[hadlock]

We're going to buy an iPad for our boat to keep track of systems (they all have bluetooth now, especially the solar power stuff) and gps/navigation/charts ("maps"), plus have a copy of all the manuals in PDF ready to go. Also it interfaces with the onboard navigational sensors via a wifi gateway. It will probably live on the boat for 8-10 years before it's replaced, but since it's expected to have a long lifespan we want one with a new battery. Also also, the newer models are typically IPX-something rated (waterproof/resistant-esque) better than the old models.

Not everyone bought in to the tablet craze in the first few years.

[js2]

None of the iPads have any splash, water, or dust resistance rating. Only iPhone 7 and later, and the Apple Watch have ratings:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207043

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205000

You should definitely put any iPad in a case if you need water resistance.

[yardie]

We had an iPad 2 onboard our boat for almost 2 years. I'd get a waterproof case like a Lifeproof. Sea spray can be especially harsh on electronics.

It was one of the best purchases we made. We use Navionics, not only were the charts cheaper for the iPad than our chartplotter. We could also connect to the boats AIS, charging equipment, navigation, and satellite phone. Easily saved us hundreds of dollars on charts. Each component had an optional screen addition (ie. small screen for the AIS) that easily was the cost of an iPad.

For our next boat we're going to drop chartplotters completely and do all our navigation and planning directly on the iPad. Just one 10" chartplotter could buy 4-5 10" iPads.

[barkingcat]

I don't think an ipad would last 8 years. Some of the existing models will have bulging batteries within 2 years.

Add the water / wet environment, and as a previous poster says - no waterproof/resistant rating.

Put it in a watertight case, and expect to change it within 3 years.

[donarb]

I have an original iPad I got the first day they came out (April 2010). Still works and the battery still charges. Only bad part is the OS is stuck at 5 and Safari crashes on some websites.

[martin_a]

Got one laying around, too. But Safari seems to crash on almost any website these days and there are no updates anymore etc. pp. Wonder what to do with it. Any ideas?

[simlevesque]

My mom uses her iPad 1 since then without any problem.

[Tomte]

My iPad Air 1st gen (that's from six years ago) is still working fine. It got a little sluggish, but iOS 12 made it fast again.

[hadlock]

We're currently using my mother-in-law's unused first gen ipad (wifi only) with no issues but 30 pin charging cables are getting hard to find + not compatible with my wife's phone + there is no GPS in the unit which we would like as a backup. Apparently the 3G fist gen models had GPS but this is not one of them. Also the battery life is horrendous.

[jsjohnst]

I have at least one, if not two (when they have two screen sizes in the same generation, or different base bands back when that could be different), of every generation of iPad and not one of them has a bulging battery.

[ako]

Still using my iPad3 from 2012 daily, mostly to read hackernews...

[arkades]

My in-laws are currently using my hand-me-down iPad 1st gen. I’m still using my 2nd gen.

[java-man]

not to say some software that used to work stops for no (valid) reason (skype).