[ChadNauseam]

Apple messed up one thing about the iPad, which made me never use mine and eventually give it away. Basically, my iPad would die in a couple days if left unplugged. Because I only want to use it about once a week, that means I have to leave it plugged in all the time. Of course I or someone else inevitably wants to plug something else into that charger, so the iPad gets unplugged and forgotten about. Then, in a week when I actually want to use it, it's dead, and I use something else. The result was, I literally never used it.

[Retric]

They boot reasonably quickly, just turn it off.

While on they are constantly listening for a “find my” signal so it’s easy to locate. For the overwhelming majority of people it’s a good tradeoff.

[Our_Benefactors]

Not a solution. Something like “shutdown after n hours of inactivity” would fix it though.

[ryandrake]

Or a power button that actually removes power from the device rather than just turning the display off. The "actually shutdown long press + UI" process has --just-- enough friction to make me forget to do it or not bother with it.

[knollimar]

Oh man I want to vent about the Nintendo switch.

"actually shutdown long press + UI" process"

This plus if you plug it in after to charge it it turns back on

[Retric]

I think in theory general case I’d rather be able to find it easily than have more charge when it’s located. You can generally use one while plugged in.

Anyway, the root of their issue is other people unplugging it, which is a bigger issue than just the iPad. Still if you turn it off before pugging it in the iPad would have ~full charge if someone unplugged it. They hold charge for months on store shelves.

[hankbond]

every e reader I have owned does this.

[fudged71]

Latest iPhones have Find My when they are turned off, do iPads?

[Hendrikto]

> Basically, my iPad would die in a couple days if left unplugged.

I still have a first gen (!) iPad that still lasts for weeks on a single charge when locked. It is useless now, because there is no software support, but not because of the battery.

[loloquwowndueo]

> my iPad would die in a couple days if left unplugged.

Something wrong with your iPad then. All three of mine would easily hold a charge for more than 2 days even when turned on but unused (so asleep).

[nottorp]

I think sometimes we should believe a vendor when they say "a small number of users were affected".

I doubt the OP is making stuff up, but all my iPads (including an original model) simply don't show any significant battery loss when left unused.

[vjvjvjvjghv]

Mine loses maybe 20% over 2 weeks if unused.

[Jabrov]

Same

[moffkalast]

I've got the same problem with a Samsung tablet I got. I use it maybe once every two weeks, so naturally I turn it off for the duration... but it somehow manages to empty its battery while completely off?! And it takes like a million years to boot, half of it only after you unlock it for some damn reason, it's such tedium.

[DANmode]

Turn on Battery Save mode, it’ll last a month.

[gunapologist99]

Was yours 3G? The first-gen was offered with 3G (mobile) as an option. I imagine that killed battery life much faster and might not have been tested as well as the wifi-only option.

[paulryanrogers]

Is it even possible for tablets to hold a charge so long and provide near instant wake?

Why didn't you try powering it off when done?

[actionfromafar]

Of course it is possible. From fundamentals alone, it has space for a huge battery. Heck, many cheap laptops can sleep longer than a week and still has some power left.

[graeme]

I'm fairly sure my old ipad did, maybe the ipad air 2. My current ipad pro doesn't seem to work this way. I could be mistaken, perhaps I used or charged it more.

[inigyou]

all of my phones hold a charge for 2-3 weeks in aeroplane mode with no installed apps. Even my 6yo phone with 6yo battery does. A tablet has a much bigger battery but not a proportionally bigger power drain when the screen is off, you might hope for months in aeroplane mode with no installed apps.

[altmanaltman]

I have a very old samsung tablet that i still use from time to time. It never connets to the internet and wifi stays off. It can last easily a week or more on a single charge still. With wifi on, it dies within a few hours

[internet_points]

Same here! I was so annoyed that it didn't come with an auto-powerdown function. Did they really expect people to remember to turn them off "when they plan not to use it for a few days" (I mean who plans not to use something)