In 2026, I’m still using a regular 9th‑generation iPad I bought in 2021—no Pro, no Air, no M‑chip—and I’m not feeling that familiar pressure to upgrade. After installing iPadOS 26.3 with the new liquid glass design, it’s definitely a bit buggier and slower. It stutters sometimes, and the battery drains faster than it used to. But I’m not here to pretend it “still flies.” I’m here to talk about sufficiency—what “enough” looks like when you stop expecting the impossible from your devices. A big part of this is how I frame the iPad: it’s a companion to my MacBook Air, not a laptop replacement. I use it for what it’s genuinely good at—reading and annotating, notes and sketches, visual content, light productivity, and the occasional casual game. Sure, I miss things like a slightly more compact size, thinner bezels, and better battery. But I also genuinely love the physical home button and the old-school vibe it brings—Touch ID on the side just doesn’t hit the same for me. The takeaway is simple: if it still does the job, I’ll do mine. Sometimes the best upgrade is not upgrading.