To buy DS a refurbished iPad for Christmas

[thealbatross]

I really don't know very much about iPads, but DS would like one and would certainly make good use of it. But they seem quite expensive and I'm really trying to get my savings and flat in order this year. Doesn't help that his birthday is in December!

Is it worth buying a refurbished one? Any positive/negative experiences of that? Or am I better just to bite the bullet and buy new? Refurbished or not, which ones are fairly up to date, and how much memory is needed? He'll only really use it for games, YouTube, and internet, and I'll use it too.

Thanks!

Have a look at the iPad mini. It's not as small as you think and makes it much more portable. We got one (a mini - and not the fancy retina version) Tesco on Black Friday last year for £179. That was £50 off. They are very rarely discounted anywhere so if you can hang on till then that's the time to buy for sure.

We have numerous refurb iPads, iPhones and MacBook Air and Pros in this house, bought direct from Apple and from eBay sellers over the last 10 years and have never had a problem.

Christmas???! It's July!

If direct from Apple I would go refurbished, definitely. They're pristine, packaged nicely and have the same warranty as new (and you can also get apple care). I've bought numerous things that way. If you want a specific model and it's not in stock you can use refurb.me and they'll email you when the model is in stock.

Can't tell any difference between the stuff I've bought new and the refurbished ones. If anything, there's less chance of getting a lemon as someone's checked them all.

You can get refurbished ones from the Apple Store too. With guarantee and refurbished by Apple so may cost a bit more. Comes in all the apple packaging like new though.

If you go to apple you can get great refurbs with warranty etc. I wouldn't recommend a kindle, we got one for DS a few years ago and it's not a patch on iPads. The screen quality isn't as good, not as many games or apps available and the internet is slower. I do love my paperwhite for reading though.

Look out Asda reducing theirs nearer to Christmas. I got an ipad mini 4 16 gb for £189 in October when Asda were clearing them out cheap. They also had the ipad airs for £209. I'm sure they did this the previous year too. Keep an eye out on Hotukdeals nearer the time.

Kindle fires are excellent for apps, internet etc. However, the camera isn't great and my dd gets frustrated with it as she enjoys creating and editing videos.

Thanks for all the hints and tips! Looks like I shouldn't dismiss a refurb straight away then. I'll have a look next time I'm in Tesco just back from there and compare the size of the mini with the normal one too. They seem to do deals on Groupon for them too, but my instinct tells me not to go through them.

It's still July!!!

Yes Childish. Thanks, but I'm already aware.

I got my iPad Pro second hand, and my iPhone 6s, no problems whatsoever, I would never pay full price for one. Refurbished ones often come with a warranty too so I don't see the problem. Just get a very robust case and an extra glass screen protector if it is for sole use of your DS.

I would never pay the price of an I pad tbh, not even a refurbished one.

We got the dc's Tesco Hudl tablets which were about £80 new, thinking they'd do for a year or so. 4 years later and they're both still going strong...they have tons of apps downloaded, charge lasts ages and the connection to WIFI is super fast so films and YouTube etc stream seamlessly.

It made me realise just how high the quality of lots of tablets are nowadays, even the cheap ones.

I've had refurbished laptops, phones and an iPad for me, dh, and the dcs. Never had any issue. Some companies will offer you warranties, and if you're ok with a few scratches/minor cosmetic damage then it's a lot cheaper. My ds got a refurb iPod and it looked brand new. Same with my laptop and dd's refurb iPad. One phone had one teeny scratch on the back, but that doesn't bother me. The screens have always been impeccable

Ipad minis are actually a really good size. I've been using one for years.

If you're going to share it, though, you might better off with a good android tablet, as you can set up separate user accounts on those but not on iPads.

You'd also want to make sure you don't get the cheapest iPads with the least memory because iOs will eat into most of it.

We got DD a refurbished mini ipad2 for her birthday last month direct from Apple. It is brilliant, you wouldn't know the difference except in price. It came boxed up from Apple and has a warranty. The iPad is fab and we've had no problems so far. I'd highly recommend doing it.

I wouldn't get a kindle fire if he wants an iPad! They are quite different...

Btw, I have had my iPad for six years and it's still going strong!

Before you buy check out the article on the impending IOS 11 update. It I see not going to support a lot of models so probably worthwhile taking this into consideration

I have a refurbished (Apple own) IPAD Air 2 and I have had fewer problems with it than my previous IPad mini. It comes with the same warranty as a new one so why not? I love mine. Plus it is put in a new case so he won't know the difference.

I did explain to him what a refurbished one is and he didn't care, so he knows that it might not be in an original box, etc. Definitely think I'll go down the refurb route. These comments have been really helpful! I thought I'd hear all kinds of horror stories, and hassle with warranties, etc.

I know from extensive experience of apple products that lack of battery life is a nightmare.

I got the DCs brand new older gen iPads from Argos with a £20 off each voucher for £130! Biggest bargains ever!

Here is the link you need to read. Anything older than a 5th generation iPad will not be supported come August likewise older than an iPhone 5s
www.macrumors.com/2017/06/06/ios-11-compatible-iphone-ipad-ipod-models/

Official Apple returns come with a new battery, new casing, all the accessories, a new 'proper' box and 12 months warranty, exactly the same as a new one. You have to see how much the savings are and decide if it's worth it. I'm currently eyeing up a 12' iPad Pro and it's a good bit cheaper than new. Alas eyeing up is all I'm doing at the moment!