iPad mini Update iPad Mini 4 to 15.7.1?

[DanRO]

Hello guys!

I am debating whether I should update my iPad Mini 4 to 15.7.1 or not.
Please note I rock iOS 14.8.1 on it and it’s working just fine, good standby times, pretty decent performance given the A8 chip.
The thing is that to my knowledge the iPhone 6 (that has the same A8 chip) didn’t get the update, so, are there any of you with the lastest iOS version on tour iPad Mini?
Should I just keep using the 14.8.1?

 

[FeliApple]

The question I always ask is why. I’m aware that people who have read my comments will know that my stance on this is very clear: never update, for any reason. That said, there are some reasons which I consider valid for some people, namely app support. It is a long debate, because my point is that if performance and battery life worsens (which it does), all you do is gain a little time, and have a worse iPad in the process, permanently. Eventually you won’t be able to update anymore and eventually you’ll be outdated anyway, so why not keep the device in the best (i.e., earliest) possible version?

That said, I’ll ask again: is there any reason for which you want to update, or do you want to update just to update?

 

[DanRO]

Just to update I guess? I was hoping actually to matbe get lucky and get some better performance out of it, I only use it for Microsoft Teams though.
The performance is pretty decent, but I remember being on iOS13 and the tablet was flying

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Just to update I guess? I was hoping actually to matbe get lucky and get some better performance out of it, I only use it for Microsoft Teams though.
The performance is pretty decent, but I remember being on iOS13 and the tablet was flying

My Air2 is on 14.8.1 and I won't update to 15.7. I'm not interested in the battery performance hit and the new UI that iPadOS 15.7 introduced. I'm fine with the performance of 14.8.1 and I'm sure 15.7 won't improve on that. In fact I'm almost positive it will slow it down and make it a worse experience overall. My Air2 has the A8X chip which is definitely more powerful than the A8 in your mini 4 so if it were me I wouldn't update. Remember, once you update you can't go back if you don't like the change. Youll be stuck on 15.7 .. The only issue I've come into is that the AppleStore app requires iOS15 or newer to work but that's o biggie to me..

 

[rui no onna]

I am debating whether I should update my iPad Mini 4 to 15.7.1 or not.
Please note I rock iOS 14.8.1 on it and it’s working just fine, good standby times, pretty decent performance given the A8 chip.
The thing is that to my knowledge the iPhone 6 (that has the same A8 chip) didn’t get the update, so, are there any of you with the lastest iOS version on tour iPad Mini?
Should I just keep using the 14.8.1?

iOS 15 + 2GB RAM doesn't make for a good combo (we have an Air 2 and iPad 6th gen). It freezes quite a bit particularly when switching between Safari tabs.

If your apps aren't complaining yet that you don't have 15, I recommend just sticking to 14 for now. Since Apple has dropped support for the Air 2 and mini 4, iOS 15 will always be available for it anyway should you need to update in the future.

 

[sunking101]

If slower performance and worse battery life interest you then update. Only update if absolutely necessary and not just for the fun in doing so.

 

[DanRO]

Yeah I guess I keep using iOS14 untill apps that I use no longer work on this version. I’ve had with older iPhones the surprise of the phone actually working better with newer verisons of iOS, but given the performance of the iPad Mini 4, that won’t probably be the case. 😬
Anyways thanks for sharing the experince, in the meantime hope they don’t break anything with the public release of iOS 16.2
Given I upgraded every year for 3 years now, they seem to fix as well break things with every new itteration of hardware and software as well.
For me this iPad Mini 4, the 7 Plus and 12PM have been by far the best devices.
Also I remember iOS13 being very stable on all devices.

 

[Digitalguy]

I guess performance is subjective. It depends on what you are used to... My mini 4 is ont the same OS version as yours and it runs... terribly slow.
I wish I had never updated from 13...
It will die on 14 as far as I am concerned....
I upgraded the mini 5 to 15, but the mini 5 is 4 generations newer (it's like comparing the iPad 6 to the latest iPad 10...) and has more RAM so it still as fast as before, but it reloads more, so the mini 4 is definitely not going to improve on iPadOS 15...
Concerning speed in general, again it's a matter of what is your baseline... The mini 4 and the air 2 didn't feel slow back in the pre-iPadOS days, but once I got the pro first gen it became my new baseline and the otherd felt sluggish in comparison... A similar story happened with the 2018 pro, it made me realize that the first gen pro was not that smooth... (although still clearly better than the A8(X) devices). The M1 has not had the same effect... Anything A12 or newer is so fast and smooth that it makes little difference other that reloads due to lack of RAM...

 

[FeliApple]

Just to update I guess? I was hoping actually to matbe get lucky and get some better performance out of it, I only use it for Microsoft Teams though.
The performance is pretty decent, but I remember being on iOS13 and the tablet was flying

Updating just to update is never, ever, ever a good idea. Performance and battery life will always suffer. It has been happening from the beginning, and it will continue to happen.

 

[YanniDepp]

Wouldn’t recommend it. The mini 2 was just about OK on iOS 10 and intolerably slow on iOS 12. The CPU in the mini 4 is only one generation newer and it only has 2GB RAM.

Generally I stop upgrading my devices a year or two after they’re released, and just buy a new device.

I’ve got a mini 2 on iOS 10 (downgraded from iOS 12), a mini 5 on iOS 14 and a mini 6 on iOS 16.

You have a choice with older devices. New features but slower, or older iOS but faster. The problem is, it’s a one way decision. It’s very rare to be able to downgrade iOS on a device.

 

[Andeddu]

I recommend the update. I have an iPad Mini 4 and it’s on iOS 15.7.1.

Everything works fine with no noticeable slowdown from iOS 14.

I always keep my devices updated as far as they can go to ensure app support. Even my iPad Mini 1 is useful to this date and works perfectly well as a podcast and Apple Music (with Bluetooth speaker) and Netflix machine.

The Mini 1 and Mini 4 I have are both ancient machines which are not very good general purpose machines. Both are good for certain jobs, namely video streaming. I have a Mini 5 which is my main iPad.

 

[DanRO]

I recommend the update. I have an iPad Mini 4 and it’s on iOS 15.7.1.

Everything works fine with no noticeable slowdown from iOS 14.

I always keep my devices updated as far as they can go to ensure app support. Even my iPad Mini 1 is useful to this date and works perfectly well as a podcast and Apple Music (with Bluetooth speaker) and Netflix machine.

The Mini 1 and Mini 4 I have are both ancient machines which are not very good general purpose machines. Both are good for certain jobs, namely video streaming. I have a Mini 5 which is my main iPad.

I guess you went through every update, which probably made the transition smoother, I fear that when jumping from 14 to 15 the tablet will behave much worse.
I remember the tablet being so snappy on ios13

 

[FeliApple]

I guess you went through every update, which probably made the transition smoother, I fear that when jumping from 14 to 15 the tablet will behave much worse.
I remember the tablet being so snappy on ios13

I’ve always felt that this one was a crucially underestimated aspect regarding the impact of iOS updates: people update all the time, and the impact is therefore less felt than if they were to update all at once, in both battery life and performance. When you tell them “I’m four iOS versions behind that, and it is infinitely better”, they find it hard to believe, especially if they don’t track performance and battery life very closely. That is why, I reckon, people recommend to update all the time: they have no clue what the difference actually is, and they completely underestimate it. Obviously, this varies. There is a difference between a recommendation with caveats (which I support even if I disagree), and the usual blanket statement of “always update regardless of anything”, which is the one I am criticising.