In the world of tech this is an ancient tablet from Late 2013, but looks rather modern if you ignore the lack of Touch ID and sit it beside a 9th generation iPad from 2021. And for $20, perhaps is worth a second look as to whether or not it’s useable this day in age.
It’s no secret it won’t run the latest apps since it’s limited to iOS 12.5.7, but you can easily download older versions of apps by first downloading on a newer device, as long as the old iPad is signed into your Apple ID.
Getting Started
I found it as an eBay listing for $20 shipped. I knew I shouldn’t keep adding to the electronics collection – I’m not going out of my way to add more things with space I don’t have, and in fact I’m selling devices I’m not interacting with much while keeping a small tech collection. So if you have a device made any time in the last 6 years that still receives updates, you’re already better off than having one of these.
So then why should anyone spend $20 for one of these, period? For starters, it seems to still do light web browsing okay and with a retina screen to match that. Did somebody say it can still play YouTube videos? It can, miraculously.. but not in the YouTube app anymore.
The old version of the app forces you to go though an endless “update the app” loop that never completes since the current version of the app requires iOS 15, so you’re stuck with using Safari. If you’re not running anything else, it plays the videos as if it’s meant to play them in Safari.
I almost forgot to mention about logging into your Apple ID – but I suppose it was hardly worth mentioning as there aren’t any complexities in the way of signing in, not yet at least on this older device. In the case of even older devices, two factor authentication is done by adding a 6 digit code to the end of the Apple ID password before hitting “sign-in” again. Aside from being unable to download the latest apps, iCloud appears to work as-is.
The basics still work.. mostly
You can still download older versions of Spotify and Chrome and use them effectively unlike YouTube. Chrome gives you a slightly more modern browser of course, and with music streaming still working on here, it gives people a stronger use case for retaining this older device too. Plus, it still has a 3.5 mm headphone jack at the top!
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(Above: iPad Air on iOS 12.5.7)
Camera
While the camera is nothing to write home about in its overall specs, it’s still rather impressive looking for its age. Most tablets of this era didn’t seem to have the kind of camera quality and clarity this iPad Air has from what I recall, the keyboard in the image looks sharper than I’d expect for a 2013 camera sensor.
Battery Life
It’s not the strongest as it’s overwhelmingly likely the original one, and has never been pried open a day in its life. Fortunately a replacement battery can be found on eBay for only $11-13, although these are becoming less and less abundant over time as this is an older device. This screenshot below was the only listing I found on the first page for the iPad Air.
It makes an excellent stationary device all plugged-in, and I can get a few hours of use on a single charge.. but as I’m typing this article and having the iPad sit next to me running only the battery page in settings, I’m watching it go down 30%.. 29%.. 28%.. 27%.. 26%.. over the course of 15 minutes. Regardless, it has a phenomenal standby time but perhaps it’s worth replacing that battery.
Condition
Not all devices hold up equally over time, and surely not all are treated the same either. I feel as though I lucked out in what was purchased, but it seems like alot of older iPads were kept in decent shape over the years. Mine came with sticker residue on the aluminum backing in what seemed to be an enterprise or IT setup of sorts.. and luckily after using some windex it melted right off without damaging the space gray.
Handoff, iMessage, etc; still work
We all know at some point or another, certain features of a device can be depreciated and stop working altogether. iOS 12.5.7 on an original iPad Air can still catch Safari sessions via Handoff from the Mac mini I’m typing this article on, running macOS Sequoia. Messages come through too and iCloud Drive is fully accessible, making it even more usable.
Was it worth it?
It really depends on who you ask.. but if you ask me, I think so. Day in day out people spend $20 at convenience stores for energy drinks and snacks, so why not spend $20 once on a companion device that goes along in addition to all your other devices? It’s not like I’m saying to clutter the house.. this can fit right along in a briefcase with an iPad mini 6 and that older MacBook Pro, and perhaps serve as an extra screen, an extra tool to function with. Especially if you pick one up in nice cosmetic shape that doesn’t look like it was ran over by a steamroller.
It’s not performant relative to today’s devices, but it can somehow do many of the basic things we come to expect our modern devices to do without being drastically slow – and can you blame it? Mine lags but other times seems to function without much indication it’s an older device other than knowing it is one by looking at it. Then again I’m someone who runs the iPad on one app maybe 2-3 apps at a time, always closing the app when done.
Despite not having a newer iOS or security updates, it manages to get on by in Early 2025 with its Dual-core A7 1.4 GHz CPU, 1 GB LPDDR3, 16GB of storage, and a PowerVR G6430 GPU. Fun to play with, not totally down and out in my opinion, can still be used even with its caveats.
