Very slow iPad 3

[jonnyb098]

I have a 2003 GM car... This care despite it has over 300,000KM, it still runs. I have a PC that is around 2008, it still runs.

Yes, iPad 3 is outdate at current stage, but If this thing still run, but no reason this thing cannot even do most basic functions.

Thats fine for you if it works. However its not the norm in the tech world to keep a computer for 10 years let alone cheaper mobile devices like an iPad. 5 years maybe on the long end. Most people are on 2-3 year upgrade cycles. Plus tech moves faster and faster unlike the auto world. Touch screens just became semi-standard in the last couple of years. It took ford many years to make CD players STANDARD which was insane back around 2000.

BUT.... congrats on having an American car that still runs after 15 years.

 

[LovingTeddy]

Thats fine for you if it works. However its not the norm in the tech world to keep a computer for 10 years let alone cheaper mobile devices like an iPad. 5 years maybe on the long end. Most people are on 2-3 year upgrade cycles. Plus tech moves faster and faster unlike the auto world. Touch screens just became semi-standard in the last couple of years. It took ford many years to make CD players STANDARD which was insane back around 2000.

BUT.... congrats on having an American car that still runs after 15 years.

I am surprised on how this GM car worked. I am using this for local drive only. I have my trusty 2016 Toyota for long distance drive.

Well... I am still using my PC to buring some CDs and play it on my old GM car.

 

[rui no onna]

Thats fine for you if it works. However its not the norm in the tech world to keep a computer for 10 years let alone cheaper mobile devices like an iPad. 5 years maybe on the long end. Most people are on 2-3 year upgrade cycles. Plus tech moves faster and faster unlike the auto world. Touch screens just became semi-standard in the last couple of years. It took ford many years to make CD players STANDARD which was insane back around 2000.

BUT.... congrats on having an American car that still runs after 15 years.

I reckon keeping computers for that long is pretty normal.

Most use Windows and with that, you usually just run the same operating system the entire with security updates only. Software likely doesn't get updated often either. At $300 for Microsoft Office (pre-$150 Home/Student editions), usually people just buy and install software once and use it forever.

Meanwhile, on mobile, there's usually a major firmware update every year and it feels like all my iOS and Android apps get an update at least once a week.

 

[Manofdogs]

Is it just me, or are other iPad 3 owners also experiencing very slow performance? It takes ages to load web pages. Doing a reset to refresh and reinitilaize the iPad didn’t help. Also turning off all unnecessary features and functions such as location services had little effect.

I know this model is getting to be long in the tooth, but I didn’t expect it to become useless so fast. I’m sure later IOS updates and releases bogs things down.

Frankly the iPad '3' was always a pile of crap - slow out of the box. There is nothing you can do to improve it - simply a very poor product which deserves nothing but a recall and apology from Apple. My wife's first generation iPad mini is 3 times quicker. I use mine in a live band setting with just one app (onsong) and it's still slower than my 15 year old arthritic dog.
[doublepost=1522411501][/doublepost]

Dude it came out early 2012. The device is now is 5 1/2 years old. It's technically simply outdated.

Silly argument! My iMac 2011 came out in - well 2011 - and it's as fast as the day I bought it. My wife's white iBook is about 2008 and it's still as fast as it ever was. The iPad 3 was always slow it's just a very poor product. Apple discontinued it very quickly. They should have done the honourable thing and recalled it.

 

[maflynn]

Dude it came out early 2012. The device is now is 5 1/2 years old. It's technically simply outdated.

I have a 2012 rMBP, and by some people's reckoning its outdated, but it remains to be a great laptop, able to perform with peak performance and its great. Age does not always equate to poor performance.

 

[ICantTypeOniOS9]

Is it just me, or are other iPad 3 owners also experiencing very slow performance? It takes ages to load web pages. Doing a reset to refresh and reinitilaize the iPad didn’t help. Also turning off all unnecessary features and functions such as location services had little effect.

I know this model is getting to be long in the tooth, but I didn’t expect it to become useless so fast. I’m sure later IOS updates and releases bogs things down.

[doublepost=1524573405][/doublepost]My iPad 3 is becoming useless: SLOW I have reset it, turned off all the bells and whistles, deleted unused apps and deleted many pics. But why do I have to do all this to make it function normally? I did get several years out it so I’m grateful for that at least.

I have been a loyal Apple consumer for most of my life but my experience with Apple makes me want to look at other non-Apple devices.

 

[dext3rr]

After having iPad 3 for almost 6 years now, I'm finally switching to the newest iPad (2018). It was great for me, but lately it is pain to load more demanding websites... I had to turn off transparency and other graphics animations, but it got only slightly faster. It is still in perfect visual condition though.

 

[Richard8655]

[doublepost=1524573405][/doublepost]My iPad 3 is becoming useless: SLOW I have reset it, turned off all the bells and whistles, deleted unused apps and deleted many pics. But why do I have to do all this to make it function normally? I did get several years out it so I’m grateful for that at least.

I have been a loyal Apple consumer for most of my life but my experience with Apple makes me want to look at other non-Apple devices.

