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ShaunAFC3

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 28, 2016
171
49
Believe it or not I am still on iOS 9.3.4, So I haven't downloaded iOS 11 on my iPad Air 2 because I really really worried if i do install iOS 10 or 11 it will definitely slow down my iPad which I definitely don't really want like the animations will be choppy, shuttering and the apps/games won't load as fast compared to on 9.3.4. I just don't want to take the risk as once you upgrade to a new version of iOS unfortunately you can't downgrade go back to a previous or older version of IOS...

So I am keeping my iPad Air 2 on iOS 9.3.4 forever even I would like to use the new iPad features like the new dock, new and improved multitasking and the new file manager. Anyway I definitely can wait and get to use those new iPad features when I get a new iPad in a year or 2 time. :D:D

So I am wondering iPad users will you be upgrading to the iOS 11 when it comes out this fall on your iPad?? Or will you staying on the current version of the iOS on your iPad?? Will you be using the new iPad features(new dock, new/improved multitasking and the new file manager) on your iPad?? o_O

And should I upgrade to iOS 11 on my iPad Air 2?? Or should I keep it on iOS 9.3.4?? Because I don't really know if I should or not?? I just really worried that iOS 10 or 11 will definitely slow down my iPad Air 2 as I said in my post above..... o_O
 

Ghost31

macrumors 68040
Jun 9, 2015
3,463
5,393
IPad Air 2 is basically the new iPad 2. It's got great hardware and the thing is gonna last a long freaking time. No doubt considering the number of them they sold, Apple will make it run pretty well on the air 2. I'd go ahead and just upgrade. This is the most substantial iPad related upgrade since the iPad has come out...of coarse you should man!
 

JohnnyGo

macrumors 6502a
Sep 9, 2009
956
620
Cannot give an opinion about your specific case. In my case, I always upgrade to the latest iOS.

Right now I’m using IOS 11 PB2 on my iPad Pro 9.7”. It runs just fine. From what others are saying performance on iPad Air 2 should be just fine. The first iPad Air, however, had only an A7 chip (no X version soc) so maybe those users should think twice.
 
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rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,907
13,235
IPad Air 2 is basically the new iPad 2. It's got great hardware and the thing is gonna last a long freaking time. No doubt considering the number of them they sold, Apple will make it run pretty well on the air 2. I'd go ahead and just upgrade. This is the most substantial iPad related upgrade since the iPad has come out...of coarse you should man!
No it's not. The iPad Air 2 is significantly better than the iPad 2. iOS 7 caused a notable slowdown on all the older models and I wouldn't want to use A5-based devices on iOS 8 or higher.

Meanwhile, the Air 2 has actually kept really good performance even up to now.
 

Ghost31

macrumors 68040
Jun 9, 2015
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No it's not. The iPad Air 2 is significantly better than the iPad 2. iOS 7 caused a notable slowdown on all the older models and I wouldn't want to use A5-based devices on iOS 8 or higher.

Meanwhile, the Air 2 has actually kept really good performance even up to now.
Are we on the same page? I meant the iPad 2 had some serious longevity and that same quality carries over for the iPad Air 2. I believe it'll last a long freaking time
 

Sheza

macrumors 68020
Aug 14, 2010
2,091
1,807
The iPad Air 2 is still a very fast device, and has the same amount of RAM as the iPad Pro 9.7 which is not even that old.

Upgrade to at least iOS 11, if not 12 or even beyond. You have a very capable iPad. To be still on iOS 9 is insane!
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,907
13,235
Are we on the same page? I meant the iPad 2 had some serious longevity and that same quality carries over for the iPad Air 2. I believe it'll last a long freaking time
Performance-wise, I don't view the iPad 2 as having "serious longevity". It may have been supported by Apple up to iOS 9 but I personally wouldn't update it past iOS 7 (so around 3 years worth of updates). In terms of performance with age, I didn't find the iPad 2 any better than say, the iPad 4 or Air.

Meanwhile, the Air 2 is still very fast even now and iOS 9 & 10 haven't really made any noticeable dents in its performance.
 

Ghost31

macrumors 68040
Jun 9, 2015
3,463
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I always keep my devices up to date with the latest OS. I will definitely update my Mini 4.
Me too. Not just for fun little new features but for the security that comes with them. The second I have a device so old it doesn't run well on the current OS, well...that's when I start ipad shopping because it's time to upgrade
 

eyoungren

macrumors Penryn
Aug 31, 2011
29,604
28,367
My iPad Air 2 is jailbroken on iOS 8.1. So no. I won't be updating to iOS 11.
 

Ffosse

macrumors 68000
Nov 5, 2012
1,827
652
The Air 2 is 3 years old by now - maybe it will be fine with iOs 11, maybe not.
 

joeblow7777

macrumors 604
Sep 7, 2010
7,186
9,028
Me too. Not just for fun little new features but for the security that comes with them. The second I have a device so old it doesn't run well on the current OS, well...that's when I start ipad shopping because it's time to upgrade

My thoughts exactly. Also, in my experience at least, it seems like people exaggerate perceived performance issues from updates. It's like, "Oh no! I saw an animation stutter, or I think an app took 0.2 seconds longer to open! My device is unusable!"
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,907
13,235
Me too. Not just for fun little new features but for the security that comes with them. The second I have a device so old it doesn't run well on the current OS, well...that's when I start ipad shopping because it's time to upgrade
Lol, this is what has me updating my iOS devices quite often. Specially during the early days of iPhones, there's a noticeable slowdown after the first major firmware update and on the second firmware update, you really do want to replace it already (so the 2-year contracts were pretty ideal).

