Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

All iPads My iPhone 5 is faster than my iPad Air

C

cababah

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jun 11, 2009
1,891
504
SF Bay Area, CA
There, I said it.

When using general OS functions like composing an email, opening YouTube, Facebook, etc, my iPhone 5 on iOS 7 seems a lot faster. I have even compared them side by side to confirm this.

Obviously when comparing the two in GeekBench, the Air smokes my iPhone. Also, the Air does load games faster and with smoother frame rates but I can't feel the speediness of the "mighty" A7 processor and all of its 64-bit glory anywhere else...

Do you guys think this is an iOS 7 (for iPad) issue? It is just sad that it feels so relatively sluggish in normal use compared to my year-old phone. I have a feeling that by the time things are truly optimized for the 64-bit A7 processor, the next iPad will be around the corner with the proper 2+ GB of RAM that the Air should have had.

Crossing my fingers that iOS 7.1 fixes a lot of these issues that should not be present on a flagship tablet that costs $700 (for my 64GB model).
 
All things being equal, all things are not equal. The iPad is pushing a lot more pixels. That takes considerable CPU power.

Loose comparison; If the iPhone is a Porsche 911, the iPad is a Porsche Cayenne SUV. Maybe the same engine, and the same top speeds, but the 911 will be peppier.
 
mcdj said:
All things being equal, all things are not equal. The iPad is pushing a lot more pixels. That takes considerable CPU power.

Loose comparison; If the iPhone is a Porsche 911, the iPad is a Porsche Cayenne SUV. Maybe the same engine, and the same top speeds, but the 911 will be peppier.
Click to expand...

That would make sense if they both had the same processor but they don't. The A7 in the Air is a lot more powerful than the A6 in the iPhone 5...
 
cababah said:
That would make sense if they both had the same processor but they don't. The A7 in the Air is a lot more powerful than the A6 in the iPhone 5...
Click to expand...

I stand corrected. It's past my bedtime.

I do feel the iOS7 code needs some serious streamlining. Which is ironic, given how much simpler the graphics are and how much less code there is, based on the install size.

But maybe this comes down to the whole 64bit/RAM overhead issue, in which case we may not see relief until the next ipad.

Apple's notorious for making sure we feel the speed of the next generation so we can't resist the upgrade.

Ultimately, I just have this nagging hunch that a big high resolution tablet is always going to run a little more slowly than a little phone. A7 or otherwise.
 
I've noticed as well that iPad Air UI is not as smooth as that one from iPhone 5S runing the same iOS.

Scrollng in browser is laggy, some animations, spotlight......not smooth.
 
Complete opposite here, not only is my new iPad Air faster than my 5s it's A LOT Faster......
 
cababah said:
There, I said it.

When using general OS functions like composing an email, opening YouTube, Facebook, etc, my iPhone 5 on iOS 7 seems a lot faster. I have even compared them side by side to confirm this.

Obviously when comparing the two in GeekBench, the Air smokes my iPhone. Also, the Air does load games faster and with smoother frame rates but I can't feel the speediness of the "mighty" A7 processor and all of its 64-bit glory anywhere else...

Do you guys think this is an iOS 7 (for iPad) issue? It is just sad that it feels so relatively sluggish in normal use compared to my year-old phone. I have a feeling that by the time things are truly optimized for the 64-bit A7 processor, the next iPad will be around the corner with the proper 2+ GB of RAM that the Air should have had.

Crossing my fingers that iOS 7.1 fixes a lot of these issues that should not be present on a flagship tablet that costs $700 (for my 64GB model).
Click to expand...

Hi Cababah, you're not wrong at all. I'm experiencing the same along with a bunch of others on these forums. The "more pixels" argument aside, I used an iPad 4 (same Retina display) in work that ran iOS 6 ran so smooth that it made me ecstatic. That's what disappointed me most about the iPad Air, why wasn't the Air even faster than that.

Everyone is saying its iOS as there are allegedly major performance improvements in 7.1 so hold on out for that and soon hopefully we'll all be holding a beast in our hands.
 
johnmacward said:
Hi Cababah, you're not wrong at all. I'm experiencing the same along with a bunch of others on these forums. The "more pixels" argument aside, I used an iPad 4 (same Retina display) in work that ran iOS 6 ran so smooth that it made me ecstatic. That's what disappointed me most about the iPad Air, why wasn't the Air even faster than that.

