****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I’m always a little nervous when purchasing a refurbished product, but I’ve had pretty good luck on Amazon so far. Here’s my experience with my new-to-me iPad to help anyone who may be skeptical or afraid to pull the trigger on this purchase. Here’s what to expect.As for condition? The iPad I received came in very good cosmetic shape, with only a few minor scratches on the screen, but unfortunately there was one very deep scratch that is about half an inch long that I can see even when the display is on. It is pretty easy to get past and only noticeable when you are very close to the screen. The aluminum enclosure is in near perfect condition and looks very close to brand-new. There may be a very tiny nick here and there, but nothing that is easily spotted or a cause of concern. Battery life for me may be slightly degraded from when it was straight out of the box, but iPads have awesome battery life for pretty much any situation, so it still lasts a very long time. And also note that the updated iPad Pros that released in 2018 charge with a USB-C cable. This means a standard Apple lightning connector will not work.I have been through a ton of what this iPad can do and it works beautifully for all I’ve asked from it. The display is phenomenal. 12.9 inches from corner to corner, which is a joy to work on. There’s plenty of room to work, study, and play. Watching movies and shows is also a fantastic experience being all-screen. Even 4 years later in late-2022, this thing is speedy quick and packs plenty of performance for your day-to-day tasks. It doesn’t skip a beat and Apple is still providing software updates for it as well. The camera is also very clear for a tablet and offers great performance for what it is.So far, I’d say this is an incredible deal on such a powerful device that feels like it will have no problem powering into the future for many more years to come.UPDATE: (10 Months Later) AUG 2023 - We are almost at a year now of the ‘refurbed’ iPad Pro and it’s still one heck of a performer with no issues or slow down to speak of. It just got updated to the new iPadOS 14 public beta so it’s still got a ton of life left software-wise. It does so much that even after so long with it, I’m STILL finding more things it does that I never knew it could… I’m still going to ‘daily-drive’ it for as long as it lets me as it has done everything I’ve asked of it and more. Since it is nearly 5 years old though, the battery likely needs to be replaced. I’m still getting great battery life as I only have to charge it maybe once every 2-3 days with mild to moderate use. With heavy use, I still bet you could get over a full day out of it easily. I find it very strange that you can find your battery health on iPhone and Apple Watch, but it’s non-existent on the iPad. At an Apple Store, the 12.9 inch Pro (3rd Gen) requires an estimated $119 service fee for a new battery. That’s a lot, so be prepared if you plan to ride it out for as long as you can.To sum it all up, if I would’ve known I’d have such a positive experience with this iPad being refurbished and all, I wouldn’t have been even the slightest bit nervous to purchase and would no problem do it again. Every experience with a refurbished product will be different. But if you go in with low expectations, you might just end up with a gem that exceeds them in every way possible. Just make sure you’re getting the 90-day Amazon Renewed Guarantee and use it to your hearts content within that period to make sure it’s the one for you!
