???? – 2021retired
Android Oreo
“A sweet little OS that kept your battery alive longer than most of us keep New Years resolutions.”
“The last home button of its line — press once to remember, twice to miss it.”
The iPad (9th generation), also known as the iPad 10.2-inch, was Apple's successor to the eighth-generation iPad, announced on September 14, 2021 and released on September 24. It earned its place as the dependable one — the last iPad to keep the home button, the Lightning port, and a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack. For people who liked their tablets simple, familiar, and jacks intact, it was the whole package.
It was replaced by the 10th-generation iPad in October 2022 following the iPhone 14's release, and on May 7, 2024 it was formally discontinued, announced alongside the iPad Air (6th generation) and iPad Pro (7th generation). With it went an era: no iPad since has carried a home button, Lightning, or a headphone jack. Some retirements feel like upgrades; this one felt like the end of a lineage.
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“A sweet little OS that kept your battery alive longer than most of us keep New Years resolutions.”
“Rode cheaper than a coffee and never once blamed traffic on the schedule.”
“Born for a birthday, gone by spring: Mario never overstayed a party.”