Apple iPad Air Apple iPad Air 2, 64 GB, Gold, (Renewed) Review
The renewed iPad Air 2 costs just $109, but it's a decade old. We dug into the specs and benchmarks to see if this cheap iPad is a hidden gem or a slow, outdated trap for buyers.
The 30-Second Version
It's a ten-year-old iPad for a hundred bucks. The screen is nice, but 1GB of RAM makes it a slug. Only buy if you want a fancy digital photo frame.
Overview
Look, this is a ten-year-old tablet. That's the one thing you need to know. But for just over a hundred bucks, the renewed iPad Air 2 is still a shockingly competent screen for watching videos, reading, and light browsing. It's not fast, and it won't run the latest apps, but if your needs are simple, it's a cheap ticket into the Apple ecosystem. Just don't expect it to be anything more than a digital photo frame or a kid's YouTube machine.
Performance
Honestly, the performance surprised us by not being a total disaster. The A8X chip and 1GB of RAM land it in the 74th and 1st percentiles, respectively, which tells you everything. It's fine for one app at a time. Open a modern website with a few tabs, though, and you'll feel its age. Our database shows it scores decently for art and design, but that's likely for very basic sketching apps from its era, not Procreate in 2025.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Strong feature (95th percentile) 95th
- Strong gpu (71th percentile) 71th
- Strong cpu (71th percentile) 71th
- Strong social proof (67th percentile) 67th
Cons
- Below average ram (0th percentile)
- Below average storage (27th percentile) 27th
The Word on the Street
Specifications
Full Specifications
Processor
| CPU | 2.4 GHz |
Memory & Storage
| RAM | 1 GB |
| Storage | 64 GB |
Display
| Size | 9.7" |
| Resolution | 2048 |
Features
| Stylus Support | Yes |
Physical
| Weight | 0.5 kg / 1.1 lbs |
| OS | iPadOS 8 |
Value & Pricing
At $109, the value is entirely about managing expectations. If you need a basic, pretty screen for media consumption and nothing else, it's worth it. If you plan to do any multitasking or use it as a real computer, it's a complete waste of money. You're paying for the Apple logo and a good display, not performance.
vs Competition
Forget the iPad Pro or Galaxy Tab S10. Those are in a different universe. The real competition is other cheap tablets or a slightly newer used iPad. A 6th or 7th gen standard iPad, even used, will cost a bit more but give you years more software support and usable performance. If you just want a big screen for the kids, a new Amazon Fire tablet is cheaper and will get updates. This Air 2 exists in a weird, nostalgic niche.
| Spec | Apple iPad Air Apple iPad Air 2, 64 GB, Gold, (Renewed) | Apple iPad Pro Apple 11" iPad Pro M5 Chip (Standard Glass, 512GB, | Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Samsung 12.4" Galaxy Tab S10+ 256GB Multi-Touch | Microsoft Surface Pro Microsoft - Surface Pro - Copilot+ PC - 13” OLED | Lenovo Yoga Tab Series Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus | Xenarc Xenarc 10.1" RT101-PRO 256GB Tablet (Wi-Fi, 4G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | 2.4 GHz | Apple M5 | MediaTek 9300 | Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite X1E-84-100 | Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 8 Gen 3, QCM8650 | 8-Core: Up to GHz |
| RAM (GB) | 1 | 12 | 12 | 32 | 16 | 8 |
| Storage (GB) | 64 | 512 | 256 | 1000 | 256 | 256 |
| Screen | 9.7" 2048x1536 | 11" 2420x1668 | 12.4" 2800x1752 | 13" 2880x1920 | 12.7" 2944x1840 | 10.1" 1920x1200 |
| OS | iPadOS 8 | iPadOS | Android 14 | Windows 11 Home | Android 14 | Android 13 |
| Stylus | true | true | true | false | false | false |
| Cellular | false | false | false | false | false | true |
Common Questions
Q: Can it run the latest apps and games?
No. It's stuck on an old version of iPadOS. Many new apps won't install, and the ones that do will run poorly because of the ancient processor and tiny 1GB of RAM.
Q: Does it work with the Apple Pencil?
Nope. The first Apple Pencil requires at least an iPad (6th gen) or iPad Pro. This tablet is several generations too old for any stylus support beyond cheap capacitive ones.
Q: Is the battery life still good?
It's a complete gamble. Some renewed units hold a charge, others die instantly. At this age, the battery is the biggest point of failure, so buy from a seller with a good return policy.
Who Should Skip This
If you're looking for a tablet to do real work, browse the modern web, or use current apps, this isn't it. Go get a used 9th Gen iPad or a base model Samsung Galaxy Tab A9 instead. They cost a little more but are lightyears ahead.
Verdict
We can only recommend this to someone with extremely simple, single-task needs who is allergic to spending money. Think: a dedicated recipe book in the kitchen, a bedside video player, or a first tablet for a very young child under strict parental controls. For anyone else, especially students or anyone calling this a 'laptop replacement,' this is a hard pass. Save up for a newer used model.