u/softcaligo

Planning to buy the iPad A16 soon and I’m debating whether to get the 128GB or 256GB version 😭

It’ll mainly be for my final year of university, so except for a huge amount of studying/notes for final oral exams, I probably won’t be doing nearly as many presentations or papers as in previous years.

My usage is honestly pretty basic:

• GoodNotes for notes/studying
• YouTube/Netflix/streaming
• mails/internet browsing
• games (mostly normal-sized ones + Genshin)

I also pay monthly for iCloud storage (photos/videos/files), which is something I almost never see people mention in these storage discussions, even though I feel like it matters?

My current 7th gen iPad has 128GB and I still have around 40GB free, so logically I do feel like 128GB should still be enough for me. But at the same time I’m wondering whether newer iOS/iPadOS versions take up significantly more storage nowadays and if 128GB would start feeling much tighter in the future.

So yeah, I’d love other people’s opinions — what would you personally choose in this situation? Would you still go for 128GB or do you think 256GB is more worth it long-term even for a relatively non-hardcore user?

Thank you! 😄

Hi!

I’m curious what people here consider a “normal” lifespan for an iPad before replacing/upgrading it 😅

I currently have the 7th gen iPad that I bought back in 2020 mainly for uni, and performance-wise it’s honestly still fine for what I use it for — YouTube, movies, GoodNotes, basic uni work, internet browsing and some light games.

The problem is the battery has become absolutely awful. I basically have to keep it plugged in 24/7 now, and if I watch YouTube while charging, the battery can literally still go DOWN 💀

Yesterday it was at 0% and I needed to use it urgently, but it took over 30 minutes just to even turn on. Then once it finally booted up at 1%, it immediately died again because turning on drained the battery back to 0 😭

So now I’ve been considering the iPad A16 since it seems more than enough for my use case, plus it’s basically the only current iPad compatible with my 1st gen Apple Pencil. I really don’t wanna spend money on both a new iPad AND a new Pencil.

I also looked into replacing the battery on my current iPad, but the replacement would cost around 1/4 of what a brand new A16 128GB costs here, so at that point buying a new one almost feels more worth it.

The thing is, I technically could survive my last year of uni with this iPad, it just sucks constantly worrying about battery %, needing it plugged in all the time, waiting forever for it to turn on, etc.

I currently also have 128GB and it’s been enough for me so far, so now I’m debating whether it’s worth paying extra for 256GB or if 128GB is perfectly fine again for this kind of usage.

Idk, I think I just need opinions from people who maybe were in a similar situation or own the A16 😭 Part of me would really love having a device with a battery that actually lasts again, but another part of me is scared I won’t use it enough after graduating to justify buying a new iPad lol