Everyone is saying its iOS as there are allegedly major performance improvements in 7.1 so hold on out for that and soon hopefully we'll all be holding a beast in our hands.
Click to expand...

Or return it like I did and wait it out and see what happens with 7.1.
 
Ios 7.1 beta 3 is buttery smooth on the iPad Air the way is supposed to be. Many many enhancements to the overall smoothness have been completely addressed along with most of the stupid respringing. Here's a link to a video I made. I've been using it all week on my air and it's really really close to being ready for prime time. That's saying a lot considering this beta is waaaay more stable than the current public release. At least on my ipad.


http://youtu.be/lx4MAq4_AEg
 
I find the 5/5S runs iOS 7 far better than any iPad. The best iPad experience I have seen is on a 2 with as many features turned down.
 
iPhone 5/5s only has to push 23.11% of the screen pixels of an iPad 3/4/Air.
 
Your iPhone just feels faster because i0S 7 is not well optimised for tables. i0S 7.1 should rectify that.
 
DJJAZZYJET said:
Your iPhone just feels faster because i0S 7 is not well optimised for tables. i0S 7.1 should rectify that.
Click to expand...

Don't you find it a bit disconcerting that we have to wait 6 months after the product's release to get the "optimized" OS that it should have came with?
 
cababah said:
Don't you find it a bit disconcerting that we have to wait 6 months after the product's release to get the "optimized" OS that it should have came with?
Click to expand...

Not disconcerting. The OS still works perfectly, but theres room for improvement. It sucks, but at least Apples fixing it.
 
BenTrovato said:
I find the 5/5S runs iOS 7 far better than any iPad. The best iPad experience I have seen is on a 2 with as many features turned down.
Click to expand...

My flatmate has an iPad2 with iOS 5.0. He never updated it. It literally smokes my iPad 4 with iOS 7.0.2. It is so fast with built-in apps, I can't believe it... I am so regretting the times of the buttery-smooth iOS6 experience on mine...
Plus, using both iOS6 (on my close to 4 years old trusty 3GS, which can still run, say, Spotify and Nike+running in the morning and last until the end of the day with Exchange push notifications) and iOS7 on the iPad, I really find the interface on the 6 to be more ergonomic. iOS7 is pleasing to the eye and I find myself loving the subtle animations, e.g. in Messages, but Mail and Safari, among others, are less intuitive and way slower than before. It is definitely not worth the tradeoff in performances...
 
cababah said:
these issues that should not be present on a flagship tablet that costs $700 (for my 64GB model).
Click to expand...

The base 16GB model costs $500. That you paid a ridiculous $200 for a $5 chip does not make your iPad any more premium, nor entitles you to an expedite issue fixing from Apple.
 
kyjaotkb said:
My flatmate has an iPad2 with iOS 5.0. He never updated it. It literally smokes my iPad 4 with iOS 7.0.2. It is so fast with built-in apps, I can't believe it... I am so regretting the times of the buttery-smooth iOS6 experience on mine...
Plus, using both iOS6 (on my close to 4 years old trusty 3GS, which can still run, say, Spotify and Nike+running in the morning and last until the end of the day with Exchange push notifications) and iOS7 on the iPad, I really find the interface on the 6 to be more ergonomic. iOS7 is pleasing to the eye and I find myself loving the subtle animations, e.g. in Messages, but Mail and Safari, among others, are less intuitive and way slower than before. It is definitely not worth the tradeoff in performances...
Click to expand...

Strictly from an OS-speed, iOS 7 is undeniably slower at navigating around. The 5 on iOS 6 is by far the fastest device in the house right now (also have 5S, 4S, iPad Air, iPad 1).

I'm really hoping that 7.1 makes it fast like it used to be. It's all the gaps in touch response between actions that kill it!
 
samiznaetekto said:
The base 16GB model costs $500. That you paid a ridiculous $200 for a $5 chip does not make your iPad any more premium, nor entitles you to an expedite issue fixing from Apple.
Click to expand...

Everyone has different storage needs so please withhold your judgment on what you define as "ridiculous." That being said, the iPad Air is still currently Apple's flagship tablet.
 
cababah said:
Everyone has different storage needs so please withhold your judgment on what you define as "ridiculous." That being said, the iPad Air is still currently Apple's flagship tablet.
Click to expand...

I have no idea what you are trying to say here.

You included details that were not important, every iPad regardless of the capacity or cellular radio should perform the same. Your post sounds like you think you deserve special treatment because you bought an iPad with more storage.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back