All iPads The first iPads

[OldRhodie]

I remember all the way back to the very first iPad. April 2010. I had it delivered to my work address. My office looked out onto our car park. Mid-morning a plain white Transit van pulled up outside my window, so I took a chance and met the driver at the back door. Confirmed who I was and the driver said, “You’re a lucky man. My van is absolutely full with these boxes” and handed me my first iPad.

The market wasn’t convinced about the need for this device, described by Steve Jobs as “Magical”. I bought the wireless only model, as advised by the various journalists who’d briefly tested it - they didn’t know if it would sell in any volume. (In fact it was, and still is, Magical).

I set it all up and showed my wife who immediately wanted it. I gave her my iPad and first thing the next morning I queued at Dixons and managed to buy one of just a handful of the iPads that they had. It was the cellular version.

As the saying goes, the rest is history. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve upgraded but still have that first iPad tucked away. I’m now waiting for my iPad Pro 11” M4 (cellular, space black) to be delivered. My Apple order tells me it will be delivered tomorrow but DHL tell me I’ll get it on Thursday. I’ll be disappointed if it doesn’t come tomorrow but, hey, worse things happen at sea.

 

[JSRinUK]

I still have my original iPad. I bought it some time after release from Apple as a refurb. A few months later it no longer received iOS updates. That didn’t leave me with a good feeling.

Because of that experience, it wasn’t until some years later that I ventured into Apple’s world again - with the iPad mini 2.

And not until some years later when I got the iPad mini 5 when I started to embrace the world according to Apple.

Today, that mini 5 is likely to be replaced by a refurb iPad Pro M1 (11-inch) that has just been delivered, but I still have that original iPad (and it still works).

 

[DougFNJ]

Great post! I was thinking the other day of that very first iPad. It was right before Easter, I was going to drive out my mother’s for the holiday, and I had picked it up before I left. The biggest criticism was that it was just a giant iPhone and it wasn’t needed.
I remember subscribing to the Daily which was supposed to be a news media resource. I’ve also upgraded just about every iPad. I used a Mini for a couple years, and I think the only generation I skipped was the M2.

Tomorrow I’ll be picking up the 11” 2 TB Space Black along with the pencil, keyboard, and portfolio. I didn’t see nanotexture available through July, but tomorrow morning I’m going to see if it’s available, and consider changing my order.

 

[Digitalguy]

I'll be much less nice to the original iPad. I touched the first one in 2010 and my immediate reaction was this thing is heavy as a brick. And it was an extremely underspecced device with so little RAM that it only got 2 years of software updates. The iPad 2 was a big jump and I got one used for $40 a few years ago. The 3 and 4 were heavier than the 2. But the first iPad I bought was the air, only then in my opinion it started making sense...
The original iPad has been useless for many years, while the air that only came 3 years later is still usable.

 

[FeliApple]

I'll be much less nice to the original iPad. I touched the first one in 2010 and my immediate reaction was this thing is heavy as a brick. And it was an extremely underspecced device with so little RAM that it only got 2 years of software updates. The iPad 2 was a big jump and I got one used for $40 a few years ago. The 3 and 4 were heavier than the 2. But the first iPad I bought was the air, only then in my opinion it started making sense...
The original iPad has been useless for many years, while the air that only came 3 years later is still usable.

I'm going to agree here. The device is severely underspecced, and, consequently, support (especially compared to the iPad 2) suffered.

I am going to disagree on the initial iPad that made sense. The iPad 2 lacked retina, but it was amazing on iOS 4, 5, and 6.

The iPad 4 on iOS 6 was ridiculously powerful, its efficiency and smoothness perhaps only compares to the A12 Bionic on iOS 12.

The iPad Air 1 lacked RAM. I'd pick the iPad 2 as the initial good proposition, and I'll skip one intermittently: in hindsight (obviously), I'd recommend the iPad 2, then upgrade to the iPad 4 (keep it on iOS 6, one of the best iOS experiences ever), and then upgrade to the iPad Air 2 (the tri-core A8X was ridiculous on iOS 8, 9, and 10!).

 

[Digitalguy]

I'm going to agree here. The device is severely underspecced, and, consequently, support (especially compared to the iPad 2) suffered.

I am going to disagree on the initial iPad that made sense. The iPad 2 lacked retina, but it was amazing on iOS 4, 5, and 6.

The iPad 4 on iOS 6 was ridiculously powerful, its efficiency and smoothness perhaps only compares to the A12 Bionic on iOS 12.

