If you’re hunting for a cheap tablet right now, the Apple iPad 5th gen is staring you right in the face. It’s usually priced somewhere between $70 and $90 on sites like Swappa or eBay. It looks like a modern iPad. It feels like a modern iPad.
But honestly? It’s a bit of a trap.
I see people buying these for their kids or for "light browsing" thinking it’s a steal. On paper, a 9.7-inch Retina display for the price of a fancy dinner sounds unbeatable. But we’re in 2026 now. The tech landscape has moved on, and this specific model—the one Apple internally called the "iPad 5"—is showing its age in ways that might actually ruin your week.
Why the Apple iPad 5th gen is basically "Vintage" now
Apple officially moved this device to the "vintage" list a while ago. That's not just a fancy word for old. It means something specific for your daily use.
The biggest issue is the software wall. The Apple iPad 5th gen is capped at iPadOS 16. While the world is moving onto iPadOS 26 and enjoying all the new Apple Intelligence features and refined multitasking, this 2017 tablet is stuck in the past.
You’ve probably noticed that apps are getting heavier. Netflix, YouTube, and even basic browsers like Chrome require more "oomph" than they used to. Because this iPad only has 2GB of RAM and an A9 chip (the same one from the iPhone 6s, for context), it spends a lot of time "thinking."
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You tap an app. You wait. You see a splash screen. It eventually opens, but that snappy "Apple feel" is long gone.
The screen isn't what you think it is
Here is a weird fact: the screen on the 5th generation iPad is actually "worse" than the screen on the iPad Air 2 that came out three years before it.
Apple wanted to make the 5th gen affordable, so they cut a major corner. They used a non-laminated display.
On a modern iPad, the glass and the LCD are glued together. On the 5th gen, there’s a tiny air gap between them. It makes the screen look slightly recessed, and when you tap it, it sounds hollow. Like tapping on a plastic Tupperware lid. Also, there’s no anti-reflective coating. If you’re trying to use this in a bright room or near a window, you’re basically looking at a mirror of your own face instead of your movie.
What it can still actually do
I’m not saying you should throw it in the trash if you already own one. It’s a tank.
For real. The build quality is classic Apple aluminum. It doesn't bend easily, and the battery—if it’s been taken care of—is surprisingly resilient.
- E-books and PDFs: It's still a fantastic Kindle replacement. The 264 ppi resolution is sharp enough for crisp text.
- Recipe station: Magnet it to your fridge. It’s great for looking at NYT Cooking or watching a quick tutorial while you chop onions.
- Dedicated Music Hub: Plug it into some old speakers via the 3.5mm headphone jack (yes, it still has one!) and use it as a Spotify station.
- Kids' Videos: It’ll play YouTube Kids just fine, though don't expect it to run high-end games like Genshin Impact or even Roblox without some serious stuttering.
The A9 chip was a beast in its day, but it’s a dual-core processor trying to survive in a multi-core world. It struggles with modern web scripts. If you open a heavy site like CNN or a complex Google Sheet, the fan-less body will get warm, and the browser might just refresh out of nowhere because it ran out of memory.
The 2026 "Value" Problem
Buying an Apple iPad 5th gen today is kinda like buying a 2010 car with 200,000 miles on it. Sure, it runs, but for how long?
Most developers are starting to drop support for iPadOS 16. That means eventually, your favorite banking app or streaming service will say "This app requires iPadOS 18 or later," and you'll be stuck.
If you have $90, you're halfway to an iPad 9th gen or even an 8th gen. The 8th gen has the A12 Bionic chip. That’s a massive jump. It’s like going from a bicycle to a motorcycle. The 8th gen still supports the latest security updates and feels significantly smoother.
Honestly, the price difference is usually just $40 or $50. That’s the cost of a few pizzas to get a device that will last you three more years instead of six more months.
Real-world Specs (No Fluff)
- Launched: March 2017
- Processor: A9 with M9 coprocessor
- RAM: 2GB LPDDR3
- Storage: 32GB or 128GB (Avoid the 32GB model; the OS takes up almost half of it now)
- Biometrics: Touch ID (First gen, so it's a bit slower)
- Camera: 8MP back, 1.2MP front (The front camera is... not great for 2026 Zoom calls)
How to keep yours alive
If you’re stuck with one, there are ways to make it suck less.
First, turn off "Background App Refresh" in your settings. It stops apps from eating your 2GB of RAM while you aren't using them. Second, keep your storage at least 20% empty. When these old SSDs get full, they slow down to a crawl.
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Also, don't even bother with the Apple Pencil. The Apple iPad 5th gen doesn't support it. You’d need one of those "dumb" rubber-tipped styluses that basically just mimic your finger.
It’s a legacy device. It’s part of the history of how Apple brought the iPad price down to $329 for the masses. But in 2026, it’s a ghost of a tablet.
If you are looking for a gift or a primary device, look toward the models with "A12" chips or better. Your sanity (and your apps) will thank you.
Next Steps for Owners:
Check your battery health immediately. Since Apple doesn't give you a "Battery Health" percentage in Settings for iPads like they do for iPhones, you’ll need to plug it into a Mac or PC and use a tool like iMazing or CoconutBattery. If your "Design Capacity" is below 80%, the tablet will likely throttle the CPU, making it feel even slower than it already is. If it's shot, don't pay for a repair—it's time to trade it in while it still has a $30-$50 value.