iOS 11 performance on A8 devices (so far)

[Yebubbleman]

Hello all:

I very much love my sixth generation iPod touch and my cellular iPad mini 4. Great devices. However, I've been running the iOS 11 public beta on my WiFi-only iPad mini 2 and it's sluggish as all hell. This isn't my first rodeo when it comes to iOS betas. Far from it, in fact. However, typically, by this point in the development cycle, the sluggishness has been worked out and performance has been as optimized as it will be until the x.1.0 release, if at all. I know that the iPad mini 2 uses the same A7 found in the iPhone 5s. I also know that the A8 found in the sixth generation iPod touch isn't much more powerful than that A7. The A8 in the iPad mini 4 should be a little heftier given the extra RAM, but I'd imagine not by too much else.

I'm running with the assumption that, in the same way that iOS 11 is probably the end of the line for A7 devices, and at the rate Apple is bloating iOS, the A8 devices will show their age with this next release but be somewhat (if not slightly uncomfortably) usable, only to run like crap come iOS 12.

Based on how iOS 11 presently runs on A8 devices (such as the mini 4 and the sixth generation iPod touch), what say you? Does it run noticeably slower than iOS 10 did? I recognize that iOS 9 levels of performance on the A8 is long gone and that it only gets worse from here, but I'd love to be corrected on this.

 

[Paddle1]

I agree, the A7 was aging rather gracefully until iOS 11 where it feels noticeably slower and it seems RAM ejections happen more often. Didn't see much difference between iOS 9 and 10. The A8 is about the same.

It's still possible they can improve the performance in a later version of iOS 11 though. Meanwhile on A9 and A10 the difference is much less noticeable.

Basically, it still runs usably but the feel of fluidity has decreased. It is only a first version beta though.

 

[Der Keyser]

I'm guessing its the 1Gb RAM that kills them. Look at the 6+ phone - horribly horribly slow now on 10, and it's in way more need of RAM than its littlebrother the 6, which runs fairly decent with ios10.
So i'm guessing IoS11 will criple all 1Gb devices.

 

[oplix]

my iphone 6 on 9.0.2 is smooth as the day i bought it

 

[steve62388]

I have a mini 2 running the beta. I don't notice any huge slowdown compared to 10. My third party keyboard can be flakey, but it was under 10 too.

 

[MarioPhone96]

Well, it would seem that the A7 is approaching end of life, so it'll be slow! At least it's not as slow as the 4 and 4s were. Dear lord, that was terrible.

I only tested iOS 11 Public Beta 1 on my 5s. It wasn't terribly slow in speed, but I think the new features are worth the trade. I'd imagine now on Beta 10, everything should be smoother, and maybe a bit faster. Maybe.

The A8 is what I think of as a "refinement" of the A7. It's a little more powerful where it shouldn't lag too bad. Be weary if you value speed though. It can only get better once 11.1 releases.

 

[Sunshoopa]

I'm guessing its the 1Gb RAM that kills them. Look at the 6+ phone - horribly horribly slow now on 10, and it's in way more need of RAM than its littlebrother the 6, which runs fairly decent with ios10.
So i'm guessing IoS11 will criple all 1Gb devices.

And just to think the iPhone 1 and iPod Touch 1G had 128mb of ram. I wonder how those devices would run iOS 11

 

[SoYoung]

iOS 11 on my 6s+ runs okay but its not as smooth as iOS 9 was and still not as smooth as iOS 10, but it runs "relatively well" for a 2 years device now. The only big complain I have is it seems safari tabs and apps stays less longer in the background and refresh more frequently. I fear next year release.

on my iPad air 2, iOS 11 runs well but it lose frames here and there and like my 6s+, the refresh rate for apps in the background seems more frequent than before.

on my iPad pro 12.9 1st gen, iOS 11 is realy smooth thanks to the 4GB of Ram.

 

[Yebubbleman]

I agree, the A7 was aging rather gracefully until iOS 11 where it feels noticeably slower and it seems RAM ejections happen more often. Didn't see much difference between iOS 9 and 10. The A8 is about the same.

