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All iPads How much space should you leave free ?
- Thread starter max2
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People say 20% is optimal in computing, but I’m not sure that’s particularly relevant with most iPads. I think it’s to do with swapping, which most do not do. My 64 gb 2018 pro has been on around 62gb for most of its life. Whilst annoying that it’s never got space (64gb is nowhere near enough) - it’s not showing any slowdown issues like a regular computer does. So I’m inclined to say it’s not really an issue with an iPad but ymmv.
An SSD should always have some free space to give the controller some space for shuffling things around for wear levelling. How important that is and how much space should be left free depends on factors like how much overprovisioning the SSD does internally and how much data you write to it while using the device. If it's full but the stored data doesn't change much, as is probably more likely on an iPad than a computer, it doesn't matter much.
I thought swap files were only a thing as of iOS 16. Ideally the with macOS (which also has swap) you'd want 2x the amount of RAM on the system. Thanks to the iCloud syncing filling and refilling space as well you also have to keep an eye on that.
With smaller capacities, I stick to 20%.
I have iCould Photos set to Download and Keep Original. On older iOS versions, if I didn't have 20% free, the Photos app will complain about not enough free space and recommend switching to Optimize.
Premature optimization is the bane of computing.
Do you have a problem with performance?
If not, stop wasting your time worrying about this and spend your time more fruitfully worrying about something more important.
If performance is a problem, do you have stuff you can offload or delete? If so, do so; if not, upgrade.
I have never encountered anybody anywhere who has experienced NVRAM failure on an iPad, especially because they were using too much of the storage. If you’re worried about that, you should instead worry about slipping in the shower and drowning; that happens far, far more often. I mean, people who live in Kansas are at greater risk from being eaten alive by a shark than you are of experiencing NVRAM failure on an iPad.
b&
Do you have a problem with performance?
If not, stop wasting your time worrying about this and spend your time more fruitfully worrying about something more important.
If performance is a problem, do you have stuff you can offload or delete? If so, do so; if not, upgrade.
I have never encountered anybody anywhere who has experienced NVRAM failure on an iPad, especially because they were using too much of the storage. If you’re worried about that, you should instead worry about slipping in the shower and drowning; that happens far, far more often. I mean, people who live in Kansas are at greater risk from being eaten alive by a shark than you are of experiencing NVRAM failure on an iPad.
b&
5Gb, preferably 10Gb. The former because that's where I can really feel a hit on its speed. The latter to be sure.
Ahh yes that makes sense
I only mentioned it because on my 99% full iPad Pro, there are no slow downs, or at least in the manner I would get if my Mac drive were that full.
My 16GB iPad mini 2 (used almost every day as my music player) has have less than 500MB free for the last 7-8 years (most of the time less than 300MB). Speed is was it always was on IOS 10. If it ever dies I'll report
Agreed. I have an M1 11 in Pro 256gb that was at 252gb used for months. No noticeable degradation in speed or responsiveness. But it is annoying. Purchased an M1 iPad Pro 12.9 with 2 terabytes so I don’t have that issue any longer. Moved the bulk of my stuff over and am just smooth sailing. iPadOS does a good job managing memory. Maybe other OS’s suffer when memory is near capacity but not iPads, in my experience.