im hoping to get an old iPad and would obviously like to use it for gaming, but I've never had an iPad before and have no idea which ones are still supported by the latest games. Which ones are still worth getting?
I think that depends on the types of games you want to play. If you want to play games that are 3d and look pretty well then I wouldn't go for less than iPad 4th Generation and personally I wouldn't go less than iPad Air 1 because it supports metal. You have to consider the games of today, the past and the future. Keep in mind retina display didn't happen until 3rd generation iPad but I'd skip that model and just go for the 4th one at the least. If you don't care much about 3d graphics then you can go as old as iPad 2 as it'll run Angry Birds and Clash of Clans with ease. I hope this helps answer your questions. An iPad 2 is a great casual gaming machine but don't expect it to run or look great with any solid 3d games.
I'll once again drop this link to benchmarks of iOS devices: https://browser.primatelabs.com/ios-benchmarks You can see the huge drop-off in power with the iPad 4 and older. If you want to future-proof yourself, an iPad Mini 3+ will last you for a really, really long time. I don't see how any game would exclude those devices, for another couple of years. In terms of frugality and price, I would recommend the iPad 4. You should be able to get it relatively cheap and so far I've only had one game that wouldn't play on it (Tales From Deep Space). If you can afford it, go for the devices near the top of the list. Otherwise you're safe with an iPad 4th gen.
I'm using ipad 4 for quite some time now and for gaming wise, it's pretty good so far. However, you may want to consider devices after ipad4 since the ios version is also a consideration for some games. Installing ios 8 on ipad 4 may not be snappy as you might expect. I personally do not know, since my ipad is using ios 7, and they say, it it ain't broke, don't fix it. So depending on the types of games you like, you may need ios 8 on your device. For e.g., the latest Rodeo warhammer needs ios 8.
Seconding that, if you want to play games "for real". Air2 should be overkill for at least another year. I skipped upgrading from my Air1, because I don't have any games that push that far yet, and am not aware of any. Depending on how things develop, even the next generation (Air3 ?) might be skippable. If you only play low-end stuff, even an iPad2 still works, like for the things my 4 year old son likes.
It's isn't about playing games "for real". It's more that developers are slowly picking A7 as the minimum requirement, be it for the 64-bit architecture or Metal. Right now it's not a huge issue, but within 6 months anything below an iPad Air will find limited support in most games.
That's more or less what I meant, was writing in a bit of a rush. For a lot, if not most, games I fully agree with you. But certain genres - like kids' games or, I don't know, hidden object games maybe? - I cannot imagine as making 64bit and/or Metal a requirement in the next year or so.
They should be the same since only difference is the Touch ID And those Geekbench results aren't good for measuring performance since they don't have any Gpu based tests.
My daughter has an ipad 2 which so far she hasn't had any problems with, it's still running fine, but as games require newer ios it wint be long before she won't actually be able to install much. At which point I'll give to my Mum because she just browses and plays the occasional candy crush type game. It has plenty if life in it, but the software updates limit what the options. I have the first gen mini and over these few months and noticing I can't get some games I'd like. I can't afford to uograde any time soon and chances are my daughters will be first anyway, but I have such a crazy backlog I've got way more than enough to keep me busy for now. I keep buying the newer titles through iTunes on PC so when I finally do upgrade I'll have them ready My nephews have the ipad 4 and they run perfect. No problems on ios 8, fast loading etc. If I were to buy another one now, I'd go for the latest one I could afford, but I'd drop a generation if it meant I coukd get a lot more storage instead.
My iPad 2 is still generally acceptable--MOST of the time. But ugh, that non-retina screen! If you can afford at least an Air, that's much better. I love my Air. And the weight reduction vs. the previous generation retina model is VERY welcome.