Yeah, I felt exactly the same way before I traded-in (ahem, got rid of) my iPad 3. But I’d advise not to lose faith with Apple because of this one model and experience. Though it had great quality of construction, it was notoriously below standard, probably the worst iPad model in terms of performance.

Though after this much time has passed, any tablet will show its age in performance.

 

[rui no onna]

Yeah, I felt exactly the same way before I traded-in (ahem, got rid of) my iPad 3. But I’d advise not to lose faith with Apple because of this one model and experience. Though it had great quality of construction, it was notoriously below standard, probably the worst iPad model in terms of performance.

Though after this much time has passed, any tablet will show its age in performance.

In fairness to the iPad 3, how many Android tablets released around the same time are in use right now? By *current* Apple standards, the iPad 3 may be short-lived. Not so much when comparing it to the rest of the tablet market at the time of its release.

Granted, would've been better just to skip it and go straight to the iPad 4 released half a year later. Problem is Apple was already behind on PPI compared to Android several months prior to the iPad 3's release (might be even upon iPad 2 release).

 

[aakshey]

If you don't expect to use a iPhone 4s or Galaxy S2, don't expect to use an iPad 3 either.

The minimum you own today is probably an iPhone 6s or SE. The equivalent is Air 2 / Mini 4 (both barely) or 5th gen / 9.7 Pro.

 

[Richard8655]

In fairness to the iPad 3, how many Android tablets released around the same time are in use right now? By *current* Apple standards, the iPad 3 may be short-lived. Not so much when comparing it to the rest of the tablet market at the time of its release.

Granted, would've been better just to skip it and go straight to the iPad 4 released half a year later. Problem is Apple was already behind on PPI compared to Android several months prior to the iPad 3's release (might be even upon iPad 2 release).

Yes, you raise a good point. Android tablet longevity is and was even worse. Although the iPad 3 was a real dud compared to other iPad models in terms of longevity. A couple IOS release updates and it was already pretty sluggish. I’m surprised to see a few users still coping with them.

 

[The_Martini_Cat]

Is it just me, or are other iPad 3 owners also experiencing very slow performance? It takes ages to load web pages.

Sorry to report, that model is the very slowest iPad ever manufactured (except maybe the 1). It's the one I have, and wow is it slow!! Replace it with the next iPad Pro for another 6 or 7 happy years of iPadding. !!

 

[Richard8655]

Sorry to report, that model is the very slowest iPad ever manufactured (except maybe the 1). It's the one I have, and wow is it slow!! Replace it with the next iPad Pro for another 6 or 7 happy years of iPadding. !!

For sure!

 

[Royksöpp]

The iPad 3 was doomed from the start. Those internals mixed with that screen was a recipe for disaster. The iPad 3 and iPhone 6 Plus are the perfect examples of rushed products with absolutely ZERO concern for longevity.

 

[eicca]

I just upgraded from an iPad 3 to an iPad 2017. The 3 was tolerable when web browsing and stuff but man Microsoft Word had THE WORST lag. I could blast out a sentence and it would take a good ten seconds to catch up.

My new 2017 9.7 is an absolute rocket ship on 11.3. I think my MacBook will be relegated to audio production only now. This iPad is just so slick.

 

[ThatsMeRight]

The iPad 3 was doomed from the start. Those internals mixed with that screen was a recipe for disaster. The iPad 3 and iPhone 6 Plus are the perfect examples of rushed products with absolutely ZERO concern for longevity.

Yeah, the iPad 3 and iPhone 6 Plus have been respectively the worst iPad and iPhone in terms of performance and being future proof.

 

[Falhófnir]

iPhone 4 was fine with the resolution. What it couldn't handle was the unexpected jump in system requirements (particularly graphics) that was iOS 7. Really, all the A5-based devices or older probably shouldn't have received iOS 7+.
[doublepost=1508161244][/doublepost]
In my experience majority aren't even aware that there was an iPad 4. The thing is most people just don't spend $500 every year to upgrade their iPads. Even when it's dog slow, they'll keep using it until it physically breaks. I reckon there are probably a lot of iPad 3 owners who didn't upgrade until this year when the $329 iPad was released.

Quite frankly, older iPhones and iPads were pretty slow when it comes to webpage rendering (using a Core i5-2500 Sandy Bridge as control). It just wasn't as apparent when both your mobile devices were slow. However, when you're using an iPhone 6s and an iPad 3, the disparity is extremely obvious.

I personally felt the A5s did ok on iOS 7, it was 8 and 9 that really drove them into the ground for some reason - despite not being significantly different in terms of look. I had an iPad 3 and was pretty happy with how it performed up until 8 when it went from lagging a bit occasionally, to the keyboard literally lagging your ‘keystrokes’ by several seconds. When they unveiled the pro I decided to hop over to that as it was a significantly new experience (though they changed the formfactor with the air, it was too soon to replace and ultimately the screen you were looking at was exactly the same too).
[doublepost=1525722343][/doublepost]

Yeah, the iPad 3 and iPhone 6 Plus have been respectively the worst iPad and iPhone in terms of performance and being future proof.

