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

iOS 11 Performance on Original iPad Air?

Sharkoneau

Sharkoneau

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 13, 2017
713
586
Michigan
Hey guys,

I’m the tech guy in my family, and I have a family member who currently owns the first iPad Air. I’m doing beta testing myself on my iPhone 7, and havd been largely impressed so far.

Can anyone speak to the performance of the new software on the iPad Air? It runs iOS 10 well, although new iterations always bring question marks. Thanks!
 
Sharkoneau said:
Hey guys,

I’m the tech guy in my family, and I have a family member who currently owns the first iPad Air. I’m doing beta testing myself on my iPhone 7, and havd been largely impressed so far.

Can anyone speak to the performance of the new software on the iPad Air? It runs iOS 10 well, although new iterations always bring question marks. Thanks!
Click to expand...

I have installed iOS 11 on my 1st gen iPad Air, the response is a bit slower than iOS 10 but not very significant. you won't notice the difference if you are not a heavy gamer, since i only experienced some minor lag when i run Star Wars Heroes.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sharkoneau
fox1401 said:
I have installed iOS 11 on my 1st gen iPad Air, the response is a bit slower than iOS 10 but not very significant. you won't notice the difference if you are not a heavy gamer, since i only experienced some minor lag when i run Star Wars Heroes.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the input! I ended up watching a speed test video on YouTube, testing 10.3.3 vs. 11B6. There was more delay, but nothing horrible - like you said.
 
Just running the iOS and simple apps like browsers,low res video viewers and such won't cause too much lag,but running high resolution videos at high frame rates,editing large photo files,or playing CPU intensive games is something different.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sharkoneau and Donfor39
Doubt that I will update my iPad air any further if there's no speed improvements. It's so sluggish on 10.3.3
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sharkoneau
The biggest lag I’ve noticed is when typing, but I haven’t updated to the latest version yet so maybe that’s been addressed.

I will tell you, though, that the latest versions of iOS 11 are MUCH better on the original iPad Air than the first few.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sharkoneau
numberfour said:
Doubt that I will update my iPad air any further if there's no speed improvements. It's so sluggish on 10.3.3
Click to expand...
That sucks, sorry to hear that. To my knowledge, with the relatively limited time I've spent using it, 10.3.3 runs pretty well on hers. I know a lot of neat features are coming to the iPad, so I'm sure it'll be a balancing act of performance/features. Trying to weigh it all.
[doublepost=1503347374][/doublepost]
nerdriot said:
The biggest lag I’ve noticed is when typing, but I haven’t updated to the latest version yet so maybe that’s been addressed.

I will tell you, though, that the latest versions of iOS 11 are MUCH better on the original iPad Air than the first few.
Click to expand...
Wouldddd you like to keep me in the loop regarding performance on the latest beta? It would be much appreciated :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: nerdriot
Sharkoneau said:
You da man (I think)!
Click to expand...

Okay, so far it’s pretty stable. The folder selection animation lag is gone (woooo!), the keyboard seems more stable, and I’m able to play most higher-end games pretty well. On the flip side, some games (like Office Space) are super laggy.

All in all, it’s super stable for me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: numberfour and Sharkoneau
nerdriot said:
Okay, so far it’s pretty stable. The folder selection animation lag is gone (woooo!), the keyboard seems more stable, and I’m able to play most higher-end games pretty well. On the flip side, some games (like Office Space) are super laggy.

All in all, it’s super stable for me.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the update! Definitely good to hear some positive news amongst some detracting comments. I know I won’t be the most popular person if things don’t work out well. Although I have an IPSW and can back it up, figured it would be good to feel it out.
 
Interesting, thanks for the update. My iPad Air runs pretty well on 10.3.3, but I've been itching to try out some of the new features. Might have to make the leap now that it's more stable.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sharkoneau
CopyChief said:
Interesting, thanks for the update. My iPad Air runs pretty well on 10.3.3, but I've been itching to try out some of the new features. Might have to make the leap now that it's more stable.
Click to expand...
After one hell of a backup process last night, I installed it on the Air. Honestly, it runs very well. Things are very smooth - only issues I’ve noticed are a slight stutter when pulling down NC, and apps tend to launch slightly slower. Other than that, the software is impressive.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: gobikerider and Feenician
Sharkoneau said:
After one hell of a backup process last night, I installed it on the Air. Honestly, it runs very well. Things are very smoothly - only issues I’ve noticed are a slight stutter when pulling down NC, and apps tend to launch slightly slower. Other than that, the software is impressive.
Click to expand...

Same experience here. The install process is so easy anymore, it almost seems anticlimactic. But the new features work well even on this old iPad.
 
CopyChief said:
Same experience here. The install process is so easy anymore, it almost seems anticlimactic. But the new features work well even on this old iPad.
Click to expand...
True that! I was just bummed to see that true Split View doesn’t work on the Air. That stinks, completely forgot about that caveat :( but the new features are nice nonetheless.
 
Yes. This is exactly what planned obsolescence is. Each version onwards of iOS 7 has been slower on the iPad Air. iOS 9 was borderline usable. iOS 10 was slightly slower but crashed less. iOS 11 is unusable.
 
aakshey said:
Yes. This is exactly what planned obsolescence is. Each version onwards of iOS 7 has been slower on the iPad Air. iOS 9 was borderline usable. iOS 10 was slightly slower but crashed less. iOS 11 is unusable.
Click to expand...
Your the minority I've heard the Air is performing relatively good in ios 11 and it's not even finalized. Once it releases do a clean install you'll see
 
  • Like
Reactions: rui no onna
gobikerider said:
What it works well considering the age of the device incredible. But I thought Apple had "planned obsolescence". :p
Click to expand...
Haha well, you won’t exactly find me chirping with that crowd. Newer software iterations grow ever more complex and powerful, and that often requires better hardware support. But let’s not poke that bear in this thread too much ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: rui no onna, souko and Feenician
I'm thrilled to hear my old Air still has some life left in it. It splits its time between being a streaming device for TV / Movies and games. But my gaming is more of the point-and-click adventure style games. So I'm predicting no issues. And I have the 128GB version, so I still have plenty of space. I think I can get away with just upgrading the phone this year.
 
Sharkoneau said:
Haha well, you won’t exactly find me chirping with that crowd. Newer software iterations grow ever more complex and powerful, and that often requires better hardware support. But let’s not poke that bear in this thread too much ;)
Click to expand...
That may be and yah things may load slower, but if you look over to the Android side, well you wont find a tablet as old as the iPad Air that even runs the latest version of Android. o_O
 
  • Like
Reactions: FriendlyMackle
I can't believe people think iOS 10 is "borderline usable" on an iPad Air, it's like we collectively forgot how _really_ sluggish hardware/software was to use. The occational stutter in the UI is no big deal for me, I was completely happy both on iOS 9 and iOS 10. Sometimes the text input would lag behind a few seconds at the very beginning, but that's about it. I won't buy a newer iPad just because of that. :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: Zirel, gobikerider, Sunshoopa and 3 others
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