processing. I have read that GarageBand does this.
You’re surprised on a device that old? That said, no, my Air 2 still has what I consider pretty amazing battery life after being used virtually day every day since I got it ... at least 5 years ago. I’m actually amazed at that.
Your Air 2 battery is either just plain wearing out, or you’ve got other things going on that are causing battery drain ... like even thinking about using Gadget.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Air 2 as a model itself as far as battery usage goes.
To the O.P. - as much as I appreciate my Air 2, I wound’t recommend anyone buy one now. It barely made the cut for iOS 13 support. I’m sure it’s going to get left behind in the next major update, or two at most.
I really really like my 2nd gen iPad Pro 12.9 (2017). It’s still got the headphone jack and the extra memory has been critical, IMO.
An iPad air3 while not really old is a decent mid-range alternative. It also still has a headphone jack.
My 5 year old Air 2 is still pretty perky too. Aside from using Gadget, battery life isn’t really an issue, though it does take a while to charge these days.
It took a hit on previous iOS updates, but 12x seems a sweet spot, so I’m keeping it on this and ignoring the constant nags to update.
Probably the best bit of hardware tech I’ve ever bought, value wise.
I’ve been eyeing up the Air 3, but there’s a refresh due again so I’ll stay on the fence for a while longer.
After all these years I'm still enjoying my iPad Air 2!
It's mostly connected to the wall for power or my Mac for IDAM so the battery life is not really a big issue.
Both the iPad Pro 11" and new iPad Air have sparked my interest but I'll wait a bit longer to see what news iOS14 will bring later on this year. (Sony just bought back the 3.5mm jack to their Xperia line so I do hope Apple brings it back to the iPads or at least adds a bit more I/O and damned that latency cursed BlueTooth it is not a proper solution for realtime audio and never will be).
My next iPad better be able to run 10+ instances of Model D with a few effects without breaking a sweat or starting to stutter
(For now I have to use freeze on the iPad Air 2 after a few instances which kills the flow...).
Must be something wrong with my air 2 because the battery really does drain fast.
:-(
I get around 4-5 hours screen time with normal usage and around 1 1/2 hours during heavier usage.
But yeah, I got my iPad Air 2 the same year it was released which is what 6+ years ago...
Cheers, will benchmark :-)
My air 1 fares similarly, iPhone 6 with 128, still hang in too, though with new apple battery
air1crew
Gave my 2018 model to my younger one so he could use Apple Arcade, Air1 doesn’t go any further than iOS 12 = no Apple Arcade.
That aside, I am feeling the difference and it’s a bit painful. But just going to make the best of it for now (and LOTS of track freezing lol...)
I don’t know how much you know about things to avoid and things to do to best manage battery life. I don’t want to toss out a bunch of suggestions that you already are aware of. I also don’t know if you’re saying this about your Air 2 in comparison to other devices. If you would like help and suggestions about battery life, then I’m sure you will get lots if you ask. Of course, it could just be that your battery has reached its end of life. It does happen. But at least as likely there are other, correctable, causes.
It depends what your going to be using it for.
At the moment im happy with my air 1.
That being said my work flow is creating loops in aum and making a track way.
When a few apps and fx are open then the cpu just maxes out.
Its fine for my needs though.