iOS 9.3 on iPad Mini 1

[Nadir98]

To people with this device, how does overall performance, speed and stability compare to 8.4.1? For me, 8.4.1 is actually quite usable with very few moments of random lag. I've seen a video where Beta 5 looked quite fast. How do games and default apps perform and such?

Some apps I'm concerned about:
-Camera
-Safari
-Mail
-App Store
-Spotlight
-Control center and notification center performance

 

[Sleaka J]

I'm really interested in hearing about this.

 

[jhnpennington]

I'm really interested in hearing about this.

It isn't available on iPad Mini 1, only on Mini 2 and upwards.

 

[Nadir98]

You might have read 9to5mac's article, where it says iOS 9.3 supports iPad Mini 2 and upwards, but that's erroneous. It still supports all the devices eligible for iOS 9.

 

[jhnpennington]

My mistake, I was just reading about Night Shift not being available on the Mini 1. Thanks for correcting me.

 

[oldmacs]

Don't upgrade unless you really have to. iOS 9.3 is still slower than iOS 8 in terms of opening apps and also animations. The jittery and jerkiness of animations under iOS 9 make it feel even slower than it is. This is on an iPad 2, which is very similar to an iPad Mini 1.

 

[danleon950410]

Don't upgrade unless you really have to. iOS 9.3 is still slower than iOS 8 in terms of opening apps and also animations. The jittery and jerkiness of animations under iOS 9 make it feel even slower than it is. This is on an iPad 2, which is very similar to an iPad Mini 1.

You literally have NO IDEA about the systems that you're comparing. It's an A5 vs an A7.

 

[oldmacs]

You literally have NO IDEA about the systems that you're comparing. It's an A5 vs an A7.

??
The iPad Mini 1 is essentially a miniaturised iPad 2 - Performance is very similar between the two. The only real changes are in terms of the form factor, screen, lighting connector, microphones and wireless connectivity. Essentially all the components that relate to performance are about the same.

 

[jonnyb098]

??
deleted

 

[danleon950410]

As for the iPad Mini 1, i'm writting this from mine on 9.3 FR.

Overall speed is better, keyboard and lockscreen typing is smoother. Sometimes you get apps opening faster or sometimes they open at the same speed than before. Spotlight animation lag seems to be gone but keyboard takes a while to show up. I haven't had any issue with the camera app, Safari is ALMOST UNBEARABLE as before doesn't seem improved at all. Mail is REALLY FAULTY regarding push notifications and almost always it doesn't remember what email you had open when you went away from the app so it opens in blank, the appstore seems a little improved overall or at least it doesn't get dumped from memory as quickly as before, and the App Switcher speed seems improved (browsing, opening it is still slow).

So there you have it, worst case scenario: you get a little better experience. But i would only recomend it if you delete everything and restore it as a fresh install then set it up as a New iPad.
I don't trust those updates on our devices

 

[Nadir98]

jonnyb098 and danleon950410, I think you guys were confused there. the iPAD 2 has the A5 chip, while the MINI 2 and the IPAD AIR 2 have the A7, so oldmacs was right with the iPAD 2 performance being similar to the MINI 1.

danleon950410, that was really informative. Pretty happy to se ether spotlight lag and app speed being partially fixed. When you mean Safari is unbearable, do you mean waiting for websites to load, or just the time it takes the app to load up with the keyboard?

 

[danleon950410]

??
The iPad Mini 1 is essentially a miniaturised iPad 2 - Performance is very similar between the two. The only real changes are in terms of the form factor, screen, lighting connector, microphones and wireless connectivity. Essentially all the components that relate to performance are about the same.

I swear i read iPad Mini 2, that's the A7 i'm talking about.
I apologize, it was my mistake. But i'm really sure of what i saw...you sure you didn't edit that?

 

[Nadir98]

I swear i read iPad Mini 2, that's the A7 i'm talking about.
I apologize, it was my mistake. But i'm really sure of what i saw...you sure you didn't edit that?

nope, can't edit other people's posts. Yeah, so about Safari you mean it's unbearable when you use it. How do you mean?
The Mail thing seems to be a RAM issue. What do you mean by "FR"?

Sorry for being annoying, just need to decide

 

[danleon950410]

jonnyb098 and danleon950410, I think you guys were confused there. the iPAD 2 has the A5 chip, while the MINI 2 and the IPAD AIR 2 have the A7, so oldmacs was right with the iPAD 2 performance being similar to the MINI 1.

danleon950410, that was really informative. Pretty happy to se ether spotlight lag and app speed being partially fixed. When you mean Safari is unbearable, do you mean waiting for websites to load, or just the time it takes the app to load up with the keyboard?

Not confused, just misread that post...actually yeah, i confused the the ipad that was mentioned.
Glad to help!
And by safari, i meant both. The only good thing is that the keyboard is a little more responsive.
[doublepost=1458655386][/doublepost]

nope, can't edit other people's posts. Yeah, so about Safari you mean it's unbearable when you use it. How do you mean?
The Mail thing seems to be a RAM issue. What do you mean by "FR"?

Sorry for being annoying, just need to decide

I know, i was asking that guy about the edit.
I just answered about safari, but you could replace it with firefox or dolphin or maybe opera, first two are smoother for sure.
The mail thing:Could be, but it doesn't seem that resource intensive.

Sorry, i meant PR=Public Release. FR is similar:Final Release, but i misused it. I usually use that term for non-commercial games.

 

[Nadir98]

Seems like I might still hold off with the upgrade. Thanks!

 

[Freakonomics101]

9.3 pretty much bricked my mini. It's so laggy and takes forever for anything to load, even with a fresh install. Looks like I might sell and upgrade to a mini 3. It sucks mostly because there's not a scratch on it and planned on keeping it a few more years. Should've stuck with iOS 7 on it.

 

[Max(IT)]

To be honest I just think it's time to upgrade your iPad....

I'm using iOS 9.3 on a quantity of iPad Mini (I don't remember, maybe 30...).
They are usable, for sure (we are working on those units), but performance are barely acceptable.

Forget about the "iOS 8 was better" adagio: that's not true.
The iPad Mini is just too slow for everything above iOS 7.
Slow doesn't mean unusable.