iPad Pro IPadOS 26 finally killed off my 2018 iPad Pro

[FeliApple]

We "deserve to use garbage" if we spend a grand on a device and expect it to be updated with the latest apps for as many years as possible? That's certainly an opinion.

Yes, you deserve to use garbage. But you’re twisting my words. I said you deserve to use garbage if you willingly update the device through seven major versions and expect quality. Apple gets away with this every single time because people keep updating anything and everything.

So should we upgrade or shouldn't we? Make up your mind. Obviously if updating the latest apps wouldn't require a new OS then we wouldn't have to update iPadOS. If I followed your advice and only installed 2 new OS versions on my 2021 M1 iPad Pro I'd be stuck on an old version of Logic Pro right now for iPadOS 16 and couldn't use all the features I pay for.

You Update (an iOS version) and you Upgrade (a device). You should upgrade a device when Apple pushes too far. That has historically been device-specific, but I can guarantee that the oldest-supported device is already too far. And that will probably be earlier than that, depending on your tolerance.

They promise to keep you updated and that's just what they do. Google with their Pixels and Pixel tablets with 7 years of promised updates does just the same thing as Apple. If you want security fixes you gotta upgrade the OS to the latest major version. Only difference is their Tensor SoC's are all slow out of the box so your performance will be much worse much sooner than with Apple. At least Apple gives you devices with incredible performance that beats the competition even years down the road. (Like why is my iPhone SE 2022 as snappy as the Pixel 9 Pro, that's just absurd.)

If they obliterate the device’s performance and battery life, then they are wrong. They should allow you to at least stay on the major version you’re currently on. Who cares about security updates if for them I’d have to update my Xʀ on iOS 12 to iOS 18? That’s just asking to have garbage.

If something like a 4 years old M1 iPad Pro is too slow for you on 18.5 in 2025 then it's not Apple's fault you expect a 4 years old device to perform like a brand new one. I have that iPad and the M4 version and of course the M1 is nowhere near as snappy in day-to-day use. But one's brand new and the other's 4 years old. The M1 certainly isn't unusable. I wouldn't even notice it as much if I didn't have both side by side.

I expect devices to work like-new, forever, for the tasks that the device is capable of when it is new. If the on-device keyboard has no input lag when the device is new, then it expect it not to have input lag forever. If the device runs version 0.9.0 of say, Minecraft, or any game you like, flawlessly, then I expect my device to run the same 0.9.0 version of Minecraft flawlessly forever. If there’s no scrolling lag in photos when it is new, then I expect that to be the case forever. I have zero tolerance for garbage. That’s why my iPhone Xʀ runs iOS 12, why my 5th-generation iPod Touch runs iOS 6.0, and why my current iPhone 16 Plus is running iOS 18.3.1. With some luck, it will run iOS 18.3.1 forever. I want perfection, and with devices running original versions, Apple has consistently delivered. I have no tolerance for garbage on a premium device.

(I admit that after 6 years I might leave the M1 on version 26 or 27 but at that point I am not surprised that an aging M1 chip from 2020 is too slow for the latest 2026/27 OS. Definitely skip the last version or the last 2.) I expect this to be less of an issue with M1 models and even less so with M4 models going forward as the jump in performance with M1 and then with M4 was huge.

Your expectations are different and I respect them. You will update and if you go over the limit, you will say “okay, the processor is too old, I can’t expect it to be good”. And as long as your expectations are those, I respect them.

But I would NOT respect you saying something like “I updated my M1 iPad Air to iPadOS 31 and battery life is about two hours of SOT. Performance falters everywhere, does this happen to anyone?”. You should know that that many major versions are bound to worsen quality massively.

 

[Zdigital2015]

Was it fast on iPadOS 18? You say you had not used it, so maybe you remember it when it was on, say, 17. Maybe 18 was already not great? Or you had been using it on 18?
Mine on 17 is fast and I have not upgraded it. When 18 launched (not beta) people complained 18 was too slow, so I didn't update. Then some said 18.1 improved things.
Anyway you can still reset it and install 18

My 2017 12.9” iPad Pro has remained “fast” under 17.7.8, while my iPad 6th Gen running 17.7.8 has slowed down considerably. Oddly enough, my iPad 5th Gen under 16.7.11 seems almost as fast and has way better battery life. It seems like things are a bit arbitrary in terms of what update slows which iPad down. May nuke my iPad 6 and see whether or not a fresh install of iOS 17 fixes the slowness.

 

[TechnoMonk]

FOMO is alive and kicking.

 

[williamofockham]

good luck, I'd revert to os18 , I've got an iPad 1 running the last supported os on it, for some things it doesn't matter, I've got Firefox on it so I've got a little extra reach - I figure the battery will die eventually and that's that

 

[Mcrumors David]

The iPad Pro 2018 was an amazing device and lasted me 7 years. From 2018-2020 it was my main device, replacing my Macbook itself.

