Refurbished iPad: which generation is still worth buying?

iPadOS 27 arrives in autumn 2026, and this time Apple is cutting a lot deeper than it did a year ago. As MacRumors reports, five models lose support in one go:

• iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation, 2018)

• iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation, 2018)

• iPad Air (3rd generation, 2019)

• iPad (8th generation, 2020)

• iPad mini (5th generation, 2019)

All five still turn up at refurbishers today, often at prices that look genuinely tempting. That is the trap. You pay little, and you get a device that stops receiving new features within weeks, then slowly gets pushed out by apps that raise their minimum OS version.

One step further down sits the iPad 7th generation from 2019. It already lost out with iPadOS 26 back in autumn 2025 and has been stuck on iPadOS 18 since. Security patches still arrive. New features do not. And it keeps showing up in listings anyway, here at 159 euros in "like new" condition:

Apple iPad 2019 (A2197) 32GB gold

Nothing is broken about it. The retailer rates the cosmetic condition as excellent. I still would not buy it, at least not if it needs to last. Roughly 80 euros more buys you a model with years more runway, and honestly that is the cheapest upgrade anywhere in this article.

Apple makes no official promise here. There is no "seven years" pledge like the one some Android makers now print on the box. There is only the track record, and the track record is fairly consistent.

According to Macworld, most iPads receive major iPadOS updates for six to eight years, and some keep getting security-only patches well beyond that. The 2014 iPad Air 2 was still receiving security updates in May 2026, more than eleven years after launch.

So there are two stages, and they feel completely different day to day. In stage one you get new features and apps keep working. In stage two the device freezes in place: still safe, but apps gradually start locking you out because their minimum version has moved past yours.

The practical consequence for a buyer is easy to miss. Count from the model's release year, not from your purchase date. A 2019 device bought today is already seven years old. That clock kept running the whole time it sat in a warehouse.

Apple's own support documentation lists every model still eligible for the current release. Checking it takes about two minutes and saves you from a few hundred euros of regret. Of everything in this guide, that is probably the one step I would call mandatory.

The cheapest iPad line is where bargains cluster. It is also where disappointments cluster, because the generation numbers sit close together and look almost identical in a listing.

Where things stand:

• 7th generation (2019, A10 Fusion): out since iPadOS 26. Security patches only.

• 8th generation (2020, A12): drops out with iPadOS 27 this autumn.

• 9th generation (2021, A13): still supported, solid baseline.

• 10th generation (2022, A14): still supported, USB-C instead of Lightning.

• Current model (A16): still supported, pricier refurbished.

The jump from 8th to 9th generation is tiny in price and enormous in support. If your budget stops around 300 euros, that is the single most useful line in this whole guide.

Here is what that looks like in stock right now: a 2021 iPad with 64GB in "very good" condition for 239 euros.

Apple iPad 2021 Wi-Fi 64GB space grau

For streaming, recipes, school work, a bit of note-taking and the occasional video call, that is plenty. The A13 is not a fast chip any more, but it is fast enough for basically everything most people actually do with a tablet on the sofa. What you do not get is Apple Intelligence. More on that in a moment.

The Air line is refreshingly clear. Every Air with an A14 chip or any M-series chip survives the iPadOS 27 cut. The 3rd generation Air from 2019 does not.

Which gives you a rule you can carry in your head without a table: A14 or better. If the listing does not say, ask. If nobody answers, keep scrolling.

The floor: iPad Air 4 with A14 (2020)

The 4th generation Air is the oldest Air that survives the cut. Flat-edge design, USB-C, Touch ID in the power button. And refurbished it costs noticeably less than anything that came after. Currently 349 euros for the 64GB version in "very good" condition:

Apple iPad Air 2020 WiFi 64GB space grau

Is that a good deal? Depends how long it needs to last. For two or three years, yes, easily. For "this is my tablet until 2032", probably not, because it launched back in 2020 and sits further along its support window than the price suggests.

The sweet spot: iPad Air M2 (2024)

This is where it gets interesting. The M1 to M2 step looks small on paper, but the graphics gain is the big one. Benchmarks from AppleInsider put the Metal score roughly 42% ahead, while the raw CPU gap is a much more modest 12% single-core.

