Why is iPad Pro slow after updating

[TBoneMac]

My iPad Pro 11 inch from 2018 is slow

it was fast when I had not updated it for a couple years

it was on version ipad OS 15 or so for a couple years

now it’s version 17 and I love the new addition like stage manager

but it’s slow now. Like when I open my “search” to do some quick math or look up something it’s SLOOOOW and doesn’t even calculate simple things like 123123-1000

???

why?

 

[FeliApple]

My iPad Pro 11 inch from 2018 is slow

it was fast when I had not updated it for a couple years

it was on version ipad OS 15 or so for a couple years

now it’s version 17 and I love the new addition like stage manager

but it’s slow now. Like when I open my “search” to do some quick math or look up something it’s SLOOOOW and doesn’t even calculate simple things like 123123-1000

???

why?

While it partly surprises me to see the 3rd-gen iPad Pro being described as “slow”, updates have always been a very simple choice.

Apple apparently can’t do both, so you have to choose: what do you want, features and perfect compatibility, or performance and battery life? There’s no way to have both at the same time, except for when the latest version is the device’s original version. Sadly, you can’t downgrade, so you have to make that choice at the beginning. There’s no alternative.

I choose performance and battery life, so I never update anything (my 5th-gen iPad Air runs - and will run - iPadOS 15; my iPhone Xʀ runs - and will run - iOS 12), whereas the vast majority chooses the opposite. Some complain yet keep updating; some realise that it’s not what they want so they stop updating; others tolerate the absolute destruction of their devices just for compatibility and features. All of these choices have pros and cons, it’s on you to decide.

Sadly, there’s no complete perfection.

 

[Project Alice]

While it partly surprises me to see the 3rd-gen iPad Pro being described as “slow”, updates have always been a very simple choice.

Apple apparently can’t do both, so you have to choose: what do you want, features and perfect compatibility, or performance and battery life? There’s no way to have both at the same time, except for when the latest version is the device’s original version. Sadly, you can’t downgrade, so you have to make that choice at the beginning. There’s no alternative.

I choose performance and battery life, so I never update anything (my 5th-gen iPad Air runs - and will run - iPadOS 15; my iPhone Xʀ runs - and will run - iOS 12), whereas the vast majority chooses the opposite. Some complain yet keep updating; some realise that it’s not what they want so they stop updating; others tolerate the absolute destruction of their devices just for compatibility and features. All of these choices have pros and cons, it’s on you to decide.

Sadly, there’s no complete perfection.

I strongly disagree with this. You should not lose performance or battery life from an update, unless you’re running Betas maybe. If your battery sucks, replace it. If its slow, go check to see if performance mitigation is running due to a degraded battery.

My daily driver is an iPhone 13 Mini. Runs iOS 17 as fast as whatever it was on the day I bought it. I also have a second generation SE and a first generation SE. The 2nd gen SE is on 17, runs it just fine, and my first gen SE which is effectively a 6s is running the latest version of iOS 15. It runs perfectly fast for what it is. It can also stay on for days at a time without needing a charge. I don’t use it a lot, mainly as an alarm clock, but its not constantly being plugged in either.

Just update your devices. If you’re really that paranoid you can stay on one version til support ends for it (15 is the oldest supported now) running anything below that assuming your phone supports it is just plain dumb.

OP, try restoring your iPad.

 

[FeliApple]

I strongly disagree with this. You should not lose performance or battery life from an update, unless you’re running Betas maybe. If your battery sucks, replace it. If its slow, go check to see if performance mitigation is running due to a degraded battery.

My daily driver is an iPhone 13 Mini. Runs iOS 17 as fast as whatever it was on the day I bought it. I also have a second generation SE and a first generation SE. The 2nd gen SE is on 17, runs it just fine, and my first gen SE which is effectively a 6s is running the latest version of iOS 15. It runs perfectly fast for what it is. It can also stay on for days at a time without needing a charge. I don’t use it a lot, mainly as an alarm clock, but its not constantly being plugged in either.

Just update your devices. If you’re really that paranoid you can stay on one version til support ends for it (15 is the oldest supported now) running anything below that assuming your phone supports it is just plain dumb.

OP, try restoring your iPad.

Battery life and performance on the 1st-gen SE on iOS 15 are definitely not like they were on iOS 9 or 10. There’s a very, very significant difference. It’s at least 40-50% worse if - and only if - you have a new battery. You describing it as “perfectly fine for what it is” already tells me everything I need to know, frankly. The 13 Mini is probably fine, a little too new to suffer yet.

You always lose both performance and battery life if you update far enough. Battery health is irrelevant if the device isn’t updated.

You can’t stay behind on one version until it is unsupported completely because Apple doesn’t allow that. If your device supports it Apple forces you to update to the latest and only the latest. I’m running iOS 12.3.1 on my iPhone Xʀ. Can I install iOS 12.5.7? No! I can only update it to iOS 17.0.3. And my Xʀ on iOS 12 is better than any Xʀ on iOS 17 in terms of both performance and battery life, regardless of battery health.

OP, try restoring if you like, it might help a little, but there’s no way back, sadly.

 

[Project Alice]

You can’t stay behind on one version until it is unsupported completely because Apple doesn’t allow that.

This is completely untrue. Apple has supported that for the past couple years. If you were on a supported OS you’d probably know that. It was added as a feature in iOS 14 or 15. So, no iOS 12 doesn’t support it.


OP, please take what FeliApple says with a grain of salt. Much like Operating Systems on our computers, eventually mobile OS’s will get heavier. However, I have found iOS to have mostly improved in performance over releases. An iPad Pro with an A12Z is more than fast enough to be worrying about this. Your problem will more than likely be solved with a restore. You should not be afraid to update your devices like my grandmother is.

 

[FeliApple]

This is completely untrue. Apple has supported that for the past couple years. If you were on a supported OS you’d probably know that. It was added as a feature in iOS 14 or 15. So, no iOS 12 doesn’t support it.

Actually I know about that (I have an iPad Air 5 on iPadOS 15, like I said), but it’s only for a little while, and only if you aren’t more than one major version behind.

OP, please take what FeliApple says with a grain of salt. Much like Operating Systems on our computers, eventually mobile OS’s will get heavier. However, I have found iOS to have mostly improved in performance over releases. An iPad Pro with an A12Z is more than fast enough to be worrying about this. Your problem will more than likely be solved with a restore. You should not be afraid to update your devices like my grandmother is.

It did improve. I won’t deny this, it’s far better than what it used to be. Still severely affects battery life and it isn’t ever like an original version. OP can take 1kg of salt but the funny aspect is that they’re actually complaining about updates, so they are experiencing this right now. It’s not like they’re asking whether to update. They have updated and they were burned.

 

[TBoneMac]

Actually I know about that (I have an iPad Air 5 on iPadOS 15, like I said), but it’s only for a little while, and only if you aren’t more than one major version behind.

It did improve. I won’t deny this, it’s far better than what it used to be. Still severely affects battery life and it isn’t ever like an original version. OP can take 1kg of salt but the funny aspect is that they’re actually complaining about updates, so they are experiencing this right now. It’s not like they’re asking whether to update. They have updated and they were burned.

I can understand some performance being slower

But this is not the same.

My ipad should be able to do basic calculations like 1000 x 1.33


EDIT

it seems like it works better when I’m not “in stage manager” as in, if I’m just on the home screen the search function works well but if I’m in stage manager with windows open it doesn’t.