The iPad Air 1 lacked RAM. I'd pick the iPad 2 as the initial good proposition, and I'll skip one intermittently: in hindsight (obviously), I'd recommend the iPad 2, then upgrade to the iPad 4 (keep it on iOS 6, one of the best iOS experiences ever), and then upgrade to the iPad Air 2 (the tri-core A8X was ridiculous on iOS 8, 9, and 10!).

well in hindsight I do agree with everything you said.
Problem is back then it was hard to know...
So without using the device I only based my feel in the hand, and I almost bought the 2, as it was lighter and got it later used just to have it in my collection.
But iOS 9 destroyed it (got it on 9 already)
It was hard to predict RAM. On iOS 7 it was fine.
I had the air 1 and 2 and honestly I'd skip both and go directly to the 9.7 pro, was 1000 times better than the air 2 (I had both before selling the air 2)

 

[rui no onna]

well in hindsight I do agree with everything you said.
Problem is back then it was hard to know...
So without using the device I only based my feel in the hand, and I almost bought the 2, as it was lighter and got it later used just to have it in my collection.
But iOS 9 destroyed it (got it on 9 already)
It was hard to predict RAM. On iOS 7 it was fine.
I had the air 1 and 2 and honestly I'd skip both and go directly to the 9.7 pro, was 1000 times better than the air 2 (I had both before selling the air 2)

If I had known about the release schedule ahead of time, I actually would have gotten a 128GB LTE Air, maybe the 128GB LTE Air 2 and definitely 256GB LTE Pro 9.7.

I got the 16GB LTE Air in 2013 as a placeholder intending on buying a 256GB LTE Mini 3 with A8/2GB in 2014. Unfortunately, the Mini 3 ended up being a Mini 2 redux with better display.

If I knew there would be an almost 3-year gap between OG Air and a 256GB iPad, I would've gotten the 128GB instead of 16GB Air or upgraded earlier to the 128GB Air 2. The 1GB RAM on the Air was annoying but what was truly frustrating was the 16GB storage. I barely had any apps installed and I was still constantly deleting stuff from it just so I can update apps never mind OTA firmware updates.

 

[Yourbigpalal83]

The first Ipad was the first apple product i got at launched and i adored it. It truly felt like it was something straight out of Star Trek! I think i got the baseline model as i could barely afford that, but before that my first Ipod was the iPod Classic with video in black i think, then an iPod touch as i couldent afford an iPhone and it wasnt on Verizon at the time, and then the iPhone 3G or 3Gs if i recall correctly, then a Macbook pro 13 inch.

I loved all of those devices but the Ipad blew everything out of the water and i recall thinking the only thing this thing needed to be perfect was a camera and a pencil.

Now i feel tomarrow i'll finally have my Perfect Dream Ipad with OLED! (Perfect until the next one obviously lol)

 

[Digitalguy]

If I had known about the release schedule ahead of time, I actually would have gotten a 128GB LTE Air, maybe the 128GB LTE Air 2 and definitely 256GB LTE Pro 9.7.

I got the 16GB LTE Air in 2013 as a placeholder intending on buying a 256GB LTE Mini 3 with A8/2GB in 2014. Unfortunately, the Mini 3 ended up being a Mini 2 redux with better display.

If I knew there would be an almost 3-year gap between OG Air and a 256GB iPad, I would've gotten the 128GB instead of 16GB Air or upgraded earlier to the 128GB Air 2. The 1GB RAM on the Air was annoying but what was truly frustrating was the 16GB storage. I barely had any apps installed and I was still constantly deleting stuff from it just so I can update apps never mind OTA firmware updates.

I also got the 16GB air and I agree the 16GB was more annoying than the 1GB RAM, especially on iOS 7 (I left mine on 7 for several years and only updated it to 10 before selling it). I got the wifi and for the air 2 I got the 4G but made the same mistake of getting 16GB, and I also got the 16GB mini 2 wifi, which I use to this day for 32bits apps.
If I could go back I would only get the mini 2 (no air at all) with more storage and maybe 4G and wait until the 9.7 pro, which I would get just like I did, with 128GB and 4GB (back then 128 was enough). Before that however I got the 12.9 in 2015 and it was 128 and wifi, and I would do that again, it lasted me 6 years.