It's still possible they can improve the performance in a later version of iOS 11 though. Meanwhile on A9 and A10 the difference is much less noticeable.

Basically, it still runs usably but the feel of fluidity has decreased. It is only a first version beta though.

Eh...As I recall, of the last few versions of iOS, only iOS 7.1 and maybe 10.3 had any post .0 release speed bumps, but the latter was mostly the file system change and the former was mostly the tweaking of what was then a radical UI change. Otherwise, iOS 8 never got faster than when it first launched, and nor did 9, though 9.x.y, itself was a nice speed bump from 8.x.y.

my iphone 6 on 9.0.2 is smooth as the day i bought it

My 6s Plus is still on 9.3.5 and it too runs as smooth as this time last year. I figure I'll upgrade to the 7s Plus and hopefully I won't hate iOS 12 as much as I did iOS 10 (to the point of not upgrading and staying behind).

iOS 11 on my 6s+ runs okay but its not as smooth as iOS 9 was and still not as smooth as iOS 10, but it runs "relatively well" for a 2 years device now. The only big complain I have is it seems safari tabs and apps stays less longer in the background and refresh more frequently. I fear next year release.

on my iPad air 2, iOS 11 runs well but it lose frames here and there and like my 6s+, the refresh rate for apps in the background seems more frequent than before.

on my iPad pro 12.9 1st gen, iOS 11 is realy smooth thanks to the 4GB of Ram.

I'm not really worried about the First Gen 12.9" iPad Pro; nor any other A9-based devices like the 6s Plus. Really, it's the sixth gen touch and the mini 4 that I'm most concerned about, being A8 devices in the middle-lower end of the A8 spectrum.

 

[Freakonomics101]

I have a mini 2 running the beta. I don't notice any huge slowdown compared to 10. My third party keyboard can be flakey, but it was under 10 too.

yeah the iPad mini 2 isn’t bad on iOS 11. it’s surprisingly smooth for how old the processor is. it’s not as great as an iPad Pro but it’s definitely not an issue.

 

[Cougarcat]

I'm guessing its the 1Gb RAM that kills them. Look at the 6+ phone - horribly horribly slow now on 10, and it's in way more need of RAM than its littlebrother the 6, which runs fairly decent with ios10.
So i'm guessing IoS11 will criple all 1Gb devices.

iOS 10 is the same as 9 for me on my Plus. Won't argue that it needs more RAM though.

 

[nordique]

I found the latest beta for iOS 11 (beta 10) runs well on iPhone 6

It runs such that it's perfectly useable and not slow the way that the iPhone 4 was in iOS 7 or the 4S was on iOS 9

Same goes for 5s - it's useable and smooth

I might wait to upgrade to iOS 11 though. Apple tends to do an optimization update later in the year. iOS 10 is still fully supported and will be for some time.

 

[Paddle1]

Eh...As I recall, of the last few versions of iOS, only iOS 7.1 and maybe 10.3 had any post .0 release speed bumps, but the latter was mostly the file system change and the former was mostly the tweaking of what was then a radical UI change. Otherwise, iOS 8 never got faster than when it first launched, and nor did 9, though 9.x.y, itself was a nice speed bump from 8.x.y.



My 6s Plus is still on 9.3.5 and it too runs as smooth as this time last year. I figure I'll upgrade to the 7s Plus and hopefully I won't hate iOS 12 as much as I did iOS 10 (to the point of not upgrading and staying behind).



I'm not really worried about the First Gen 12.9" iPad Pro; nor any other A9-based devices like the 6s Plus. Really, it's the sixth gen touch and the mini 4 that I'm most concerned about, being A8 devices in the middle-lower end of the A8 spectrum.

As an iPhone 4s user, iOS 8 and 9 did have some post release performance improvements, though that could've only affected the 4s since it's so slow.

iOS 10 on 6s and SE is the only major update I know of that actually sped up the previous year's phone. Usually it's the same or slower.

