iPad mini iPadOS 26 on iPad mini (6th Generation)

[Yebubbleman]

I have an iPad mini (6th Generation) (Wi-Fi+Cellular) that I've kept on iPadOS 18. I've primarily held at iPadOS 18 on this due to both early experience with iPadOS 26 on an iPad (A16) (Wi-Fi+Cellular) that I bought and then quickly returned (bought it for a trip) and due to my other experiences with iOS 26 on an iPhone 13 (same SoC as the aforementioned iPad mini) as well as macOS Tahoe on M1; which is to say that, in all cases, I noticed degradation in performance over iOS/iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia with the same hardware.

So, for those of you also rocking 6th Generation iPad minis, how has your mileage with iPadOS 26 been?

I've got half a mind to keep rocking and rolling with iPadOS 18 and then, in the fall, upgrading to either the A17 Pro version or whatever the 8th Generation mini will be, should that materialize as rumored.

 

[headlessmike]

I have an iPad mini (6th Generation) (Wi-Fi+Cellular) that I've kept on iPadOS 18. I've primarily held at iPadOS 18 on this due to both early experience with iPadOS 26 on an iPad (A16) (Wi-Fi+Cellular) that I bought and then quickly returned (bought it for a trip) and due to my other experiences with iOS 26 on an iPhone 13 (same SoC as the aforementioned iPad mini) as well as macOS Tahoe on M1; which is to say that, in all cases, I noticed degradation in performance over iOS/iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia with the same hardware.

So, for those of you also rocking 6th Generation iPad minis, how has your mileage with iPadOS 26 been?

I've got half a mind to keep rocking and rolling with iPadOS 18 and then, in the fall, upgrading to either the A17 Pro version or whatever the 8th Generation mini will be, should that materialize as rumored.

Not a single issue on mine (baring a few beta bugs that were fixed before release). Been running iPadOS 26 on it since release day.

I will say though that iOS/iPadOS/macOS 26 have had some of the longest break in periods I've experienced on Apple devices. The performance on all of my devices has been great, even older ones like my iPhone 11, but only after a couple of days post install. I still have a copy os macOS Sequoia on my M1 Mac mini along side Tahoe and Tahoe runs at least as good once everything settled down (and even feels faster due to sped up animations).

 

[berb]

I accidentally clicked update to iPadOS 26 a month ago and have regretted it ever since.

Performance wise, the iPad mini 6 runs perfectly well on iPadOS 26. No lag, and I turn off as much of Liquid Glass as possible.

But the OS 26 UI is terrible for all reasons the internet complains about. I've just bought a used iPad mini (A17 Pro) that still had iPadOS 18.6 and couldn't be happier. Less friction and easier to read UI.

I'm selling my loyal old iPad mini 6 because of iPadOS 26.

 

[RoadWarrior56]

How does iOS 26 run on the iPad Mini, 5th Generation, as this device is the oldest one that supports iOS 26? I still have one and use it regularly. IMO, its display is sharper and easier to read than its two successors. I have kept the Mini 5 on iOS 18, not wanting to chance an "upgrade" that would slow it down to a crawl. But I would like some feedback in the Mini 5 with iOS 26, if it exists.

 

[rui no onna]

How does iOS 26 run on the iPad Mini, 5th Generation, as this device is the oldest one that supports iOS 26? I still have one and use it regularly. IMO, its display is sharper and easier to read than its two successors. I have kept the Mini 5 on iOS 18, not wanting to chance an "upgrade" that would slow it down to a crawl. But I would like some feedback in the Mini 5 with iOS 26, if it exists.

The mini 5 has A12/3GB. I have the iPad 9 with A13/3GB on which should be fairly similar performance-wise and it's so-so on 26.

Lag used to be pretty bad but it has steadily improved with newer point releases.

 

[Phineasgage1848]

Just stick with on iPadOS 18! Both me and my wife have 256gb iPad Mini 6th gens and have a lot of problems on 26. It’s gotten a little better with the latest point updates but it still stutters a lot and performance is much worse than 18. On 26.4 I would have to hard reset them both about every week because the screens would become non-responsive in some areas and it would get fixed with a hard reset. Hasn’t happened yet in 26.5 but we’ll see. We will be upgrading to the new Minis when they come out but man is 26 really hard on the 6th gens. It’s sad because it never really felt slow or stutters on 18. On the bright side though I just got an 11in m5 iPad Pro and this thing is incredible. Still love my Mini form factor though.

 

[RoadWarrior56]

Just stick with on iPadOS 18! Both me and my wife have 256gb iPad Mini 6th gens and have a lot of problems on 26. It’s gotten a little better with the latest point updates but it still stutters a lot and performance is much worse than 18. On 26.4 I would have to hard reset them both about every week because the screens would become non-responsive in some areas and it would get fixed with a hard reset. Hasn’t happened yet in 26.5 but we’ll see. We will be upgrading to the new Minis when they come out but man is 26 really hard on the 6th gens. It’s sad because it never really felt slow or stutters on 18. On the bright side though I just got an 11in m5 iPad Pro and this thing is incredible. Still love my Mini form factor though.

Thanks for the advice. It generally follows my instincts about leaving my Mini 5 alone. IPad OS 26 runs fine on my M1 iPad Air, but an M1 is a big upgrade over an A12, so no surprise there. I will keep my Mini 5 on IPadOS 18.7.x until or unless I purchase a Mini 8 after they come out. I would then upgrade the Mini 5 to the latest version of IPadOS 26 just before purchase to get a more compatible backup or an easier direct App and data transfer.

 

[FeliApple]

Thanks for the advice. It generally follows my instincts about leaving my Mini 5 alone. IPad OS 26 runs fine on my M1 iPad Air, but an M1 is a big upgrade over an A12, so no surprise there. I will keep my Mini 5 on IPadOS 18.7.x until or unless I purchase a Mini 8 after they come out. I would then upgrade the Mini 5 to the latest version of IPadOS 26 just before purchase to get a more compatible backup or an easier direct App and data transfer.

I agree: 26 is iffy everywhere, but a good general piece of advice if you want to update but not too much (my advice is to never update anything but it’s a VERY unpopular opinion) is to never install the last supported major version.

Mini 5, oldest supported Mini? Don’t update.

I wanted to ask though: how’s the Air 5 (M1) running on 26? How’s performance and battery life?

I really like mine, its performance is similar to the best-performing device I have, my Xʀ on iOS 12, but mine is running iPadOS 15. Standby battery life is rather poor but that’s always been the case (even on its original version). In-use battery life is great.

How’s yours?

 

[jerryjohnson]

Honestly, staying on iPadOS 18 for the mini 6 feels like the smart move right now. I tried 26 on the same A15 class hardware and noticed more heat, lower battery life, and less fluid animations. The mini’s portability makes efficiency matter more than flashy features. I’d probably wait for the A17 Pro mini too.

 

[Digitalguy]

Not counting iPads that cannot get 26, I have a:
a mini 6 and a M1 on 26
another M1 on 15
a mini 5 and a pro 2018 on 17
another mini 5 on 16
2 M4s and a M2 on 18

I'll probably update my pro 2018 and one of the mini 5 to 18, which should not slow it down too much but will definitely cause more reloads (as it did when I moved my M1 and M4 to 18), but will give the more longevity. They will never see 26 as far as I am concerned (of course this is a rare situation where you can upgrade to an OS which is not the latest)
I'll also update the rest to 27 if it's considered good (so after at least a couple of months), except the M1 which is on 15, as it needs to stay there to run Windows virtualized