Since then, it’s taken a back seat to iphone 16 and macbook M2 s didnt get used much, but when used it still worked brilliantly for an older device. I took the plunge when ios 26 was announced to install the beta since this iPad was listed as supported. However, despite bega updates and a total reformat, the iPad is now almost unusable. Slow, buggy, runs like treacle. Even on older apps that were smooth, it’s now a slow messy and almost unusable device.

Goodbye iPad, you served me well.

On a side note, even if it ran well, I thunk the new liquid glass aesthetic is ugly and childish.

You are running a BETA (read "test software" not suited for the daily usage).

 

[CraigJDuffy]

The iPad Pro 2018 was an amazing device and lasted me 7 years. From 2018-2020 it was my main device, replacing my Macbook itself.

Since then, it’s taken a back seat to iphone 16 and macbook M2 s didnt get used much, but when used it still worked brilliantly for an older device. I took the plunge when ios 26 was announced to install the beta since this iPad was listed as supported. However, despite bega updates and a total reformat, the iPad is now almost unusable. Slow, buggy, runs like treacle. Even on older apps that were smooth, it’s now a slow messy and almost unusable device.

Goodbye iPad, you served me well.

On a side note, even if it ran well, I thunk the new liquid glass aesthetic is ugly and childish.

My 2018 iPad Pro is fine on beta 3. Performance seems similar to iOS 18.

 

[Abazigal]

The iPad Pro 2018 was an amazing device and lasted me 7 years. From 2018-2020 it was my main device, replacing my Macbook itself.

Since then, it’s taken a back seat to iphone 16 and macbook M2 s didnt get used much, but when used it still worked brilliantly for an older device. I took the plunge when ios 26 was announced to install the beta since this iPad was listed as supported. However, despite bega updates and a total reformat, the iPad is now almost unusable. Slow, buggy, runs like treacle. Even on older apps that were smooth, it’s now a slow messy and almost unusable device.

Goodbye iPad, you served me well.

On a side note, even if it ran well, I thunk the new liquid glass aesthetic is ugly and childish.

Same experience here. My 2018 iPad Pro is practically unusable with iPadOS 26. Granted, it's a beta, but I am not expecting performance to improve by too much when it is officially released this year.

 

[Feenician]

Macforums users discover that different hardware ages at different rates. Amazing. Remembered why it's been so long since I bothered to read.

 

[Digitalguy]

My 2017 12.9” iPad Pro has remained “fast” under 17.7.8, while my iPad 6th Gen running 17.7.8 has slowed down considerably. Oddly enough, my iPad 5th Gen under 16.7.11 seems almost as fast and has way better battery life. It seems like things are a bit arbitrary in terms of what update slows which iPad down. May nuke my iPad 6 and see whether or not a fresh install of iOS 17 fixes the slowness.

My 2017 10.5 pro is fast on 17.5.1 too, it has a A10X with 4GB RAM vs an A10 with 2 on the 6th gen iPad. I think RAM is an even more important factor than CPU (the A10X has more cores)
My 11" 2018 pro has 6GB RAM so I don't expect it to slow down on 18, but I am afraid it could reload browser tabs a lot (4GB RAM device have been reloading a lot since at least iPadOS 15). I sold my 12.9" 2018 pro precisely because I couldn't stand the reloads of my youtube videos on Safari...

 

[Yimbaz]

Between this and the 'iPhone fold is Apple's downfall" thread it's been a pretty successful week for rage bait on the MacRumors forums!

 

[TokyoKiller]

Between this and the 'iPhone fold is Apple's downfall" thread it's been a pretty successful week for rage bait on the MacRumors forums!

It's gotten outta hand lately.

 

[Zdigital2015]

It's gotten outta hand lately.

That and the “Should I buy an Intel Mac in 2025” thread that’s floating on the front page forum crawl is getting too much attention, IMHO.

 

[osqbeta]

The iPad Pro 2018 was an amazing device and lasted me 7 years. From 2018-2020 it was my main device, replacing my Macbook itself.

Since then, it’s taken a back seat to iphone 16 and macbook M2 s didnt get used much, but when used it still worked brilliantly for an older device. I took the plunge when ios 26 was announced to install the beta since this iPad was listed as supported. However, despite bega updates and a total reformat, the iPad is now almost unusable. Slow, buggy, runs like treacle. Even on older apps that were smooth, it’s now a slow messy and almost unusable device.

Goodbye iPad, you served me well.

On a side note, even if it ran well, I thunk the new liquid glass aesthetic is ugly and childish.

Totally agree. Made my 7 year old iPad feel those years even more. Just re-installed the iOS 18 software, runs perfectly again, probably not going to upgrade even to the official release unless I see someone with a 2018 iPad loving it. Features are not nearly plentiful enough to entice me.

 

[Act3]

The iPad Pro 2018 was an amazing device and lasted me 7 years. From 2018-2020 it was my main device, replacing my Macbook itself.

Since then, it’s taken a back seat to iphone 16 and macbook M2 s didnt get used much, but when used it still worked brilliantly for an older device. I took the plunge when ios 26 was announced to install the beta since this iPad was listed as supported. However, despite bega updates and a total reformat, the iPad is now almost unusable. Slow, buggy, runs like treacle. Even on older apps that were smooth, it’s now a slow messy and almost unusable device.