I’d agree to an extent with the iPad 3, but the A8 in the iPhone 6 Plus was more graphically capable than even the A7 in the iPad Air while driving a lower resolution display - if it had a problem it was being RAM starved more than lacking graphics power...

 

[ThatsMeRight]

I personally felt the A5s did ok on iOS 7, it was 8 and 9 that really drove them into the ground for some reason - despite not being significantly different in terms of look. I had an iPad 3 and was pretty happy with how it performed up until 8 when it went from lagging a bit occasionally, to the keyboard literally lagging your ‘keystrokes’ by several seconds. When they unveiled the pro I decided to hop over to that as it was a significantly new experience (though they changed the formfactor with the air, it was too soon to replace and ultimately the screen you were looking at was exactly the same too).
[doublepost=1525722343][/doublepost]
I’d agree to an extent with the iPad 3, but the A8 in the iPhone 6 Plus was more graphically capable than even the A7 in the iPad Air while driving a lower resolution display - if it had a problem it was being RAM starved more than lacking graphics power...

Yeah its RAM amount was the biggest problem for the 6 Plus, combined with the fact that it continuously had to downscale because it was rendering graphics at a higher resolution.

 

[FeliApple]

I know that the iPhone 6+ is RAM starved, but is it working too poorly in iOS 11?

 

[Vivian125]

I know that the iPhone 6+ is RAM starved, but is it working too poorly in iOS 11?

I remember when i has a 4S and iPad 2 it is still fast until iOS 6.
Here as i score the A5 chip with iOS
iOS 5 - 10/10 Fastest OS ever on A5
iOS 6 - 6/10 Hmm,, still fast. slow compared to 5 in camera and other games.
iOS 7 - 3/10 Sometimes it's working, sometimes it is not!
iOS 8 - 1/10 There are some stutters, this os is so ram hungry.
iOS 9 - 0.5/10 The battery drains so much faster, than ever. also it is buggy!

Few months after iOS 9 update, i recently upgraded. And i didn't know that iOS 9 was a performance update

 

[PennyThought]

ipad 2 and ipad 3 worked fine with ios 7...if you upgraded past that to ios 8 or 9, that probably wasn't a smart move.

My iPad 2 (bought in 2011) still being used as an ereader and reading comics (when I'm in bed).

I bought a Samsung tablet in early 2014 (that only got KitKat), but it was very reasonably priced and had a nice 2560x1600 screen. I use it on the exercise machine - watching movies and Youtube reviews, and beginning in 2018...also Plex. I use it also for group vid-chats using Hangouts with multiple family members. (Group Facetime only recently debuted...way late to the party, Apple).

Old tech by today's standards, but it still works beautifully so proof-positive you don't have to have up-to-date tech to get things done.

 

[Richard8655]

ipad 2 and ipad 3 worked fine with ios 7...if you upgraded past that to ios 8 or 9, that probably wasn't a smart move.

Easy to say in hindsight. Not everyone was savvy enough in preventing the automatic IOS update process and turning off constant update reminders if you didn't. At the time, Apple's stated process was to update older iPads only if their components could handle it. As we found later, Apple over estimated this. Only with IOS 12 did Apple begin to address and take into consideration the impact of IOS updates on older iPads.

 

[rui no onna]

Easy to say in hindsight. Not everyone was savvy enough in preventing the automatic IOS update process and turning off constant update reminders if you didn't. At the time, Apple's stated process was to update older iPads only if their components could handle it. As we found later, Apple over estimated this. Only with IOS 12 did Apple begin to address and take into consideratiin the impact of IOS updates on older iPads.

Is it really hindsight when there's already an established pattern of slowdowns with firmware updates?

I bought the very first iPhone and have upgraded yearly until the iPhone 6. Performance-wise on the early models, there was noticeable slowdown after the first major firmware update and performance was poor if you upgrade to 2 major firmware versions (hence part of the reason for my annual replacement). It wasn't until the iPhone 5 with A6 that the iPhones started aging more gracefully.

 

[Richard8655]

Is it really hindsight when there's already an established pattern of slowdowns with firmware updates?

I bought the very first iPhone and have upgraded yearly until the iPhone 6. Performance-wise on the early models, there was noticeable slowdown after the first major firmware update and performance was poor if you upgrade to 2 major firmware versions (hence part of the reason for my annual replacement). It wasn't until the iPhone 5 with A6 that the iPhones started aging more gracefully.

What's seen as "established" is pretty much relative to the user.

You apparently are a long-time dedicated Apple customer and user who has had a history of seeing the impact of IOS upgrades and updates on your Apple devices. Many Apple users are relatively new or more novice than you to the hardware and architecture. They don't necessarily spend time reading Apple forums like this.

They often assume that when a manufacture states their software maintenance will properly support and improve their device, they accept it based on the expertise of the manufacturer. Many of these folks are also too busy taking care of the everyday issues of their lives than questioning and investigating the stated software support process for their devices.