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Update iPad Air 2 from 10.3.3 to 12.2?

B

Bladery

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Hey guys,

I have an iPad Air 2 which is still running on iOS 10.3.3 (latest version of iOS 10).

Do you recommend updating to iOS 12.2?
I do not want any hiccups or slow downs in any ways (like animations or loading websites etc.)

Thanks for your advice!
 
Radon87000 said:
No. Don’t do do it at any cost! I have the same device and it doesn’t perform nearly as well as it did on iOS 10.3.3. The battery life has also substantially decreased.
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Ok, thanks for your advice!
How does it feel like? I mean, I feel almost every animation stuttering etc. so I’m better of not updating I guess haha
But apple said that iOS 12 is a performance update even for older devices
 
The iPad Air 2 runs just fine on iOS 12. I fully recommend it.

Dunno about battery life but iOS 12 is a great OS. Lots of new features iOS 11 and iOS 12 that are actually useful, and overall performance is quite decent.
 
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EugW said:
The iPad Air 2 runs just fine on iOS 12. I fully recommend it.

Dunno about battery life but iOS 12 is a great OS. Lots of new features that are actually useful.
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Well, but did you update from iOS 10 to 12? Because otherwise it would have been slow process and you get used to stutterings etc.
 
Bladery said:
Well, but did you update from iOS 10 to 12? Because otherwise it would have been slow process and you get used to stutterings etc.
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iOS 12 is faster than iOS 11.

But even iOS 11 was OK on the iPad Air 2. Was iOS 10 faster? Maybe slightly but iOS 12 is fast enough.
 
The only benefit of staying on iOS 10 is battery life but the added features and improved performance from iOS 11 outweighs it. The Air 2 flies on iOS 12.
 
Freakonomics101 said:
The only benefit of staying on iOS 10 is battery life but the added features and improved performance from iOS 11 outweighs it. The Air 2 flies on iOS 12.
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Some say it lags (which is my guess too) and some say it’s ok.
Hm, according to some videos, it’s indeed slower.

No new features needed, it’s just a safari and YouTube device. Nothing more.
 
Bladery said:
Some say it lags (which is my guess too) and some say it’s ok.
Hm, according to some videos, it’s indeed slower.
Click to expand...

What videos? If you're comparing iOS 10 to iOS 11, remember that iOS 12 is faster than iOS 11.

No new features needed, it’s just a safari and YouTube device. Nothing more.
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Slide Over and Split View with Safari is way better in iOS 11/12 by a long shot.
 
Last edited:
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I don’t know why people think iOS10 was so great... I thought it was no better than any other version including the most recent updates. I had persistent issues with email as well as battery throughout iOS10.. My Air2 is on iOS12.2 and it performs better than it ever did on iOS10 so if you want advice, realize that everyone’s experience will be different and some will prefer older software due to it simplicity and slight quicker performance and some will prefer new software for the added features and functionality as well as security..
 
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Just update to iOS 12.

There is zero reason to keep using a two year old OS.

Pretty sure that there is no difference in battery life. Sure, battery life might be *now* worse than it was two years ago out of box, but that’s got nothing to do with iOS. Batteries degrade over time.

Apple has very generous OS support for old devices, enjoy it.
 
Hi, just upgraded. Zippy and fluid as my Air 2 has never been, but YES the battery took a hard hit. Lets go back in time. I bought the Air 2. It was on iOS 9: 12 hours of usage. After each update, the battery went down 40 minutes or around it.Then I upgraded to iOS 10 and stayed on 10.3.3 when battery usage was around 5-6 hours. Skipped iOS 11 and now on iOS 12.2. As I said, fast and fluid but battery is now around a ridiculous 3-4 hours. So no way I'm going for a new iDevice from Apple. Staying with my old Air2 et dinosaur iPhone 6s. More money in my pockets. In a nutshell, upgrade and it's a new Air 2 but accept the hit on the battery. BTW, is 'time screen" is the same as battery usage?
 