 

[EugW]

iOS 11 works very well on iPad Air 2 - A8X 2 GB
tvOS 11 works very well on Apple TV 4 - A8 2 GB

There should be no big performance concern if you have an A8(X) 2 GB device. If you have such a device or later, at least from the performance perspective I wouldn't be worried at all about upgrading to iOS 11 next week.

I'd be a bit more worried if you have an A7 1 GB device though. That said, I would still most definitely upgrade to iOS 11, for file format and other compatibility reasons.

 

[Yebubbleman]

yeah the iPad mini 2 isn’t bad on iOS 11. it’s surprisingly smooth for how old the processor is. it’s not as great as an iPad Pro but it’s definitely not an issue.

I am having a polar opposite experience. It's definitely usable, but not enjoyable. The new multitasking menu is sluggish as hell, as is the process of using the home screen to remove and/or move apps. Safari is the antithesis of snappy. The best that I can say is that my non-stock apps don't seem to run slower than they did on iOS 10.

I found the latest beta for iOS 11 (beta 10) runs well on iPhone 6

It runs such that it's perfectly useable and not slow the way that the iPhone 4 was in iOS 7 or the 4S was on iOS 9

Given that iOS 7 was the last version for the 4 and iOS 9 was the last for the 4s, and it seems as though the 6 probably has another year after the 5s stops getting support, what you're basically saying is that it's business as usual.

Same goes for 5s - it's useable and smooth

So the usual iPhone to iPad mini conversion rate: same processor outputting to more pixels means more taxation on the GPU. I suppose that's optimistic for the sixth generation iPod touch, if only marginally.

I might wait to upgrade to iOS 11 though. Apple tends to do an optimization update later in the year. iOS 10 is still fully supported and will be for some time.

The only ones that they've done that have made any significant improvements were iOS 7.1 and iOS 10.3. The latter was due to the change in the file system and the former was due to UI tweaks as 7.0 was sort of a complete re-do of the UI.

As an iPhone 4s user, iOS 8 and 9 did have some post release performance improvements, though that could've only affected the 4s since it's so slow.

iOS 10 on 6s and SE is the only major update I know of that actually sped up the previous year's phone. Usually it's the same or slower.

If 8 and 9 had any performance bumps post-release, they were subtle at best. 8 was always slow, hence 9 largely being a "Snow Leopard" release. 10 brought that new file system in 10.3.

iOS 11 works very well on iPad Air 2 - A8X 2 GB
tvOS 11 works very well on Apple TV 4 - A8 2 GB

There should be no big performance concern if you have an A8(X) 2 GB device. If you have such a device or later, at least from the performance perspective I wouldn't be worried at all about upgrading to iOS 11 next week.

I'd be a bit more worried if you have an A7 1 GB device though. That said, I would still most definitely upgrade to iOS 11, for file format and other compatibility reasons.

It's comforting to hear that the A8X isn't hit badly and that it performs well. I wonder how much the third processor core has to do with it. If it's really just a RAM thing, then it will be interesting to note how well the mini 4 and the Air 2 perform compared to the sixth gen touch and the 6 and 6 Plus.

As for tvOS, I haven't noticed speed differences across versions in tvOS, though Apple doesn't seem to change a whole lot in tvOS that isn't under the hood. Then again, even though we're dealing with the same A-series chips, it's still a new-ish platform.

 

[AmazingTechGeek]

It’s okay for the most part on my Air 2. There is the occasional lag, but it’s bearable.

 

[Jayson A]

iOS 11 runs crappy on my iPad Mini 4. I went back to 10.3.3 and it flies again.

 

[EugW]

iOS 11 runs crappy on my iPad Mini 4. I went back to 10.3.3 and it flies again.

Hmm... Are you running the latest beta? That has 2 GB and A8. Maybe the 3rd core of the A8X for my iPad Air 2 makes all the difference. I can't compare though since I don't have a mini 4.

