iPad mini iOS 7.1 on first gen iPad mini?

[iBlazed]

I'm thinking to buy a first ten iPad mini to tide myself over until the next generation iPad air comes out. I know there was a lot of talk about it being underpowered. iOS 7 slowed down the iPad 3 and it stayed pretty bad until 7.1, now it's finally usable. My question is, did iOS 7 significantly slow down the 1st gen mini as well? And did 7.1 fix it?

 

[gewawd]

I'm thinking to buy a first ten iPad mini to tide myself over until the next generation iPad air comes out. I know there was a lot of talk about it being underpowered. iOS 7 slowed down the iPad 3 and it stayed pretty bad until 7.1, now it's finally usable. My question is, did iOS 7 significantly slow down the 1st gen mini as well? And did 7.1 fix it?

Hi, iBlazed. As an owner of a first gen iPad mini for the past 8 months, I can definitely say that iOS 7 had significantly impacted performance on my iPad and I have a lot of users to back me up on this.

Yes, the first gen iPad mini is definitely underpowered if you conpare it to the recently released iPads, but it's still in the state of being usable especially with iOS 7.1 in place. There are still stutters, occasionnal UI bugs, and memory shortage issues, but if you prefer to purchase a first gen mini now to wait for the next full-sized iPad, why not?

 

[iBlazed]

Thanks for the reply, I'm really gonna have to think this over. A lot of reports of it being underpowered.

 

[Atrin1]

I got my gf a first gen mini for xmas and just updated her iOS to 7.1. She seems to think, in her words "Snappier". She says its feels smoother and going between Facebook and Candy Crush is faster

 

[sleevewipe]

I immediately regretted upgrading my 1st gen mini to iOS7... graphic stuttering, orientation lock bug. Clean installs made little difference, overall it just felt sluggish compared to iOS6.

They got it right with 7.1 or at least a lot better. Everything seems way more responsive and yes… snappier New life to my 1st gen IMO.

 

[myrtlebee]

Hm. I'm beginning to think there may be some subtle hardware differences in the processor between the first gen iPad mini that was shipped with iOS 6 pre-November, and the first gen iPad mini that was shipped with iOS 7 since November. After all the rear shell is different (Apple logo is a liquid metal insert rather than polished into the aluminum and the word iPad is printed in matte gray rather than polished into the aluminum). I have the iOS 7 post-November iPad mini and it is doing better on 7.1 than it was on 7.0. It is very fast with no problems whatsoever. No stuttering, nothing.

 

[TacticalDesire]

Everything is working just fine. If not a bit better.

 

[sparky1499]

I'm much happier running 7.1 on my original mini although haven't been using it as much lately.

 

[iOZZY]

My iPad mini on ios 7.1 is performs fine if the reduced contrast option is turned on otherwise it is not as smooth. The main cause for concern is the battery. I no longer get the nine hours usage over cellular with the battery indicator dropping below 100% after only 10mins. Previously this was around the 40min mark.

Haven't done a reset yet as I might look into getting the retina mini soon.

 

[Tikatika]

7.1 is a huge improvement on my original Mini. Smooth and FASTER!! No freezing or crashing. Highly recommend!

/rant on. The one thing that still bugs me to death is how they screwed up wallpaper. Still furious about the zooming. The "solutions" of perspective zoom : off or reduce motion : on still do not resolve the problem. Why they messed with this is beyond me and they really don't give a flip. /rant off

 

[Shanghaichica]

My first gen ipad mini runs well on 7.1. Almost back to its iOS 6 days. It wasn't terrible on 7.0, just had the occasional spring board and app crash. But nothing unbearable.

 

[maflynn]

7.1 on my wife's first gen mini seems to be doing ok. I can't say too much about it because I haven't tried it but from reports from the wife, its ok.

 

[heyitsmeneil]

Snappier but the display UGHH

iOS 7.1 just made everything on my 1st gen mini snappier.. really. closing apps, multitasking window, opening music apps everything faster. It looks like I just bought it yesterday.

my only concern on my mini is the display UGHH I use a lot my moms iPad Air and my ipad's display is awful. Im so desperat right now to have the rmini but yeah i guess i have to wait for the next two years.

 

[yep-sure]

7.0 was horrible on the Mini, but now with 7.1, it's actually enjoyable to use again,

 

[CEmajr]

7.1 has greatly improved my 1st Gen iPad Mini. Multitasking is smoother and Safari is no longer reloading every single tab.

 

[iPodJedi]

I'm thinking to buy a first ten iPad mini to tide myself over until the next generation iPad air comes out. I know there was a lot of talk about it being underpowered. iOS 7 slowed down the iPad 3 and it stayed pretty bad until 7.1, now it's finally usable. My question is, did iOS 7 significantly slow down the 1st gen mini as well? And did 7.1 fix it?

I got an iPad mini 1 for Christmas so it came with ios 7 preinstalled so i never experienced going from ios6 to 7 but i find that the mini isn't that slow on ios 7 and the performance hasnt changed since upgrading to 7.1 BUT the battery has been draining since the update.

 

[sammy-boy]

Never had a problem with 7 on my Mini, but definite performance improvement with 7.1. I'd say you should be fine with it, runs quite smooth and does everything I want it to do.