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iPad Pro How Many More iPad OS can the 2018 iPP Take ?

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vish26

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Sep 17, 2012
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After how many OS would the 2018 iPad Pro start behaving slow ? What is the Maximum Number of OS that it could more take and still work Snappy ?

I do not want my 2018 iPad Pro to go through the same situation which my iPad 3rd generation which was released in 2012 started behaving, by 2016 it was very very slow device. So I just wanna learn before hand, when Should I stop installing new and new OS every year. Though Apple on it’s websites usually lists down which OS is compatible with which devices, it is not really reliable and like written on a Hard Rock kinda thing. As in my previous experience based on Apple’s Advice I had installed the OS that Apple said it in its Press Release is compatible with my iPad 3 but the fact of the matter is despite Apple said it is compatible, it made it absolutely dead and in-operable device it become that sluggish.

So I do not want to be in that Situation again. What do you guys say about this? When should I stop installing OS on the 2018 iPad Pro. Which Year ? 2021 ?
 
Last edited:
vish26 said:
I am sticking my neck out and want to seal it, by saying not more than iPad OS 14 and Tops iPad OS 15 not more than that Period.
Click to expand...

I am not sure that we can have an answer for that unfortunately.
 
vish26 said:
After how many OS would the 2018 iPad Pro start behaving slow ? What is the Maximum Number of OS that it could more take and still work Snappy ?

I do not want my 2018 iPad Pro to go through the same situation which my iPad 3rd generation which was released in 2012 started behaving, by 2016 it was very very slow device. So I just wanna learn before hand, when Should I stop installing new and new OS every year. Though Apple on it’s websites usually lists down which OS is compatible with which devices, it is not really reliable and like written on a Hard Rock kinda thing. As in my previous experience based on Apple’s Advice I had installed the OS that Apple said it in its Press Release is compatible with my iPad 3 but the fact of the matter is despite Apple said it is compatible, it made it absolutely dead and in-operable device it become that sluggish.

So I do not want to be in that Situation again. What do you guys say about this? When should I stop installing OS on the 2018 iPad Pro. Which Year ? 2021 ?
Click to expand...
The iPad 3 was just slow to begin with. It's the very, very early days of improving ARM performance and it's really more like Pentium III level or something.

It's less of an issue nowadays. Even an iPad Air 2 on iPadOS 13 is very useable and significantly faster than the iPad 3rd gen on its iOS 5 launch firmware. The 2018 iPad Pro, I'd expect to do pretty well even after at least 4-5 firmware updates from this point onwards. Chipsets just aren't improving as fast as they used to.

The following comparison is for CPU. GPU improvements are even higher/exponential.

iPad 3 -> 2018 iPad Pro
16.7x single-core
32.5x multi-core

iPad 3 -> iPad Air 2
6x single-core
7.6x multi-core

iPad Air 2 -> 2018 iPP
2.8x single-core
4.3x multi-core

2018 iPP -> 2020 iPP
~1x single-core and multi-core (maybe a wee bit higher in longer tasks thanks to improved thermals)
 
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vish26 said:
If History says something. Yes We can.
Click to expand...

It doesn’t. The iPad 3 is long gone. The technology has plateaued. All improvement at this stage is incremental and Apple wants you to use their services as long as possible.

Even an iPad Air 2 in my household runs the current stuff ok, not lightning fast but ok.

As the 2020 model is roughly the same as the 2018, expect another 5 years or more of very good lifetime with this device.
 
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rui no onna said:
The iPad 3 was just slow to begin with. It's the very, very early days of improving ARM performance and it's really more like Pentium III level or something.

It's less of an issue nowadays. Even an iPad Air 2 on iPadOS 13 is very useable and significantly faster than the iPad 3rd gen on its iOS 5 launch firmware. The 2018 iPad Pro, I'd expect to do pretty well even after at least 4-5 firmware updates from this point onwards. Chipsets just aren't improving as fast as they used to.

The following comparison is for CPU. GPU improvements are even higher/exponential.

iPad 3 -> 2018 iPad Pro
16.7x single-core
32.5x multi-core

iPad 3 -> iPad Air 2
6x single-core
7.6x multi-core

iPad Air 2 -> 2018 iPP
2.8x single-core
4.3x multi-core

2018 iPP -> 2020 iPP
~1x single-core and multi-core (maybe a wee bit higher in longer tasks thanks to improved thermals)
Click to expand...

ericwn said:
It doesn’t. The iPad 3 is long gone. The technology has plateaued. All improvement at this stage is incremental and Apple wants you to use their services as long as possible.