Racineur said:
Hi, just upgraded. Zippy and fluid as my Air 2 has never been, but YES the battery took a hard hit. Lets go back in time. I bought the Air 2. It was on iOS 9: 12 hours of usage. After each update, the battery went down 40 minutes or around it.Then I upgraded to iOS 10 and stayed on 10.3.3 when battery usage was around 5-6 hours. Skipped iOS 11 and now on iOS 12.2. As I said, fast and fluid but battery is now around a ridiculous 3-4 hours. So no way I'm going for a new iDevice from Apple. Staying with my old Air2 et dinosaur iPhone 6s. More money in my pockets. In a nutshell, upgrade and it's a new Air 2 but accept the hit on the battery. BTW, is 'time screen" is the same as battery usage?
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Apple will replace your iPad Air 2 for CAD$129, complete with a new battery.

https://support.apple.com/en-ca/ipad/repair/service
 
EugW said:
Apple will replace your iPad Air 2 for CAD$129, complete with a new battery.

https://support.apple.com/en-ca/ipad/repair/service
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Friend, 129$ replaces the battery only. Anyhow, I will call Apple service soon. Doing this trip back in time made me recall a strange thing that happened. A genius replaced my iPad that had a defect scree. When I came back home I was amazed by the new screen and so happy cause it was the third time Apple replace my Air 2. But I noticed the battery of this last Air 2 was already down to 95%. Was so happy to have an Air 2 with a perfect Retina screen that I stopped short of going back to the store. Now...
 
Racineur said:
Friend, 129$ replaces the battery only.
Click to expand...
According to reports, the way they usually replace the battery is to take your iPad and give you a new iPad. They don't usually disassemble it in-store.

Either way, before you take it in, make sure you have a complete iTunes backup.
 
EugW said:
According to reports, the way they usually replace the battery is to take your iPad and give you a new iPad. They don't usually disassemble it in-store.

Either way, before you take it in, make sure you have a complete iTunes backup.
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OK friend, I understand. Sure I will follow you advice. This Air 2 is mostly used for emailing and browsing. It has never played a game other than Mahjong.
 
Racineur said:
Hi, just upgraded. Zippy and fluid as my Air 2 has never been, but YES the battery took a hard hit. Lets go back in time. I bought the Air 2. It was on iOS 9: 12 hours of usage. After each update, the battery went down 40 minutes or around it.Then I upgraded to iOS 10 and stayed on 10.3.3 when battery usage was around 5-6 hours. Skipped iOS 11 and now on iOS 12.2. As I said, fast and fluid but battery is now around a ridiculous 3-4 hours. So no way I'm going for a new iDevice from Apple. Staying with my old Air2 et dinosaur iPhone 6s. More money in my pockets. In a nutshell, upgrade and it's a new Air 2 but accept the hit on the battery. BTW, is 'time screen" is the same as battery usage?
Click to expand...

At this point your battery is four to five years old. Considerable degradation should be expected at this point. Batteries don’t last forever.

Just to satisfy your own curiosity, if you have a Mac you can use Coconut Battery to check the health of your battery.
 
My iPad air 2 have absolutely no problem on iOS 12.2 at all. It runs just like iOS 10 did plus you miss really great feature by staying on an old OS like that like the new dock for iPad, the new app switcher and gestures for switching apps etc. The iPad was greatly improved on productivity with iOS 11. My battery life is also the same as before.

For what I remember, the iPad air 2 was extremely snappy only on its original iOS 8 release. After 9 came, it was still very good and quick, but never had the instant quickness of 8 again, but on iOS 9 and up, it honestly feels the same to me and never saw a degredation on performance or battery life since. Its one of the best iPad Apple related.
 
My wife's iPad Air (first generation) is on iOS 12.2 and works perfectly. If there's any performance degradation at all, it's undetectable.
 
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