I did buy an iPad 2 back when it was current. I needed something like a tablet for an extended trip where a laptop would have been too much to carry around and

I did buy an iPad 2 back when it was current. I needed something like a tablet for an extended trip where a laptop would have been too much to carry around and the only real competition at the time was the disappointing Motorola Xoom so I bought an iPad. I ended up "jailbreaking" it because there were just so many things I wanted it to do that weren't possible with the stock OS and approved applications (adblocking, better keyboard layout, file system access, and mouse support among other things). Many of these have eventually been implemented to some extent or another, but at the time they were unavailable via the App Store but easily done via the Cydia store. Since then, the iPad 2 aged out of usefulness and my need for a tablet has mostly dried up. Likewise, options for other higher-powered, well built, and lightweight laptops/tablets have expanded so I've not purchased any more Apple stuff for the reasons you point out. I basically "jailbroke" because it was the only way to get my device to do what I wanted it to do. Now that they exist, I just use other devices that don't require me to jump through those hoops. Still, I wish there was a way to install some sort of lightweight OS on that iPad 2 (which is now sitting in a box somewhere).