Even an iPad Air 2 in my household runs the current stuff ok, not lightning fast but ok.

As the 2020 model is roughly the same as the 2018, expect another 5 years or more of very good lifetime with this device.
Click to expand...

I mean, I get your point but every device will have its optimum best performance restricted with only certain OS right ? It cannot go on for several years ? Can it ? I guess 2-3 years OS Updates from the year it was released is a safe bet which has been followed and accepted by people all around the world. There are no anecdotal evidence for that. But that's what the Legend says.
 
vish26 said:
I mean, I get your point but every device will have its optimum best performance restricted with only certain OS right ? It cannot go on for several years ? Can it ? I guess 2-3 years OS Updates from the year it was released is a safe bet which has been followed and accepted by people all around the world. There are no anecdotal evidence for that. But that's what the Legend says.
Click to expand...

I don’t know where you get these infos from. You can easily install windows on a decade old computer with sufficient hardware no problem. iPads and iPhone were new tech and naturally they evolved quicker and started from zero.

I have a first generation iPad Pro and it feels as fast today as it did three years ago.

You seem to generally worry a lot about your iPad. Don’t. You’re wasting a lifetime that you could spend enjoying this stuff. Life is too short to worry. And in 3-5 years you’ll want a new device anyway.
 
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AutomaticApple said:
Im pretty sure they don't use the same chip.
Click to expand...
MacRumors: A12Z Chip in iPad Pro Confirmed to Be Same As A12X

Either way, the point was that the 2020 lineup consists of an A10 (iPad), A12 (Air/Mini) and A12Z (Pro). So if these are the current offerings then worrying about obsolescence of an A12X is premature.

If anything is going to cause current models to quickly become outdated then it would be new programs that have high RAM requirements (Coding/Video Editing). But even that is up in the air since it doesnt seem like Apple will actually make full versions of Pro apps.
 
KittyKatta said:
If anything is going to cause current models to quickly become outdated then it would be new programs that have high RAM requirements (Coding/Video Editing). But even that is up in the air since it doesnt seem like Apple will actually make full versions of Pro apps.
Click to expand...

There you go. This what I meant some or the other way the device does become slower, maybe because of RAM falling short or processors becoming old. Apple may say that the newer OS they release is compatible with certain devices. But in reality not all devices work well on newer OS despite Apple says it is compatible.
 
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vish26 said:
There you go. This what I meant some or the other way the device does become slower, maybe because of RAM falling short or processors becoming old. Apple may say that the newer OS they release is compatible with certain devices. But in reality not all devices work well on newer OS despite Apple says it is compatible.
Click to expand...

FWIW, the 2018 iPad Pro has 4GB RAM (except the 1TB storage one) and the 2020 has 6GB RAM. However, 2GB is taken for multitasking.
 
ct2k7 said:
FWIW, the 2018 iPad Pro has 4GB RAM (except the 1TB storage one) and the 2020 has 6GB RAM. However, 2GB is taken for multitasking.
Click to expand...

Do I understand it correctly that only 2 GB are used for multitasking or I just got it wrong? If my understanding is correct than for what is used the remaining RAM?
 
vish26 said:
After how many OS would the 2018 iPad Pro start behaving slow ? What is the Maximum Number of OS that it could more take and still work Snappy ?

I do not want my 2018 iPad Pro to go through the same situation which my iPad 3rd generation which was released in 2012 started behaving, by 2016 it was very very slow device. So I just wanna learn before hand, when Should I stop installing new and new OS every year. Though Apple on it’s websites usually lists down which OS is compatible with which devices, it is not really reliable and like written on a Hard Rock kinda thing. As in my previous experience based on Apple’s Advice I had installed the OS that Apple said it in its Press Release is compatible with my iPad 3 but the fact of the matter is despite Apple said it is compatible, it made it absolutely dead and in-operable device it become that sluggish.

