5 Clever Ways to Reuse an Old iPad

The best ways to reuse an old iPad are the ones where it does a single job all day: a digital photo frame, a recipe screen in the kitchen, a camera monitor, a reading device or a bedside clock. Each one needs little more than a stand, a charger and the right app.

How many old iPads are sitting in drawers right now? Most of us upgraded with every intention of finding a use for the old one, and then it quietly collected dust.

Our own story with an old iPad started in 2017. Manuel, my husband, built Digital Photo Frame App while I was pregnant with our twins, so his parents, who live in another country, could watch them grow up. An old iPad in their living room plays an iCloud shared album, and every photo we add from our phones shows up on it. They don't install anything or remember passwords. That album now holds more than 2,000 photos.

Sometimes the best technology isn't the newest. It's the one you already own.

One thing to check first: apps keep raising the iPadOS version they need. Digital Photo Frame App, for example, needs iPadOS 15 or later, which means an iPad Air 2, iPad mini 4 or newer.

1. Turn it into a digital photo frame

This one had to be first.

An old iPad has a better screen than most photo frames you can buy, and it plays videos and Live Photos too. Instead of spending money on a new frame, you can keep your favourite photos on display with a device you already own.

If your family lives in different cities, or in different countries like Manuel's parents, an iCloud shared album keeps everyone connected without anyone needing to be "good with technology".

The full setup is in how to turn your iPad into a digital photo frame, and the iPad page shows what the app can do.

2. Create a kitchen recipe station

Cooking with a cookbook balanced against a fruit bowl is a thing of the past.

Prop the iPad on a stand and use it to show recipes while you cook or bake. No more unlocking your phone every few minutes with floury hands.

It's especially fun when cooking with kids. They can read each step and pick the next recipe together, without everyone crowding around one small phone.

3. Use it as a home camera monitor

If you already have security cameras, an old iPad can be a dedicated screen for them.

Instead of opening the camera app on your phone again and again, leave the feed on screen in the kitchen, the home office or near the front door. It's a simple way to keep an eye on deliveries, pets or who's at the gate.

It also works as a baby monitor screen if your camera's app supports live viewing.

4. Turn it into a reading device

Reading on an iPad is surprisingly comfortable.

With adjustable text size, dark mode and brightness, it's easy on the eyes, especially in the evening.

Novels, magazines, newspapers or cookbooks: an old iPad makes a good dedicated reader. Because it isn't your main device, you're less likely to be pulled away by notifications.

5. Make it your bedside clock

Trying to spend less time on your phone before bed?

Move your phone across the room and let the old iPad show the time. A clock app turns it into an easy-to-read bedside clock, so checking the time at night doesn't turn into checking email.

Digital Photo Frame App can do this over your photos: the date and time box has a Huge text size on iPad, readable from across the room.

For the night itself, the app can close at bedtime so the iPad goes dark, and start again in the morning: see slideshow by day, sleep at night.

The best technology is often the one you already own

Before recycling that old iPad, think about the photos it could show, the recipes it could help you cook or the books it could help you read. It may still be one of the most useful devices in your home.

Frequently asked questions

Tell us other ways you use your old iPad. We'd love to hear from you: write to us.

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