New ipad Purchase ... Should I wait or get the iPad Air 2?

Before you buy new, do a backup and reset it back to factory specs. Once that's done, do a restore using your backup and see if it works better. I was having issues, had 19 GB of "other" data and resetting it made it work like new.

I always want the newest model available. I think they usually introduce the new products in October. I'm not sure if the time of year varies or not.

If you can hold out, I would wait. But that's me. If you don't get the newest model, the IPad air 2 will be discounted when the new ones come out.

I haven't been watching Apple update news/speculation, so I'm not sure about any reliable rumors as of yet.

My iPad is the 3rd generation, and it's used like a workhorse and still doing well.

Lilysmom, as glb613 mentioned, while perusing your options for a new device you might be able to do a bit of "housekeeping" and find substantial improvement in your iPad.

Please take a look at this article which has helpful tips no matter what iOS version you're using.

How to Fix Bad iOS 8.2 Battery Life

(source: http://www.gottabemobile.com/2015/03/10/how-to-fix-bad-ios-8-2-battery-life/)

Also, try an internet search for iPad battery tips and you'll find plenty of ideas.

hth!

I don't think there will be many new features to the three. The Apple sales associate told me she still uses the ipad 2 and sees no reason to upgrade. I think they release in October. If the new iPad has a USB port, that would prompt me to upgrade to ipad 3, if not, I don't think the enhancements are worth it...with the current models, you do the updates, you can purchase additional memory so the capability of my iPad is fine for my purpose....I guess it depends on what you expect?

On 3/30/2015 stray770 said: I don't think there will be many new features to the three. The Apple sales associate told me she still uses the ipad 2 and sees no reason to upgrade. I think they release in October. If the new iPad has a USB port, that would prompt me to upgrade to ipad 3, if not, I don't think the enhancements are worth it...with the current models, you do the updates, you can purchase additional memory so the capability of my iPad is fine for my purpose....I guess it depends on what you expect?

stray770, Great points. I have friends who still use the original iPad and the iPad 2. There are workarounds for the lack of a dedicated USB slot... really there are pretty good workarounds for most features that might show up in newer devices. I agree, it depends on what we want or are willing to do to make our current devices meet our needs.

If it was me, I'd wait for the new one. You know how Apple is about only allowing you to upgrade the IOS for a couple years. Then you are stuck not being able to use the new apps, like I am with my first gen ipad I preordered from Apple. I thought I wanted a new one but instead I got iphone 6plus and now I never use my ipad.

I use an app called CCleaner for iPhone and iPad. https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6887788

Black Friday last year, Apple gave gift cards with a purchase.

I have an iPad 4 with retina, and just did the restore to factory settings this weekend. I was back up and running (start to finish) in about 15 min. I was having battery issues and some other things. All gone now, just like new. I did back up to,iCloud before I started, but I decided to not restore from iCloud back up. I selected set up as new. I had to set up my email again, and then download all of my apps from the App Store (under purchased). Since everything was saved to the cloud before I did the process, when I downloaded my apps again they were all just as they were - nothing missing, any games were at the same place, etc. my mail is shared across all my stuff (iPhone and Mac) so when I set my mail up on my iPad all of the same mail and folders where all there as before I did the process. All of my books are still there too, again, because I saved to the cloud before I did anything. I decided to set up as new because if there was actually something wrong with the iPad, resetting from iCloud back up (or any backup) would have brought the trouble right back with it. So with downloading all of my things again, and getting it set as I liked it, I was all back to where I was within an hour. I highly suggest you try this to get you through for now. As far as a new iPad - they usually announce their new iPads at the developer conference, which I think is in June. They would go on sale in sept. Not sure what new feature it may be released with...maybe a faster processor, but the iPad air 2 is pretty darn fast. While I think the restore to your current iPad will be exactly what you need without spending any money, if you feel,you must have a new iPad, then I don't see any reason why getting the air 2 now would be much different than waiting for the latest in Sept.

On 3/30/2015 dooBdoo said:

On 3/30/2015 stray770 said: I don't think there will be many new features to the three. The Apple sales associate told me she still uses the ipad 2 and sees no reason to upgrade. I think they release in October. If the new iPad has a USB port, that would prompt me to upgrade to ipad 3, if not, I don't think the enhancements are worth it...with the current models, you do the updates, you can purchase additional memory so the capability of my iPad is fine for my purpose....I guess it depends on what you expect?

stray770, Great points. I have friends who still use the original iPad and the iPad 2. There are workarounds for the lack of a dedicated USB slot... really there are pretty good workarounds for most features that might show up in newer devices. I agree, it depends on what we want or are willing to do to make our current devices meet our needs.

You know the lack of USB port on the iPad has taught me to be creative in how I thought in terms of saving things. You are right, dooBdoo, there are many great workarounds. One thing that is working for me, I am learning to rely on cloud services. I have several different cloud services, all are free usage to a certain limit. I decided that rather than clutter up all the various cloud accounts I have with everything I save, I came up with a plan for which service I use to save what. I keep work things all on one cloud account, personal documents on another cloud account, music on another, books on another, so on and so on. This way none of the cloud accounts are maxed, and if I am looking for something I know which place to look for it based on what exactly it is. What is also so great about cloud accounts is that you can access them from any device. So while this all came about because of no USB on the iPad, I maintain the structure in saving things to the cloud from my Mac amd iPhone, as well as my work PC. What I am enjoying most about all of this is not having to keep track of where my USB device is that has all of my stuff on it, as I move from device to device to do various different things. I've almost (almost) 100% weaned myself from USB, lol. I do however, have 2 external hard drive backups that I keep here with me. Those are USB, but that's about all I do with USB devices anymore.