So I do not want to be in that Situation again. What do you guys say about this? When should I stop installing OS on the 2018 iPad Pro. Which Year ? 2021 ?
Click to expand...
No offence, but taking history as an indication for the future in this case is completely wrong.
Let me explain why...
Devices don't slow down themselves, OS and app updates can make them slower.
The main reason why old ipads slowed down was lack of RAM.
And the big hit came with the first IOS version that intruduced multitasking, IOS 9. IOS 9 made 512MB RAM devices unusable and 1GB very slow and the system was using most of that 1GB... Another hit came with the move to 64bits apps, that can access more RAM, and that happened around the same period (between ios 7 and 10). Since then, and this is the big difference, RAM used by the system has not increased, if anything it has slightly decreased...
I could compare an ipad pro first gen with IOS 9 and IOS 13 and most of the time it was slightly faster on IOS 13.... (now sure IOS 11 took more RAM, but that OS is gone...)
2GB RAM devices still feel fast if you do one thing at a time, but can stutter when switching between apps, while 3GB can multitask with no slowdowns
Since IOS 13 allows to to multitask more easily the limits of 2GB devices have become quite evident... Since IOS 9 Apple has showed a big committement to efficiency... And at this point, even if future IpadOS version could take slightly more RAM, I expect no impact in terms of speeds for 4GB devices, including while multitasking... The worst that can happen over the next 5 years is that 3GB will be what 2GB devices are today... that is fast as new for single tasks, general use, but stuttering when doing too many things at once... I don't see any impact in terms of speed for 4GB devices, other than more refreshes...
Even if Apple allows floating windows in the future, I doubt it will make it in a way that takes much more memory.
Another possible issue is the new Mac-like apps that will be coming to ipad, like final cut pro, fully-featured photoshop, big DAWs etc.. These apps will probably require more RAM, but they will exclude some ipads from the very beginning, as it happens already with some pro apps.
So to sum up, Ipad pro 2018 will very likely see no actual slowdown with its 4GB RAM and 8 core chip over its full life, only some more refreshes, which themselves however are a form of slowdown.
Instead I expect lots of improvements in Ipados, which will make even those refreshes worth it...
 
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Save your "blobs" and you'll always be able to downgrade the OS version using a jailbreak. And if you want you can then un-jailbreak it again after reverting the OS version.
 
vish26 said:
If History says something. Yes We can.
Click to expand...
Actually, we cannot. The processing power in these devices has gone up at a higher exponential rate than the power needed by the OS. I highly doubt iPadOS 14 or 15 will be it for these devices. My 10.5" iPad Pro runs iPadOS 13 as if it was new, absolutely no slowdown or any issue visible anywhere.
 
Digitalguy said:
So to sum up, Ipad pro 2018 will very likely see no actual slowdown with its 4GB RAM and 8 core chip over its full life, only some more refreshes, which themselves however are a form of slowdown.
Instead I expect lots of improvements in Ipados, which will make even those refreshes worth it...
Click to expand...

What do you mean Full Life ?
 
vish26 said:
What do you mean Full Life ?
Click to expand...
By full life I mean till it's supported. The supported life has been around 5-6 years lately, but my prediction is that it's going to increase precisely because of the better specs... I wouldn't be surprise to see 7-8 years out of the 2018 ipad pro, that is 5-6 more years. By then battery will probably need to be replaced...(new ipads tend to be used more than old ones since they can do more, so battery will last less, but it can be replaced...).
At this point the only devices that one might want to think before updating are 2GB devices (pro 9.7 and ipad 2018, the others will probably not get Ipados 14 anyway...). I wouldn't worry about 3GB devices (all the current ones except the pros) before a couple of years and I would not hesitate to update the 4GB for as long as possible...
As for the 2020 pro, as I said the 6GB RAM is the main upgrade (and also the most overlooked). Even today people notice less refreshes. These ipads will be able to use the future pro apps in multitasking much better and with less refreshes.
Your pro 2018 will stay as fast as now, but as some point, if you use pro apps, you will want to upgrade because of how better the new ipads will be able to handle those apps, especially in multitasking....
 
Less of an issue these days. The older iPads were slow as hell and were massively outdated even a couple of years after. these new chips are beasts and considering apple seems to be all about optimisation with older devices (see ios12) I don't think they'll slow down as much as they used to.
 
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