Goodbye iPad, you served me well.

On a side note, even if it ran well, I thunk the new liquid glass aesthetic is ugly and childish.

Sad if that is really the case. A perfectly functional device neutered by an OS version?

 

[Act3]

Totally agree. Made my 7 year old iPad feel those years even more. Just re-installed the iOS 18 software, runs perfectly again, probably not going to upgrade even to the official release unless I see someone with a 2018 iPad loving it. Features are not nearly plentiful enough to entice me.

I'm still rolling a 2010 I7-860 desktop as my daily driver with Win 10. Works fine for all my needs. But in October, a certain company will make it obsolete as far as security updates go.

 

[Digitalguy]

I'm still rolling a 2010 I7-860 desktop as my daily driver with Win 10. Works fine for all my needs. But in October, a certain company will make it obsolete as far as security updates go.

you can extend that for free for 1 year

 

[Moukee]

iPadOS 26 beta hasn't been running particularly well on my iPad Pro M2 (16 GB RAM model). Beta 3 is a lot better than 1 and 2, but I expect this to improve a lot more the closer we get to release. I also installed iOS 26 beta on an iPhone 12 mini, and sure, it feels even slower, but it'll likely improve and it's also nowhere close to iPhone 4S on iOS 9 levels of slow.

On my M1 Max MacBook Pro, macOS 26 feels as fast as its predecessor.

Wait for the final release or even 26.1, and then judge.

 

[dumastudetto]

If you're using a 2018 iPad Pro, that's a crazy number of major OS releases you've received. You'd expect in 7-8 years for software to have advanced sufficiently to put a serious strain on the hardware limitations of your device. I don't think 2018 or 2020 iPads Pros will be receiving any new major iPadOS updates after this year

 

[Digitalguy]

If you're using a 2018 iPad Pro, that's a crazy number of major OS releases you've received. You'd expect in 7-8 years for software to have advanced sufficiently to put a serious strain on the hardware limitations of your device. I don't think 2018 or 2020 iPads Pros will be receiving any new major iPadOS updates after this year

That's the same number of OS updates all pro/air iPad get since the air 2. The main factor causing strain is the lack of RAM (iPads have historically had too little RAM or at least less than their Mac equivalent of the time (except for the M1/M2), with iPadOS and progressively taking more and more RAM). Things should improve in the futures with M series iPads. iPad pro 2020 has one more update to go.

 

[dumastudetto]

That's the same number of OS updates all pro/air iPad get since the air 2. The main factor causing strain is the lack of RAM (iPads have historically had too little RAM or at least less than their Mac equivalent of the time (except for the M1/M2), with iPadOS and progressively taking more and more RAM). Things should improve in the futures with M series iPads. iPad pro 2020 has one more update to go.

It's still amazing support compared to the competition. Samsung hardly bother to support their tablets, even when you buy a $1299 ultra. Quarterly updates and prioritised below even their budget smartphone range. As for Google, they gave it another go for one year (Pixel Tablet) and gave up.

 

[Digitalguy]

It's still amazing support compared to the competition. Samsung hardly bother to support their tablets, even when you buy a $1299 ultra. Quarterly updates and prioritised below even their budget smartphone range. As for Google, they gave it another go for one year (Pixel Tablet) and gave up.

That's no longer true. Samsung tab S devices received 7 majors OS updates just like iPads pro/air.

 

[dumastudetto]

That's no longer true. Samsung tab S devices received 7 majors OS updates just like iPads pro/air.

Only Galaxy Tab S10 devices benefit from that update policy right now, and it's still not known whether you're getting major OS updates or just security updates beyond a certain number of years.

All Galaxy Tabs are on quarterly updates including the current Galaxy S10 Ultra, which means you get 4 updates a year instead of the 12 available for their smartphones... and so you're lagging well behind on important security fixes.

 

[Digitalguy]

Only Galaxy Tab S10 devices benefit from that update policy right now, and it's still not known whether you're getting major OS updates or just security updates beyond a certain number of years.

All Galaxy Tabs are on quarterly updates including the current Galaxy S10 Ultra, which means you get 4 updates a year instead of the 12 available for their smartphones... and so you're lagging well behind on important security fixes.

It's full OS updates not just security updates. It's a committement, so it's even more certain than Apple OS updates.
Just to be clear I am saying this to correct the wrong information you mentioned, so that when other people read they are not misled, I am not trying to convince you

 

[Act3]

If you're using a 2018 iPad Pro, that's a crazy number of major OS releases you've received. You'd expect in 7-8 years for software to have advanced sufficiently to put a serious strain on the hardware limitations of your device. I don't think 2018 or 2020 iPads Pros will be receiving any new major iPadOS updates after this year

sure, but what exactly has the iOS updates brought, since that iPads release, that should tax it so bad that the iPad now runs poorly?

 

[Act3]

you can extend that for free for 1 year

Yes I have enough points , just havent seen the option yet to cash 1000 of them in yet for that.