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fre3way

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 28, 2014
66
4
I currently have an iPad Air running iOS 7. Lately, I am experiencing a lot of safari crashes so I decided to reset it. Now its working fine but I was thinking about upgrading to iOS 9. Can you guys share your experiences in regards to performance?
 

oldmacs

macrumors 601
Sep 14, 2010
4,941
7,182
Australia
I currently have an iPad Air running iOS 7. Lately, I am experiencing a lot of safari crashes so I decided to reset it. Now its working fine but I was thinking about upgrading to iOS 9. Can you guys share your experiences in regards to performance?

General performance (in terms of how long things take to pen) is ok, but animations stutter a lot. If that doesn't bother you upgrade, if it does, then consider before upgrading.
 

fre3way

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 28, 2014
66
4
General performance (in terms of how long things take to pen) is ok, but animations stutter a lot. If that doesn't bother you upgrade, if it does, then consider before upgrading.

Is it similar to iOS 7 on the iphone 4s? Because that update totally ruined my iphone.
 

d5aqoëp

macrumors 68000
Feb 9, 2016
1,808
3,189
iOS 9 compared to iOS 7

You will get better app support and few new features but you will feel your iPad Air has drunk a cursed potion where it has gotten older by 100 years. The stutter and overall slowness will be bothersome.
 

fjarl

macrumors member
Sep 13, 2015
84
94
I have my Air 1 on 9.3.1. I think it performs pretty well, nothing too annoying in everyday use. How it is compared to iOS7? I honestly don't remember. But having content blockers and other additions I think makes the switch worth it.
 

theshoehorn

macrumors 6502a
Jul 6, 2010
505
490
Just think about all the security vulnerabilities are sitting on that Air on iOS 7... I would update ASAP!
 

fre3way

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 28, 2014
66
4
IMHO iOS 7 on the 4S was smoother or around the same as iOS 9 is on the iPad Air 1.... I actually found the 4S with iOS 7 quite good...

Haha it was suggestions like yours that made me upgrade to ios 7
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I have my Air 1 on 9.3.1. I think it performs pretty well, nothing too annoying in everyday use. How it is compared to iOS7? I honestly don't remember. But having content blockers and other additions I think makes the switch worth it.

Is it all built into safari or third party apps?
 

oldmacs

macrumors 601
Sep 14, 2010
4,941
7,182
Australia
Haha it was suggestions like yours that made me upgrade to ios 7

Have you thought of going to an Apple store, and using one of their Mini 2's for an extended period - the Mini 2 will show you how the Air 1 will perform (possibly the Air 1 is slightly worse), because we can't tell you whether you'll find iOS 9 slower or faster... Given your perception of iOS 7 on the 4S was bad, and mine was that it was quite good, this demonstrates the difference in perception people can have.
 

AddisonIII

macrumors regular
May 8, 2013
190
54
I currently have an iPad Air running iOS 7. Lately, I am experiencing a lot of safari crashes so I decided to reset it. Now its working fine but I was thinking about upgrading to iOS 9. Can you guys share your experiences in regards to performance?
For what my 2 cents is worth, I have an iPad 4 that is running 9.2 with no complaints. That being said something that doesn't bother one person will drive another person nuts. Maybe it comes down to what's except only you will know.
 

oldmacs

macrumors 601
Sep 14, 2010
4,941
7,182
Australia
For what my 2 cents is worth, I have an iPad 4 that is running 9.2 with no complaints. That being said something that doesn't bother one person will drive another person nuts. Maybe it comes down to what's except only you will know.

IMHO the iPad 4 runs iOS 9 slower in terms of app opening, but because they're not using metal, they seem to render animations better than the A7 iPads that do use metal.
 

XTheLancerX

macrumors 68000
Aug 20, 2014
1,911
782
NY, USA
iOS 9.3 on A7 iPad is pretty good, minus the task switcher. If there is a blurred app in the app switcher (4 app cards on screen) the animation when going into an app from the switcher will stutter. However going into the switcher from an app is smooth, it's weird.

Overall, iOS 9 is smoother than iOS 8 I would say, but generally just slightly slower in loading things or responding sometimes for example. But yeah spotlight pull down is smoother in iOS 9.3 than iOS 8, I compared against a friend's iPad Air on iOS 8.3, my iPad mini 2 is on 9.3.1. Control Center on the lock screen/open folder is perfectly smooth now on iOS 9, that always stuttered on iOS 7 and 8. Control center is smooth over a portrait keyboard but stuttery over landscape keyboard. Before it always stuttered no matter the screen orientation. One thing I can say, opening folders for the first time is TERRIBLE on iOS 9. It had issues on iOS 8 but not this bad. Also going back to the home screen after using an app for awhile is sometimes pretty choppy. This happened in iOS 8 as well, though. iOS 9 just may be a little worse but I can't exactly remember how bad it was before just that it happened.
 
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