Then came the M3 in 2025 and the M4 in 2026, both at unchanged launch pricing. Which means the M2 keeps sliding down the refurbished price ladder without anything about it getting worse. 559 euros for the 256GB version in "good" condition, currently in stock:

Apple iPad Air 11" Wi-Fi 2024 (M2) 256GB space grau

This is the one I would point most people at if they want more than a sofa tablet. Enough headroom for Split View, Stage Manager and drawing with the Pencil, Apple Intelligence on board, and an update runway that comfortably reaches into the 2030s.

The mini is the smallest line and somehow also the most confusing one. The mini 5 from 2019 drops out with iPadOS 27. The mini 6 from 2021 with its A15 stays supported but cannot run Apple Intelligence. Only the 2024 mini with the A17 Pro manages both.

So if you want a small tablet for a coat pocket, a train seat or reading in bed, and you would rather not revisit the decision in two years, exactly one model ticks every box. 499 euros for 128GB in "very good" condition:

Apple iPad mini 2024 (A17 Pro) Wi-Fi 128GB space grau

Expensive for a small tablet? Yes. The mini has never been the value pick, it is a format pick. Either you specifically want that size, or the base iPad serves you better and saves you around 250 euros.

The Pro line has the widest price spread, which makes it the line where thinking pays off most. Per refurb.me's 2026 analysis, the M2 iPad Pro from 2022 is currently the best balance of price, speed and remaining update life, while the M4 mainly earns its premium through the OLED display rather than raw performance.

That matches what a Back Market price comparison between the two generations shows. The gap in refurbished pricing is large. The gap in everyday use is not.

The newest Pro in stock is an 11-inch 2025 model with the M5 and 256GB at 889 euros, "good" condition:

Apple iPad Pro 11" Wi-Fi 2025 (M5) 256GB space schwarz

People who need this usually already know it. 4K video editing on the move, ProRes, several heavy apps at once, a display where colour accuracy actually matters. Everyone else is mostly buying headroom that never gets used. An iPad Pro that spends three years displaying Safari and Apple Notes is a very expensive notebook.

These get mixed up constantly, and it leads to real mis-purchases. An iPad can keep receiving updates for years and still never show you a single Apple Intelligence feature.

The split works like this:

Still gets iPadOS updates: iPad 9 and 10, iPad mini 6, iPad Air 4 and 5, iPad Pro from 2020 onwards, plus everything newer.

Also runs Apple Intelligence: M-series chips only, plus the iPad mini with the A17 Pro.

The iPad Air 4 with its A14 is the perfect illustration of the gap. It survives the iPadOS 27 cut and will never see the AI features. If you do not care about those, that is a non-problem and you save real money. If you do care, filter by chip from the start instead of by price.

Listings vary wildly in how well they are labelled. Some say "iPad Air (4th generation, 2020, A14)". Others just say "iPad Air". For the second kind, there are a few ways to close the gap.

1. Find the model number in the title or the spec sheet. It starts with an A followed by four digits, for example A2197. Search that number and the generation is settled in seconds.
2. Look for the chip name. A14, M1, M2, A17 Pro. A chip name is far less ambiguous than any marketing label.
3. Ask the retailer. Decent refurbishers answer this. If nobody does, that is an answer too.
4. Check the device itself, if you already have one in hand: Settings, General, About. Model name and model number both live there.

If a listing shows neither generation nor chip and the seller stays quiet, move on. Plenty of listings include both.

"Cheap automatically means a good deal." It does not. A 159-euro iPad that stops getting feature updates this autumn costs you more over three years than a 239-euro one that keeps running. Price per year of use is the number that matters, not the number on the label.

"The newest chip is worth the premium." For browsing, streaming, note-taking and light multitasking, the difference between an M2 and an M5 is barely noticeable in daily use. The premium goes into display technology, efficiency and specialist workloads like heavy video editing. If none of that applies to you, you are paying for a number on a spec sheet.

There is a third one that gets mentioned less often. The four iPad lines number their generations independently. An "iPad Air 3" and an "iPad 3" have nothing to do with each other, and since 2022 the Air and Pro carry chip names on top. So a line name with no year and no chip is almost worthless as information.

Under 250 euros: the iPad 9th generation. Up to 400: the iPad Air 4 with the A14, assuming Apple Intelligence means nothing to you. Up to 600: the iPad Air M2, and for most people that is where I would stop looking. Above that it becomes a question of whether you genuinely need a Pro, and that one is best answered honestly.

If you want to go deeper, our full refurbished iPad buying guide covers marketplaces, warranty and return rights, and the iPad versus Samsung versus Lenovo comparison asks whether it needs to be an iPad at all.

And if you remember one thing from all of this: A14 or better. The rest is budget.