Apple Winding Down iPad 2 Production After Three-Year Run

Apple is winding down production of the iPad 2 as customer interest in the legacy device dwindles, according to a report from AppleInsider. First introduced in early 2011, the iPad 2 has remained in Apple's product lineup as a lower-price option even as newer iPad models have been discontinued.

According to people familiar with Apple's plans, the company has made the decision to ramp down iPad 2 production given that customers are resoundingly shifting purchases towards its more modern and capable iPads, namely the iPad mini and iPad Air.

Apple continues to sell 16 GB iPad 2 models priced at $399 for Wi-Fi only and $529 for Wi-Fi + Cellular for the time being, coming in $100 lower than corresponding iPad Air models. There is no word yet, however, on just when Apple plans to stop selling the iPad 2 as its stocks wind down.

ipad_2_bw_ios_7
The iPad 2 remained popular even up until the launch of the iPad Air, with educational institutions and other specialized markets preferring the device for a combination of its lower price and its compatibility with numerous accessories through the legacy 30-pin dock connector. But with the introduction of the dramatically thinner iPad Air and Retina display-equipped iPad mini late last year, sales of the iPad 2 dropped dramatically and the company has apparently decided that continued production is not worthwhile.

Related Roundup: iPad
Buyer's Guide: iPad (Neutral)
Related Forum: iPad

Popular Stories

iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
ios 26 1 slide to stop

iOS 26.1 Brings Back 2007 Feature in New Way

Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important. Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped. The new ...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
ipad mini 7 feature blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 Release Candidates

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
apple tv hd

Apple Launched Its Big New Vision for TV 10 Years Ago Today

Thursday October 30, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple launched the Apple TV HD, the Siri Remote, tvOS, and their accompanying App Store a decade ago today, marking a major overhaul of the device. The new vision for the Apple TV was unveiled on September 9, 2015 during Apple's "Hey Siri" event in San Francisco, where CEO Tim Cook introduced the device with the statement, "The future of TV is apps." The announcement represented a major...

Top Rated Comments

Richardgm Avatar
153 months ago
Mine still runs like a champ. Well, I neglected to put iOS 7 on it, so that may be a contributing factor.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jsameds Avatar
153 months ago
At last.

Selling the iPad 2 for only $100 less than the Air was a rip off. They should have at least offered the 4th gen or at worst the 3rd gen for that price. Can't wait to see the back of the iPad 2, in a metaphorical sense - it's not an invitation to reply to me with a picture of the back of an iPad 2 haha :p
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
153 months ago
I figured they were done manufacturing, and were selling old stock at this point. We ordered 30 iPad 2s for the purpose of doing classroom surveys, and they all came with iOS 6 installed, so they were likely produced mid-last year, at the latest.

I laughed to myself as I used Configurator to bump them all en-masse up to 7.0.4, thinking about all the people who accidentally upgraded and whined about losing iOS 6. Bwa ha ha ha.

iPad 2s are great for this purpose; they're less expensive, sufficiently fast to do the job and less attractive a theft target than iPad Airs or Minis would be.

EDIT: I should add that if you have to configure a bunch of iPads and haven't played with Configurator, to do so. It's one of the coolest apps I didn't know existed! We bought an ergotron cart with built-in USB hubs that lets you plug up to 32 iPads into one Mac. They all show up in Configurator, and you can mass-wipe, install profiles and restrictions, and mass-restore a backup to all of them to make them identical. Really neat stuff, with absolutely NO similar software available for Android, which is why we went with iOS for this purpose.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
musika Avatar
153 months ago
Who are you kidding?

Nobody. I had mine up until this year, and before iOS 7 it ran as well as the day I bought it. It was a truly great device. The iPad 3 messed that up because it was underpowered, and the iPad 4 was getting rather heavy. The Air is great, or so I hear, besides lack of RAM.

The iPad 2 was great. It's best days are behind it now, but it was a great device in my opinion.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Aspasia Avatar
153 months ago
Mine still runs like a champ. Well, I neglected to put iOS 7 on it, so that may be a contributing factor.

LOL, mine was getting doggy until I installed iOS 7. Since then, it's been all smooth sailing.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
musika Avatar
153 months ago
It's been a great run. Such a good device.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)