I still remember the first iPhone. It was really slow right out the gate and it had these checkerboard placeholders when rendering webpages. Despite all that, still pretty magical since the competition at that time wasn't really as intuitive. :p

For the iPhone, imho, A6/A7 were the first longevity models. For the iPad, imho, it's A8/A9.
 
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joeblow7777

macrumors 604
Sep 7, 2010
7,186
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It's also worth noting that while older iOS devices may have slowed down noticeably with updates as their hardware couldn't keep up with the new demands, modern devices have internals that are actually overkill for a mobile OS like iOS.
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,907
13,235
It's also worth noting that while older iOS devices may have slowed down noticeably with updates as their hardware couldn't keep up with the new demands, modern devices have internals that are actually overkill for a mobile OS like iOS.
Yep, pretty much. The thing is with Air and older, iPads were noticeably slower than my 2011 Core i7 Sandy Bridge with 8GB RAM and SSD W7 PC for web browsing. Pretty apparent on media, gif or JavaScript heavy webpages. Also, definitely noticeable lag when there were apps updating in the background.

Nowadays, the iPad is just as fast/responsive as most PCs or moreso.
 
Last edited:

Sunshoopa

macrumors 6502
Apr 19, 2011
325
211
I wouldn’t of upgraded my Air to iOS 11 if I still had it because it was already starting to slow down on iOS 10, mainly due to just having 1GB of RAM. I couldn’t have more than 1 app open without worrying if it’d quit the second one anymore, or have more than 3 tabs open and refreshing the other tabs. I’m using the iOS 11 beta on my 10.5 now, and - while of course it’d run great - I’m staying on it.
 

Act3

macrumors 68020
Sep 26, 2014
2,367
2,821
USA
Believe it or not I am still on iOS 9.3.4, So I haven't downloaded iOS 11 on my iPad Air 2 because I really really worried if i do install iOS 10 or 11 it will definitely slow down my iPad which I definitely don't really want like the animations will be choppy, shuttering and the apps/games won't load as fast compared to on 9.3.4. I just don't want to take the risk as once you upgrade to a new version of iOS unfortunately you can't downgrade go back to a previous or older version of IOS...

So I am keeping my iPad Air 2 on iOS 9.3.4 forever even I would like to use the new iPad features like the new dock, new and improved multitasking and the new file manager. Anyway I definitely can wait and get to use those new iPad features when I get a new iPad in a year or 2 time. :D:D

So I am wondering iPad users will you be upgrading to the iOS 11 when it comes out this fall on your iPad?? Or will you staying on the current version of the iOS on your iPad?? Will you be using the new iPad features(new dock, new/improved multitasking and the new file manager) on your iPad?? o_O

And should I upgrade to iOS 11 on my iPad Air 2?? Or should I keep it on iOS 9.3.4?? Because I don't really know if I should or not?? I just really worried that iOS 10 or 11 will definitely slow down my iPad Air 2 as I said in my post above..... o_O

iOS 10.3.3 is the same or faster on my Air 2 than iOS 9 was. I've had the Air 2 since they first came out and my air 2 performance seems better than it did the day I unboxed it. Same thing with my 6s as well. I'll probably try 11 on my devices while the signing window is still open for iOS 10 in case performance sucks.
 
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44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
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I will eventually update to iOS 11. But I typically don't update on day one. Mainly to ensure what others are experiencing and reports of any other issues noted. For Me, there is no direct benefit of upgrading on day one.
 

Ghost31

macrumors 68040
Jun 9, 2015
3,463
5,393
Hey I saw you ask this on reddit too man! It's a good question, but really as long as you have a device that supports it you should always upgrade. I'll be upgrading mine on every device I have forever just for the security updates alone. After taking a course in cyber security last summer, I'm always thinking about the security of my devices.

Only small thing for me is I wait a few days after an update to update my devices for a couple reasons

  • To see if there are any huge bugs coming WITH the update that'll just totally ruin my device
  • Because updating the first day is annoying anyway. Apples servers are always getting hammered so hard sometimes updating is a bit of a chore. I just wait a few days until everything calms down
 

Donfor

macrumors member
Aug 14, 2016
89
15
not sure which ios my 10.5 will be delivered with tomorrow

think I’ll continue to run ios11 pbs via iphone and enjoy ipad 10.5 until 11 is released.
 

M5RahuL

macrumors 68040
Aug 1, 2009
3,469
2,133
TeXaS
not sure which ios my 10.5 will be delivered with tomorrow

think I’ll continue to run ios11 pbs via iphone and enjoy ipad 10.5 until 11 is released.

iOS 11 (even in beta form) on the 10.5 is boss!! Not so much on the iPhone, honestly!
[doublepost=1500945733][/doublepost]On my Air 2, I’m sticking with iOS 10.
 
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44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
42,494
not sure which ios my 10.5 will be delivered with tomorrow

think I’ll continue to run ios11 pbs via iphone and enjoy ipad 10.5 until 11 is released.

From reports, Seems the betas are running fairly good on the new iPad Pro's. But looking
Forward to the public release in September.
 
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