iPad Air IPad Air 3 and iPadOS 16. How does it run?

[lambertjohn]

Apple is giving me the option to upgrade to iPadOS 16 on my Air 3. Anyone out there done this and if so, how does it run? Does the new OS slow the Air 3 down in any way? iPad runs fine right now on 15.7.2, so I'm reluctant to upgrade. Thoughts or opinions would be much appreciated!

 

[RayB4]

Not an Air 3 but I use a basic 6th Gen which is older and runs perfectly well on 16.2.

 

[rui no onna]

At least for me (7th gen A10/3GB), there doesn’t appear to be further performance drops going from 15 to 16.

Make sense since the new resource hog features (e.g. Stage Manager) are limited to the iPad Pros or M1.

For those on older iPad models, there’s not much difference between iPadOS 15 and 16.

 

[flobach]

Writing this from an Air 3 64GB. Runs well, hardley any issues at all. Most I’ve noticed is once or twice being slightly jitter (barely noticeable) when going from portrait to landscape mode, but I’m being finicky. Still a solid device.

 

[Realityck]

Apple is giving me the option to upgrade to iPadOS 16 on my Air 3. Anyone out there done this and if so, how does it run? Does the new OS slow the Air 3 down in any way? iPad runs fine right now on 15.7.2, so I'm reluctant to upgrade. Thoughts or opinions would be much appreciated!

That is roughly the same as a iPad mini 5 which is A12 box based also. You shouldn't have any concerns. Mind you the comparison to recent A14/M1 would allow faster graphics such as browser refreshes when scrolling as an example but you're not impairing any usual usage by using iPadOS 16.2 compared to 15.7.2. You gain whats new.

 

[ACG12]

TBH my Air 3 for the past 3 years felt plenty fast UNTIL I upgraded it to iOS 16. I traded it in and got an M1 Pro. I think the lack of RAM was finally catching up.

 

[flobach]

TBH my Air 3 for the past 3 years felt plenty fast UNTIL I upgraded it to iOS 16. I traded it in and got an M1 Pro. I think the lack of RAM was finally catching up.

Interesting, what do you use your iPad for, anything specifically processor or memory intense?

On a side note, I use about 44 of my 64GB storage, so iPadOS has enough room to breathe, which helps IMHO. I stream all media (Music & iCloud) so have base Storage on all my devices.

 

[Digitalguy]

Personally I am leaving my mini 5 on 15.7.2
3GB RAM is bad enough already... (and the small screen isn't suited for some of the new features and apps)
But I upgraded my A12X to 16.2 for several reasons:
1. being able to install DaVinci Resolve
2. having Freeform
3. having Stage Manager (hoping it improves in the future)
4. it will help maintain it compatible with some other future apps (I am particularly waiting for a pro music app that has been annouced, which should be released soon and may require 16 to run, and it it does at that point I might even update my mini 5)

With its 4GB RAM and its additional cores compared to A12 it seems to be doing just as well as on 15.7.2.
Nice bonus, standby time seems to have improved

 

[Isengardtom]

1. being able to install DaVinci Resolve

how’s the program on the iPad? Do you enjoy using it?

 

[Fishels]

Hey guys, I just got a replacement iPad so was forced on to 16(on my air 3).

The battery life is significantly worse coming from 15. I’d say it’s a good 25 percent worse. Getting like 8.5 or maybe 9 hours if I’m lucky and I used to hit 11 pretty easy. I keep my brightness low.


I was hoping my device was just getting warmed up and settled in but it’s been 4 days(not sure if that’s enough time)

Will upgrading to 16.5 help?

 

[Digitalguy]

Hey guys, I just got a replacement iPad so was forced on to 16(on my air 3).

The battery life is significantly worse coming from 15. I’d say it’s a good 25 percent worse. Getting like 8.5 or maybe 9 hours if I’m lucky and I used to hit 11 pretty easy. I keep my brightness low.


I was hoping my device was just getting warmed up and settled in but it’s been 4 days(not sure if that’s enough time)

Will upgrading to 16.5 help?

Why did you replace your iPad in the first place? How was the battery health in your old iPad and how is it now? (Have you tested it with some Mac/PC software?)

 

[Digitalguy]

how’s the program on the iPad? Do you enjoy using it?

Sorry man, I am only seeing this question now after almost 6 months. It's pretty great, especially after 18.5 I even bought the $95 studio version for the advanced AI features. But on 4GB RAM devices or lower it crashes as soon as you try to do something relatively powerful... It works well with 6GB or more.
I still use Lumafusion, I actually use both, I find them complementary.

 

[Fishels]

Why did you replace your iPad in the first place? How was the battery health in your old iPad and how is it now? (Have you tested it with some Mac/PC software?)

I didn’t know how to check that. I have a very old piece of you know what PC but no Mac.

I replaced my Air 3 through express replacement because I dropped it and it shattered. This was not my first time replacing it but my first time on Ipad OS 16 and it seems notably worse. My old one was getting 10 hours a day I was super happy

is it possible upgrading to the very latest could fix it? Also could it still be because its a new device being set up.

 

[Fishels]

Why did you replace your iPad in the first place? How was the battery health in your old iPad and how is it now? (Have

double post mistake

 

[Reverend Benny]

I didn’t know how to check that. I have a very old piece of you know what PC but no Mac.

