Also, the iPad 1 feels oddly lighter than the iPad 3. I expected something heavier and a bit more cumbersome than my third-generation iPad instead, the chunkier design of the iPad’s chassis makes for a steadier, stronger grip when you hold it. When I took the iPad 1 out of the padded envelope and bubble wrap in which it came (from California to Spain in two days - this iPad is fast), and held it in my hands, I was immediately surprised by how well it handled. It came in 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB storage capacities. The only iPad that’s heavier than the iPad 1 is the 12.9″ iPad Pro, which weighs 713 grams (Wi-Fi only model) and 723 grams (Wi-Fi & cellular), and both variants are still lighter than the cellular version of the iPad 1. For comparison, the current 6th-generation iPad weighs 469 grams. The cellular version is even heavier: 730 grams. It is the heaviest of the 9.7″ iPads: it weighs 680 grams.

The iPad 1 was announced at the end of January 2010 and discontinued in March 2011.I try to give a purpose to (almost) every device I own, and this iPad 1 was no different.Ī quick refresher before I proceed, so that you can have an idea of my starting point. As I often say, I don’t like collecting stuff just to put it on a shelf and show to friends and acquaintances. I was excited and really looking forward to exploring this eight-year-old model I wanted to see whether I could get some use out of it. Well, my excellent mate David was so kind and generous as to send me an iPad 1 about ten days ago. It has no cameras, not on the front, not on the back. It’s thicker, with a slightly curved aluminium back. I was also intrigued by the hardware design: like the first iPhone, the first iPad is different from all the models that came after. I already had a third-generation iPod touch running iOS 5.1.1, but I wanted to see it on a bigger screen, and the iPad 1 can’t go past iOS 5.1.1. I’m still doing research for a little project on iOS’s user interface, so I’m looking for iOS devices where I can see past versions of iOS directly in action. In the case of the first-generation iPad (which I’ll henceforth refer to as “iPad 1”), my interest came mainly from a UI investigation perspective. Little by little, there’s this urge to take a closer look at such devices: Let’s see how useless they really are.

When certain devices start being called ‘vintage’ or just plain ‘obsolete’ and ‘useless’, something clicks inside me. Spoiler: I’ve been having more fun than expected.

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