5 Signs It’s Time to Upgrade Your iPad

Apple’s iPads have a long shelf life, but they don’t last forever. At some point, it will be time to upgrade and we want to go over a few signs that will let you know when it’s time to do so.

Thanks to their large batteries and processing power, iPads can last for many years. Eventually though, performance will start to degrade.

At that point, you’ll have a decision to make: Stick with a device that’s underperforming or upgrade to a newer iPad.

If you’ve been an iPad user for awhile, you probably know some of these tells, but if you’re not an expert or an enthusiast, we want to highlight the things to look for.

Here are five telltale signs it’s time to upgrade to a new iPad.

Poor Performance

If your iPad’s performance is in rough shape, it’s time to start thinking about an upgrade.

As an iPad ages, and the hardware becomes outdated, cracks start to appear. The operating system may become slow and sluggish. Games might lag. Crashes may occur. And you may experience longer loading times.

While there are manual fixes for performance stability issues, others you may not be able to fix on your own. And there’s never a guarantee updates to apps or Apple’s iPadOS operating system will help.

Upgrading to a newer iPad with a better processor will net you better all-around performance when playing games, watching content, or simply browsing the web.

No Software Support

If your iPad no longer receives software updates, it’s probably time to upgrade.

Once Apple stops supporting an iPad, it means the device won’t get any new features, bug fixes, or security updates. This is a big deal.

While you might be able to live without the latest features and bug fixes, the security aspect is another matter.

Apple is constantly upgrading iPadOS with security patches to help protect your device and the data you store on it from harm. If it’s left unprotected, it leaves it exposed to nefarious actors.

The company supports iPads with software updates for many years. iPadOS 18, the company’s upcoming operating system for iPhone, will come to most iPadOS 17-powered devices. However, we may see some models get left behind.

Bad Battery Life

Your iPad’s battery will degrade over time as you use it and as you charge it. This is natural and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.

If your iPad’s battery is having issues holding a charge, or if it takes forever to charge, it’s probably time to consider an upgrade to a newer model. You can also swap out the old battery for a new one, but this can be costly and time consuming.

Unlike iOS for iPhone, there’s no way to check your batteries health in the Settings app on iPadOS.

Storage Issues

If you’re always running out of internal storage, and you’ve filled up your iCloud storage (or another cloud service) and don’t want to pay more, it might be time to upgrade to an iPad with more storage.

Back in the day, 64GB was enough for most people. That’s not the case anymore. Apps and files take up tons of space and storage can fill up quickly.

If your iPad’s storage is still near the threshold after deleting apps, messages, photos, videos, and other content, consider buying an iPad with a higher capacity. Having more storage available will give you peace of mind down the road.

If you don’t know how much storage you might need, head to our breakdown.

Compatibility Problems

As developers update their apps on the App Store, they may stipulate that an iPad needs to be running a certain operating system. We’ve seen some app developers leave iPadOS 14 and older updates behind.

If your iPad or operating system gets dropped, you won’t get the latest features and bug fixes and in some cases, the app may not work at all.

It’s also worth noting that newer accessories may not be compatible with older iPad models. For instance, the latest Apple Pencil only works with some iPad variants.

If your iPad isn’t compatible with the latest apps and/or accessories, it’s time to think about an upgrade.