So basically if I could go back it would be mini 2 with better specs, same 12.9, same 9.7, skip the 10.5, go directly to the 1TB 2018 11" and the mini 5 4G and then get the M1 12.9 5G
Of the iPads I got I would skip the air 1 and 2, mini 4, 10.5 and the 12.9 2018 (the 2015 would have covered my needs until the M1)

 

[rui no onna]

I also got the 16GB air and I agree the 16GB was more annoying than the 1GB RAM, especially on iOS 7 (I left mine on 7 for several years and only updated it to 10 before selling it). I got the wifi and for the air 2 I got the 4G but made the same mistake of getting 16GB, and I also got the 16GB mini 2 wifi, which I use to this day for 32bits apps.
If I could go back I would only get the mini 2 (no air at all) with more storage and maybe 4G and wait until the 9.7 pro, which I would get just like I did, with 128GB and 4GB (back then 128 was enough). Before that however I got the 12.9 in 2015 and it was 128 and wifi, and I would do that again, it lasted me 6 years.

So basically if I could go back it would be mini 2 with better specs, same 12.9, same 9.7, skip the 10.5, go directly to the 1TB 2018 11" and the mini 5 4G and then get the M1 12.9 5G
Of the iPads I got I would skip the air 1 and 2, mini 4, 10.5 and the 12.9 2018 (the 2015 would have covered my needs until the M1)

I’d much rather have the mini 2 over Air as well but I needed an iPad with universal LTE for a trip and couldn’t take a gamble on shipping times or local availability.

 

[klasma]

I'll be much less nice to the original iPad. I touched the first one in 2010 and my immediate reaction was this thing is heavy as a brick. And it was an extremely underspecced device with so little RAM that it only got 2 years of software updates. The iPad 2 was a big jump and I got one used for $40 a few years ago. The 3 and 4 were heavier than the 2. But the first iPad I bought was the air, only then in my opinion it started making sense...
The original iPad has been useless for many years, while the air that only came 3 years later is still usable.

My father used the first iPad for almost ten years. It was only when websites started to not fit into Safari’s RAM allocation anymore that I had to get him a new one.

 

[Rafterman]

The evolution of iPad:

2010: "eh, it's just s big iPhone, not interested"

2024: "My new iPad Pro M4 is on the way, can't wait!"

 

[Analog Kid]

I remember all the way back to the very first iPad. April 2010. I had it delivered to my work address. My office looked out onto our car park. Mid-morning a plain white Transit van pulled up outside my window, so I took a chance and met the driver at the back door. Confirmed who I was and the driver said, “You’re a lucky man. My van is absolutely full with these boxes” and handed me my first iPad.

The market wasn’t convinced about the need for this device, described by Steve Jobs as “Magical”. I bought the wireless only model, as advised by the various journalists who’d briefly tested it - they didn’t know if it would sell in any volume. (In fact it was, and still is, Magical).

I set it all up and showed my wife who immediately wanted it. I gave her my iPad and first thing the next morning I queued at Dixons and managed to buy one of just a handful of the iPads that they had. It was the cellular version.

As the saying goes, the rest is history. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve upgraded but still have that first iPad tucked away. I’m now waiting for my iPad Pro 11” M4 (cellular, space black) to be delivered. My Apple order tells me it will be delivered tomorrow but DHL tell me I’ll get it on Thursday. I’ll be disappointed if it doesn’t come tomorrow but, hey, worse things happen at sea.

Yeah, I've been on the treadmill since the beginning too. If you asked how often I'd expect to upgrade my iPad, I'd say "rarely". But in reality I think it's the device I replace most often. I think it's because interaction with it is so visceral-- every improvement is noticed.

I thought the M1 was going to be the end of that. Then they did the one thing I didn't think they could do: made the 13" even lighter.

But now it's perfect. I'll never need another one...

 

[Channan]

I watched the original iPad announcement and thought it was a stupid product. I was one of those “it’s just a big iPod touch” people. I paid no mind to it.

I just so happened to go to Best Buy the day it released. I was looking for something else; they didn’t have it. Felt like I wasted a trip and didn’t want to immediately walk back out, so I walked around the store. I saw the iPad on display in the Apple section and remembered it came out that day, so I went and checked it out.

Immediately I knew I had to get one. It didn’t matter that it was a big iPod touch. Having such a large responsive touchscreen felt unreal. I bought one and brought it home and it was such a cool experience just browsing the web on a device like this. From that point on I was an iPad fan and have been using the iPad as my primary at-home device.

 

[Bungleaio]

I bought one of the 1st iPads on eBay in the uk which had been imported by someone from America, it was a couple of weeks before the UK launch. I don't know how much it was but it was expensive. I used it for years until websites wouldn't load and it kept crashing, I replaced it with an Air just after the Air 2 was launched.

 

[Digitalguy]

My father used the first iPad for almost ten years. It was only when websites started to not fit into Safari’s RAM allocation anymore that I had to get him a new one.

