Using an iPad for flying: how old is too old?

The iPad is decidedly old now, at least in consumer technology years, which means there is a busy used market for older tablets. An iPad Air 2 or iPad mini 4 from a decade ago can be picked up on eBay for around $60—a great deal, right? Or maybe you can use that old iPad 5th Gen sitting in the kitchen drawer as a cheap way to have a dedicated cockpit tablet?

An iPad is an iPad, right? Wrong.

Not so fast. Most aviation apps have specific requirements that eliminate some older tablets from consideration, so before you buy that used iPad, read on.

When answering the question, “how old is too old for an iPad in the airplane?” you have to consider two related issues: hardware and software. Start with hardware. Older iPads have much less powerful processors and far less memory than the latest generation—the latest iPad Pro with an M4 chip is drastically more powerful than an older 5th or 6th generation iPad, possessing vastly more RAM to handle complex vector charts and synthetic vision.

That leads to the software issue. Every year, Apple releases a new version of its operating system, the base level of software (now called iPadOS). As this gets ever more capable and resource-intensive, older models of iPads simply can’t keep up, so Apple cuts off support at some point. If you have an iPad mini 4 or an iPad 5th Gen, for example, it will continue to work but you cannot update iPadOS beyond version 15 or 16. That’s a problem since most apps have minimum iPadOS levels to run the latest version and get the newest features.

So here’s the domino effect: older iPads don’t have enough computing power -> can’t update to the latest iPadOS -> can’t update to the latest version of aviation apps.

The result is your older tablet will be frozen in amber, able to run older versions of apps but unable to update. And eventually developers may cut off support for those older app versions. Your older iPad isn’t instantly junk, but the clock is ticking.

Here’s the current state of the market:

• The latest version of ForeFlight requires iPadOS 18.0 or later.
• The latest version of Garmin Pilot requires iPadOS 18.0 or later.

As you can see, the minimum varies by app, so consider which one you use when making an iPad decision. Theoretically, a FltPlan Go pilot could get away with an older iPadOS version than a Garmin Pilot or ForeFlight user (although there are definitely tradeoffs to this strategy!). Often the more powerful the app, the newer the OS it requires. Now, it’s a matter of matching your hardware to the software minimums.

Which iPads can run which versions of iPadOS?

• iPadOS 18 or later: iPad Pro 11″ (1st gen or later), iPad Pro 12.9″ (3rd gen or later), iPad Pro M4, iPad Air 3rd gen or later, iPad 7th gen or later, iPad mini 5th gen or later
• Maximum of iPadOS 17: iPad Pro 10.5″, iPad Pro 12.9″ (2nd gen), iPad 6th gen
• Maximum of iPadOS 16: iPad Pro 9.7″, iPad Pro 12.9″ (1st gen), iPad 5th gen
• Maximum of iPadOS 15: iPad Air 2, iPad mini 4
• Maximum of iOS 12: iPad Air 1, iPad mini 2-3

Given all that information, when is it time to upgrade your iPad? We think any model that can run the latest version of iPadOS (top bullet point above – iPadOS 18) and is not the oldest model in that group is a valid option for pilots. For example, if you find a great deal on an iPad Air 4 (which was released in 2020), that’s a reasonable choice for flying—it may not last forever, but it probably has some life left. If you’re still hanging onto an iPad mini 4, an iPad Air 2, or an iPad 5th gen, it’s definitely time to make the upgrade. Also, consider that iPadOS 18 is out, so you might consider that a base level of compatibility if you want more useful life.

Remember that we’re talking about the bare minimum here. For best performance, especially when it comes to features like synthetic vision and animated weather images, you’ll want a newer device with better performance. The iPad mini 6, iPad Air (M2), and iPad Pro (M4) are our top picks. Read this article for more information on choosing the right model.

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John Zimmerman

Coming from an aviation family, John grew up in the back of small airplanes and learned to fly as a teenager. Ever since, he has been hooked on aviation of all kinds and regularly flies a Citabria, a Pilatus PC-12, and a Cirrus SR22. He is a 4000-hour ATP and also holds ratings for multiengine, seaplanes, gliders, and helicopters. He has written for Flying magazine, AOPA Pilot, and Plane & Pilot, and is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Air Facts and the host of the Pilot’s Discretion podcast.

Latest posts by John Zimmerman (see all)

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