I need to replace the iPad I use in my shop as my register. Unless I replace the stand (Square Stand) the newest I can get is an iPad Air 3rd, or iPad 9th gen. Looking at the specs it appears they are basically the same, with the Air having a better display (the antireflective coating sounds nice, but I could just get a matte screen protector), but the iPad having a better processor, and it is newer so it will get iOS updates for roughly two more years.
It is used to stream music, run the Square app for my register, and I use Safari to look up items on the web for customers.
The iPad I am using now is running slowly, and swapping between apps takes too long.
Which would you choose? (It looks like the Air is available renewed with 64gb at $175-199, while the iPad is new with 64gb at $249)
If anyone personally has experience with the new Square Stand I have some questions about it.
Edit: called square to ask my questions about the new stand and they were unable to answer them. Waiting to hear back from a higher up hardware person, then I will make my decision on the new stand or keep the old one. It looks like I will go with the 9th gen iPad if I keep the old stand.
I know nothing about the stand, but it sounds like you should get the 9th gen and be prepared to replace both the stand and the iPad in 2 years. That is to say: go with the iPad that will be supported longest. You’re handling people’s financial data on there so you shouldn’t be using a device that’s not getting security updates. You’re risking their data and potentially opening yourself up to liability if your device is breached.
That is where I am leaning too. Thankfully the iPad does not store any of the info, all of the banking info goes directly to square and I have no way to view it. The most that could happen is someone could charge a card the customer has stored on their square account for a purchase from my shop. But even after the iPad stops getting new versions of iOS it does still get security updates.