I replaced my Air 3 through express replacement because I dropped it and it shattered. This was not my first time replacing it but my first time on Ipad OS 16 and it seems notably worse. My old one was getting 10 hours a day I was super happy

is it possible upgrading to the very latest could fix it? Also could it still be because its a new device being set up.

I can't answer your question since I don't know what the condition of your iPad air 3 is (battery wear and if its is an OEM battery etc).
But, I have been running iPadOS 16 on mine (iPad air 3 and iPad air pro M1 cellular) since it came out and its running fine, I don't notice much difference from iPadOS 15.
There is a number of things that can affect batterytime, apps that hasn't been updated to support iOS 16 or that has bugs that drains battery along with improvements (new features) of the OS that has a negative effect on the battery.

When looking at tests it seems like iOS 16.5 improves battery on iPhone devices compared to the older iOS 16 versions, especially on older devices. Not sure it applies to iPadOS but since they are quite similar i'd say its a chance it will.

But the biggest reason to update to iPadOS 16.5 (and newer when released) it that is fixes severe security flaws.
So make yourself and your friends you care about a favor, update your device

 

[RoadWarrior56]

I have an iPad Mini 5th gen, which was released at the same time as thr Air 3 and has similar performance, and it runs iPadOS 16 without any issues at all.

 

[Fishels]

I can't answer your question since I don't know what the condition of your iPad air 3 is (battery wear and if its is an OEM battery etc).
But, I have been running iPadOS 16 on mine (iPad air 3 and iPad air pro M1 cellular) since it came out and its running fine, I don't notice much difference from iPadOS 15.
There is a number of things that can affect batterytime, apps that hasn't been updated to support iOS 16 or that has bugs that drains battery along with improvements (new features) of the OS that has a negative effect on the battery.

When looking at tests it seems like iOS 16.5 improves battery on iPhone devices compared to the older iOS 16 versions, especially on older devices. Not sure it applies to iPadOS but since they are quite similar i'd say its a chance it will.

But the biggest reason to update to iPadOS 16.5 (and newer when released) it that is fixes severe security flaws.
So make yourself and your friends you care about a favor, update your device

Yeah is there anyway to check battery life? This morning my iPad dropped from 100 to 89 percent with only 55 mins of use. Usually I get about about a hour and half out of a 10% block. just as an example. If I update and it’s worse can I go back to the base 16?

Any way to check my battery? Would contacting Apple do any good

 

[Digitalguy]

Yeah is there anyway to check battery life? This morning my iPad dropped from 100 to 89 percent with only 55 mins of use. Usually I get about about a hour and half out of a 10% block. just as an example. If I update and it’s worse can I go back to the base 16?

Any way to check my battery? Would contacting Apple do any good

Install a program called imazing on your pc and check the battery health of your iPad.
I haven't see a huge difference between 15 and 16 in terms of both battery life and performance, other than 16.3 was the one with the best standby time. But there is no going back.

 

[Fishels]

Install an program called imazing on your pc and check the battery health of your iPad.
I haven't see a huge difference between 15 and 16 in terms of both battery life and performance, other than 16.3 was the one with the best standby time. But there is no going back.

Thanks man. Are you on Air 3 as well? I ended up installing the latest a few hours ago definitely gonna charge it up and see

 

[Digitalguy]

Thanks man. Are you on Air 3 as well? I ended up installing the latest a few hours ago definitely gonna charge it up and see

I have the mini 5, which is identical to the Air 3 internally

 

[snipr125]

Hey guys, I just got a replacement iPad so was forced on to 16(on my air 3).

The battery life is significantly worse coming from 15. I’d say it’s a good 25 percent worse. Getting like 8.5 or maybe 9 hours if I’m lucky and I used to hit 11 pretty easy. I keep my brightness low.


I was hoping my device was just getting warmed up and settled in but it’s been 4 days(not sure if that’s enough time)

Will upgrading to 16.5 help?

Yeah that sucks, my iPad Air 3 on the last version of iOS 15 has excellent battery life and literally lasts for weeks on standby. My iPad Air 4 (also last version of iOS 15) with its A14 chip on the other hand is pretty poor on battery life, lasts only a few days, maybe a week max on standby.

 

[Richard8655]

Not an Air 3 but I use a basic 6th Gen which is older and runs perfectly well on 16.2.

Wondering if the 5th gen would run similarly. Still on 14 and debating if to stay.

 

[Fishels]

Yeah that sucks, my iPad Air 3 on the last version of iOS 15 has excellent battery life and literally lasts for weeks on standby. My iPad Air 4 (also last version of iOS 15) with its A14 chip on the other hand is pretty poor on battery life, lasts only a few days, maybe a week max on standby.

Was your air 4 better on battery when it very first came out? I have heard the thinner these iPads have gotten that overall life hasn’t been as good.

 

[Fishels]

I have the mini 5, which is identical to the Air 3 internally

I see! Something happened a bit ago that I have never seen before on my prev device. It said that my device stopped charging due to heat. I don’t check my bat in the battery center daily so idk if that ever happened on my old one

 

[1BadManVan]

My 3 kids all have the Air 3, updated to the latest iPadOS 16.5 and they get great battery life still, no complaints on their performance either. They run YouTube, Roblox, Minecraft and a handful of other games. Been very impressed with how well the A12 has held up over these few years.