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iPad No perceivable performance difference between iPad 4 and Air.

K

klover

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 7, 2009
804
95
I'm using an Air and iPad 4 side-by-side (both running 7.0.3) and I'm seeing the exact same issues on both devices:

1. Stuttering on home screen when using gesture controls.
2. Wallpaper selection screen stutters/lags when scrolling through wallpaper options.
3. Still takes an oddly long time to set wallpaper.

With the x2 CPU upgrade and improved GPU benchmarks, I really expected a much smoother experience. In all honesty, I see no difference in the UI fluidity.

The weight, form, etc. are all quite good but I'm disappointed with the A7 (or maybe iOS7...not sure).
 
I am on air and I don't have any of the issues you mentioned. I just tried to recreate your issues and couldn't. Did you set up as a new iPad or from backup. Not sure if that would even matter.
 
tx26257 said:
I am on air and I don't have any of the issues you mentioned. I just tried to recreate your issues and couldn't. Did you set up as a new iPad or from backup. Not sure if that would even matter.
Click to expand...

Setup as new, no iCloud use, no Siri. Might just do a DFU restore and see if that helps.
 
Maybe you should set up as new. Maybe you have old 'cobwebs' lurking around the OS
 
TroyBoy30 said:
cool. 3 things that no one ever does

i haven't changed the wallpaper on my 3 for 2 years
Click to expand...

Weird, it's almost as if different people use devices differently.
Do you have an Air that doesn't do what I'm seeing?

How about keyboard lag? That's a pretty common use unless you never type.
 
My new iPad Air is way faster than my iPad 4th Gen. One task of many which the Air does far quicker is set a wallpaper picture. The 4th Gen seems to take an age to do this.
 
klover said:
I'm using an Air and iPad 4 side-by-side (both running 7.0.3) and I'm seeing the exact same issues on both devices:

1. Stuttering on home screen when using gesture controls.
2. Wallpaper selection screen stutters/lags when scrolling through wallpaper options.
3. Still takes an oddly long time to set wallpaper.

With the x2 CPU upgrade and improved GPU benchmarks, I really expected a much smoother experience. In all honesty, I see no difference in the UI fluidity.

The weight, form, etc. are all quite good but I'm disappointed with the A7 (or maybe iOS7...not sure).
Click to expand...

Between this, and the other thread where people are saying the screen feels plasticy, I am confirmed in my desire to hold on to my iPad 4 and wait to see what the mini retina is like. Thanks for this!
 
dantracht said:
Between this, and the other thread where people are saying the screen feels plasticy, I am confirmed in my desire to hold on to my iPad 4 and wait to see what the mini retina is like. Thanks for this!
Click to expand...

It may just be my device as others don't seem to have this issue. I do notice that screen rotations (portrait to landscape) are smooth whereas the iPad 4 would stutter. So there is an improvement in fluidity there.

Screen definitely feels like plastic despite the fact it's just much thinner glass (a la mini) - touch responsiveness is still excellent though.
 
dantracht said:
Between this, and the other thread where people are saying the screen feels plasticy, I am confirmed in my desire to hold on to my iPad 4 and wait to see what the mini retina is like. Thanks for this!
Click to expand...

I think you should see it for yourself. Dont trust what someone says. Trust yourself.
 
AdonisSMU said:
I think you should see it for yourself. Dont trust what someone says. Trust yourself.
Click to expand...

I'm going to wait until after the holidays when both the mini and the air are readily available and I can play with both. I used a mini for a while and like the form factor and the portability. For what I use it for the 4 is a great ipad for the time being.
 
My Mini screen felt quite plastic compared to the iPad 4, but it is much thinner. I don't even notice it one bit now, so hang in. Apple gave specific thinness dimensions regarding the screen during their October event, and I was expecting it to feel the same as the Mini.
 
klover said:
Anandtech's review clearly showed significant CPU and GPU improvements; I based my expectations on that data, not an Apple ad.
Click to expand...


not everything is about the CPU and GPU

at this point the only thing better on the Air are some games once they get updated. even then you won't see much difference until software is designed with the A7 in mind which is 18-24 months away
 
klover said:
I'm using an Air and iPad 4 side-by-side (both running 7.0.3) and I'm seeing the exact same issues on both devices:

1. Stuttering on home screen when using gesture controls.
2. Wallpaper selection screen stutters/lags when scrolling through wallpaper options.
3. Still takes an oddly long time to set wallpaper.

With the x2 CPU upgrade and improved GPU benchmarks, I really expected a much smoother experience. In all honesty, I see no difference in the UI fluidity.

The weight, form, etc. are all quite good but I'm disappointed with the A7 (or maybe iOS7...not sure).
Click to expand...

It's due to iOS 7. It still needs some ironing and bug fixing. It will be improved.
 
The fastest CPU in the world won't matter if the system has to fetch from the flash memory to display the home screen icons.

I was surprised that the simple act of pulling down the search bar still stutters as with my iPad 4. I agree that, on the home screen, the speed feels the same. Safari definitely is faster in reloading and rendering web pages, though.

I also agree that the screen feels much thinner. Typing on the 4 felt solid and made a low thump sound. Typing on this screen is more of a clicking tap.
 
Kariya said:
Maybe you should set up as new. Maybe you have old 'cobwebs' lurking around the OS
Click to expand...

Yeah, you've got specific symptoms on two separate pads, neither of whom often behave like that for others. Sounds less like HW and more like some problem that got ported over.

Wipe out the 5, see if it goes away. If so, consider importing less. Once that is sorted, wipe out the 4 and test it as well.
 
As everyone has been saying, those sound like software issues not hardware related issues. Its not like the new ipads came out with 7.1, so why were expecting software issues to suddenly be fixed?
 
We're at the stage where animations and other UI elements deliberately throttled across the board rather than limited by hardware. To see the A7's true capabilities would require you to put it under heavy load such as intensive gaming or video editing. Exactly the kind of stuff most people don't use their tablet for. Hence why there's little benefit of the A7 over the A6 for the average consumer, and shouldn't be a selling point for most people.
 
klover said:
I'm using an Air and iPad 4 side-by-side (both running 7.0.3) and I'm seeing the exact same issues on both devices:

1. Stuttering on home screen when using gesture controls.
2. Wallpaper selection screen stutters/lags when scrolling through wallpaper options.
3. Still takes an oddly long time to set wallpaper.

With the x2 CPU upgrade and improved GPU benchmarks, I really expected a much smoother experience. In all honesty, I see no difference in the UI fluidity.

The weight, form, etc. are all quite good but I'm disappointed with the A7 (or maybe iOS7...not sure).
Click to expand...

iPad performance would be improved with later upgrades, its evident that they have dedicated there updates to iPhones so far. For now, please turn on 'Reduce Motion' and Turn off 'Background App Refresh' if possible.
 
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