Must have been an exercise in patience, but I suppose older people are much more patient than younger ones

 

[Diorama]

I grew up with Macs, starting with the SE my dad got when I was four, all the way up to an eMac (with 1Gb of RAM ), but by then I had a gaming PC too, and when I went to Uni in 2005 I lost touch with Apple for the most part (I had an iPod of course. Didn’t everyone?).

Five years later I was working in Tokyo, and watched the keynote live at some ungodly hour. Steve did what Steve did best, and I knew I had to have one. It was £429 back home in the UK, but it was 50,000円 in Japan, which worked out more like £300.
I didn’t have an iPhone or iPod touch, so this was my first multi-touch experience. Anyway, I’ve lost my train of thought. Magical days though, taking it on the subway that first few weeks would draw a crowd.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

I still have an original iPad in one of my bedroom drawers. My uncle gave it to me maybe 10 years ago when his carrier gave him some android tablet.

Back then, my phone still had a sliding keyboard. The only thing I was seriously using for entertainment was an iPod Touch 2G. I thought that big, heavy slab of metal was fantastic.

 

[rui no onna]

My father used the first iPad for almost ten years. It was only when websites started to not fit into Safari’s RAM allocation anymore that I had to get him a new one.

Even my dad couldn’t stand using the iPad 3. I eventually replaced that with an iPad 5th gen which he still uses to this day.

 

[rui no onna]

I watched the original iPad announcement and thought it was a stupid product. I was one of those “it’s just a big iPod touch” people. I paid no mind to it.

Honestly, when it was released, I was surprised by the relatively low $500 price. I had a $1500 Windows convertible that I was using to read manga and it was hot, heavy and had around a 3 hour battery life. The iPad seemed like a much nicer alternative to what I had.

Having had the OG iPhone and getting a retina display iPhone 4 later that year though, I decided to wait until retina comes to the iPad before buying.

I couldn’t keep that promise and caved when the iPad 2 was released. Viz was running a $1 sale on digital manga and their app was iPad exclusive at the time. Then I discovered ComicGlass and learned I could sideload manga to the iPad. I still preferred the retina iPhone 4 for ebook reading, web browsing, etc. but the iPad 2 was great for comics/manga (its sole purpose).

 

[Lobwedgephil]

The original iPad was my first and last non cellular iPad. Loved it so much, cellular became a must for me.

 

[spinstorm]

I bought my first iPad from someone who has been on holiday in the U.S. when it launched. As it was realised weeks later in the U.K.

He met me in a car park behind the airport, pretty dodgy but it was amazing. But WiFi only so like others here every iPad since has been cellular. I’m slightly unsure how to move my service from the SIM to eSIM here in the U.K. on the new iPad. I think they should have kept the sim slot. I will find out tomorrow if it is possible or not.

 

[Digitalguy]

Honestly, when it was released, I was surprised by the relatively low $500 price. I had a $1500 Windows convertible that I was using to read manga and it was hot, heavy and had around a 3 hour battery life. The iPad seemed like a much nicer alternative to what I had.

Having had the OG iPhone and getting a retina display iPhone 4 later that year though, I decided to wait until retina comes to the iPad before buying.

I couldn’t keep that promise and caved when the iPad 2 was released. Viz was running a $1 sale on digital manga and their app was iPad exclusive at the time. Then I discovered ComicGlass and learned I could sideload manga to the iPad. I still preferred the retina iPhone 4 for ebook reading, web browsing, etc. but the iPad 2 was great for comics/manga (its sole purpose).

Honestly if I went back in time and couldn't wait until the mini 2, I would pick an iPad 2 and skip the 3 and 4, I would pick the lighter weight over the retina display and the 4 was too close to the much ligher air 1 or retina mini 2. Of course knowing how things went I would leave it on iOS 6...

 

[TVreporter]

I have the original iPad mini - tried it out yesterday and while it’s sluggish it still works well (iOS 9). Only wish my entire iCloud Photos would download onto it so I could use it as a photo frame. Seems to have hit its storage limit.

 

[dawnrazor]

I was very sniffy about the iPad when it was released… didn’t see the point, after all I had a 15” MBP and an iPhone… why did I need another device…

I’m not exactly sure what changed my mind, but the first iPad I got was the original design, but not first gen… and I took a chance on it by using Airmiles to pay for it… you know so if it was **** I didn’t waste actual money…

Well that was many iPads ago, I’ve had a few, different sizes… had a mini for a bit and that was great for a few things but for everything else I needed to use my laptop… eventually I got the 12.9” iPP and I did think it might be too much but after many years of hard use it has been awesome…

Here’s the thing… I still have an 13” intel MBP because there are always things that crop up every once in a while that I just can’t manage to do on the iPad… and I find that annoying if I’m honest…