 

[Paddle1]

Hmm... Are you running the latest beta? That has 2 GB and A8. Maybe the 3rd core of the A8X for my iPad Air 2 makes all the difference. I can't compare though since I don't have a mini 4.

It does make a difference, the Air 2 is closer classed with the 6s/A9 than the regular 6. The mini 4 is in between.

 

[oldmacs]

iOS 11 is fairly bad on anything. I don’t get why it runs so badly on the A7 devices actually. The boot up time for the 5S is so much longer than the 6, and given that 6 was a fairly mediocre spec bump over the 5S, it doesn’t make much sense. Unless of course the 6 has much faster flash storage. It’s a shame given iOS 10 was only a slight slow down even on the iPhone 5, and on newer devices runs well.
[doublepost=1504818604][/doublepost]

If 8 and 9 had any performance bumps post-release, they were subtle at best. 8 was always slow, hence 9 largely being a "Snow Leopard" release. 10 brought that new file system in 10.3.

I have to disagre. I’m yet to see a device that runs iOS 9 better than 8.

 

[Johnluke91]

After watching this video, I think iOS 11 works fine on the iPhone 6.

 

[GreyOS]

my iphone 6 is ok but once you've used a nvme decive (6s onwards) and see how fast they load apps due to the faster storage, you'll want to upgrade, at least i will be once the new iphones are out!

 

[xxNightflyerxx]

I agree, the A7 was aging rather gracefully until iOS 11 where it feels noticeably slower and it seems RAM ejections happen more often. Didn't see much difference between iOS 9 and 10. The A8 is about the same.

It's still possible they can improve the performance in a later version of iOS 11 though. Meanwhile on A9 and A10 the difference is much less noticeable.

Basically, it still runs usably but the feel of fluidity has decreased. It is only a first version beta though.

See my reply here: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...s-bug-fixes-etc.2062797/page-16#post-24930653

I noticed the same thing on my 6 (beta 7 and 8): RAM ejections. Not tested since, but then it was not really the inital app startup that killed the sense of speed (that is relatively comparable to iOS 10, which I still find quite acceptable), but it is the much more frequent reloads which give a slower experience overall.
Will definitely test the GM release next week and on basis of that experience will decide whether or not I stay on 10 or not. Afterwards will be an even more difficult question (no return back to 10 possible).

 

[EugW]

See my reply here: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...s-bug-fixes-etc.2062797/page-16#post-24930653

I noticed the same thing on my 6 (beta 7 and 8): RAM ejections. Not tested since, but then it was not really the inital app startup that killed the sense of speed (that is relatively comparable to iOS 10, which I still find quite acceptable), but it is the much more frequent reloads which give a slower experience overall.
Will definitely test the GM release next week and on basis of that experience will decide whether or not I stay on 10 or not. Afterwards will be an even more difficult question (no return back to 10 possible).

Link doesn't work.

As for 1 GB - related app reloads, I started finding it annoying even back in 2015 (iOS 9) with my iPhone 5S.

For my wife, I skipped the iPhone 6 and specifically waited until the 2 GB iPhone 6s was out before I bought her a new iPhone, and then I sold my iPhone 5s in 2016 for the 3 GB iPhone 7 Plus. I also skipped the 1 GB iPad Air despite its very nice form factor and waited for the 2 GB iPad Air 2 in 2014 to replace my iPad 2... speaking of which, was a purchase that skipped the original crippled-at-launch single-core 256 MB iPad.

The iPad Air 2, iPhone 6s, and iPhone 7 Plus will all remain in use for the foreseeable future. We have no intention of upgrading any of these this year.

 

[gobikerider]

Hmm... Are you running the latest beta? That has 2 GB and A8. Maybe the 3rd core of the A8X for my iPad Air 2 makes all the difference. I can't compare though since I don't have a mini 4.

The Air 2 not only has the 3rd core (putting it inline with the A9 for multicore perf) it also has the giant 12 core gpu inside were as the iPad mini 4 has a six core gpu.