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targa88

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 6, 2021
95
37
Trying to determine whether this is a worthwhile upgrade.
From what I have read... "new & improved"
  1. Lock screen & widgets
  2. Health app = which can be easily viewed on an iPhone
  3. Use external cameras ( not sure how this feature is activated) or is it only available for FaceTime
I know there are a number of other features - that I would personally never use
  1. Freeform
  2. Stage manager
  3. Stickers
The final consideration is that the iPad OS upgrade would also require an iPad upgrade (gen 9/10 at a minimum) since my iPad Pro 9.7 is no longer on the upgrade list.

Just doesn't appear to be a substantive improvement that is worthy of the investment.

Would certainly appreciate the feedback
 

fwmireault

macrumors 68020
Jul 4, 2019
2,288
9,705
Montréal, Canada
I know there are a number of other features - that I would personally never use
  1. Freeform
  2. Stage manager
  3. Stickers
1 and 2 are features from iPadOS 16 (I'm pretty sure #2 is not supported on your iPad tho)

If it requires that you change the device to have the latest update, I agree that the new features in iPadOS 17 are not worth it. You will have security updates for 1-2 years. After that, I recommend to upgrade because not having security updates can lead to breaches and increased risk of data leak
 
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O.N.Y.X

macrumors 6502
Apr 7, 2016
305
363
Vienna
When in landscape mode I use Stage Manager all the time. Especially in combination with the Magic Keyboard, and when you don't need all the screen estate, SM really adds to the experience. In iPadOS 17 SM received some refinements and I believe there is more to come in future 17 updates.

On a side note, migrating health data from my phone didn’t work for me. Might be some 17.0 bug…
 

Royksöpp

macrumors 68020
Nov 4, 2013
2,414
4,025
I was pretty hesitant to update on release day, but so far everything seems fine. So far my experience with OS17 has been great on all my devices, and I notice all the little things.
 

joloriquelme

macrumors regular
Nov 17, 2018
116
170
Santiago, Chile
Surprised about Stage Manager. I didn’t try it on iPadOS 16 since many reviews condemned to failure. But I am using right now on iPadOS 17 and actually is very useful. Also, I think there is plenty of room to improve it even more, but seriously I will start to working with these enabled.
 
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Abazigal

Contributor
Jul 18, 2011
20,399
23,906
Singapore
Trying to determine whether this is a worthwhile upgrade.
From what I have read... "new & improved"
  1. Lock screen & widgets
  2. Health app = which can be easily viewed on an iPhone
  3. Use external cameras ( not sure how this feature is activated) or is it only available for FaceTime
I know there are a number of other features - that I would personally never use
  1. Freeform
  2. Stage manager
  3. Stickers
The final consideration is that the iPad OS upgrade would also require an iPad upgrade (gen 9/10 at a minimum) since my iPad Pro 9.7 is no longer on the upgrade list.

Just doesn't appear to be a substantive improvement that is worthy of the investment.

Would certainly appreciate the feedback
You also get interactive widgets. A lot of the changes seem like minor (but welcome) refinements. It's nice for someone like me who is currently using the 2018 iPad Pro, and I feel like iOS 17 seems to run more smoothly on my device compared to iOS 16. Overall, I feel the only real reason to upgrade is to an M1 iPad for the improved external monitor support (ie: if you would like to use your iPad more like a docked laptop). Otherwise, I don't think I would get a new iPad just for any of the features you mentioned above either.
 

netwalker

macrumors regular
Jul 28, 2007
213
211
Last edited:

Isengardtom

macrumors 65816
Feb 14, 2009
1,356
2,202
Surprised about Stage Manager. I didn’t try it on iPadOS 16 since many reviews condemned to failure. But I am using right now on iPadOS 17 and actually is very useful. Also, I think there is plenty of room to improve it even more, but seriously I will start to working with these enabled.
I did try it on iPadOS16 and the window snapping was very annoying and not useful on the tablet itself.

Not perfect yet but a massive improvement on iPadOS 17.
still think it’s biggest use case are external monitor or on the bigger iPad. For the smaller iPads (11” and below) the old Split View is generally superior in my view because it’s too cramped
 
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Eithanius

macrumors 68000
Nov 19, 2005
1,557
419
My 32 GB iPad 7th generation was fine and usable with iPadOS 16, now with 17 it is out of storage despite app offloading. Won’t even install the last update and many of the apps I was able to use are now offloaded. :(

Using 8.8 GB for iPadOS 17 and 6.7 GB for system data. Wondering how much storage 16 used before.

edit: looks like I am not alone: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/ios-17-post-install-system-data-took-my-storage.2403148/
The paltry 32GB is one things, RAM is another... iPadOS 17 is shiat and a piece of crap on iPads with less than 4GB RAM...
 

Kal Madda

macrumors 68020
Nov 2, 2022
2,036
1,763
Surprised about Stage Manager. I didn’t try it on iPadOS 16 since many reviews condemned to failure. But I am using right now on iPadOS 17 and actually is very useful. Also, I think there is plenty of room to improve it even more, but seriously I will start to working with these enabled.
Ya, I don’t understand the level of condemnation over Stage Manager when it came out. Was it perfect? No. But it is very useful, and for people like Federico Vitticini to get all worked up over it like he did just seems a bit ridiculous. I even saw people calling for Apple to remove Stage Manager from iPadOS. Like, you don’t have to use it, but those of us who do like using it don’t want it to be shelved. I just think there was a really bad overreaction from some people because it wasn’t what they considered perfect.
 

Reverend Benny

macrumors 65816
Apr 28, 2017
1,197
939
Europe
Stage manager works better in iOS 17.x
You can now choose soundsource instead of having to be forced to use HDMI when an external monitor is attached.

Still room for improvement with stage manager but its getting there :)
 
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