I’ve been holding off installing iPad OS 26 on my iPad Air 3. I don’t want to install something that just won’t be worth it, and frustrate me, and I won’t be able to revert back to iPad OS 18. I’d like to hear from iPad Air 3 users who have installed iPad OS 26, and what they find beneficial or what they hate or find super annoying. Also two specific questions: How well does multiple app window support work and does the new Preview app work?
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iPad OS 26 on iPad Air 3 - Worth it?
- Thread starter mwhite
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macrumors 68030
It’s always something
macrumors 6502a
With only 3GB of RAM, I would be surprised if the experience is pleasant. Personally I find performance on iPad 11 to be barely tolerable, and that is with 6GB and an A16
I’ve been using iOS 26 on my iPhone17, and I really don’t like it. I don’t get what Apple (or the users) gain from changing things they way they did. I’ve done my best woth wjat settings they give you to tamp it down. The transparency wa so unnecessary; didn’t Apple learn it’s lesson with all the transparency in early OS X? And what’s with all the left justified text? I think it looks bad. Other changes too that they made with menus. I feel like sometimes Apple changes things for change’s sake and a compulsion towards style over substance (which can even apply to their hardware designs, especially back in the later Jony Ive days).
rui no onna
Contributor
Don’t do it. I have iPadOS 26 on the iPad 9th gen (A13/3GB) and it’s gotten quite laggy. I imagine the Air 3 with A12/3GB will be the same or slightly worse.