Apple

5 Things to Know About the iPadOS 15.1 Update

Published

2 years ago

11/19/2021

Apple’s released the iPadOS 15.1 update for iPad and the software brings an assortment of changes to the iPad, iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad mini

Unlike iPadOS 15.0.2, iPadOS 15.1 is a milestone upgrade. As such, it brings a mix of new features, enhancements, bug fixes, and security patches to the company’s tablet lineup.

In this walkthrough we’ll take you through the iPadOS 15.1 update’s performance, the current list of iPadOS 15.1 problems, the best places to find feedback about bugs and performance issues, the iPadOS 15.1 jailbreak status, and more.

iPadOS 15.1 Reviews
iPadOS 15.1 Problems
iPadOS 15.1: What’s New
iPadOS 15.1 Jailbreak
What’s Next for iPadOS

We’ll start with our impressions of iPadOS 15.1 update’s performance thus far.

iPadOS 15.1 Review

Even if your iPad is currently running iPadOS 15.0.2, iPadOS 15.1 requires a fairly large download.

If your tablet is running an older version of iPadOS, your update will likely be bigger. In some cases, a lot bigger. That’s because the features and fixes from iPadOS update(s) you skipped are baked into your version of iPadOS 15.1.

If your device is currently running iPadOS 15.0.2, the installation should take around 10 minutes to complete. It took about seven minutes to install on one of our older iPad Pro models.

For more on the iPadOS 15.1 download and installation, have a look at our guide.

We’ve been using the iPadOS 15.1 update on an iPad Pro for several days now and here’s what we’ve learned about its performance thus far:

Connectivity

Battery life is currently stable.
Wi-Fi connectivity is fast and reliable.
Bluetooth is working fine at the moment.
GPS and cellular data are stable.

App Performance

Third-party apps like Netflix, Dark Sky, Twitter, Slack, Asana, Gmail, Chrome, and Spotify are working just fine right now.
First party apps like Safari, Podcasts, and Calendar are also stable.

Speed

iPadOS 15.1 feels as fast as iPadOS 15.0.2 did.

If you’ve dealing with bugs or performance issues on iPadOS 15.0.2, or an older version of iPadOS, you should think about installing the iPadOS 15.1 update right now.

iPadOS 15.1 Problems

iPadOS 15.1 is causing problems for iPad users.

The current list of iPadOS 15 problems includes installation issues, battery life problems, issues with first and third-party apps, UI lag, issues with Face ID, UI lag, Wi-Fi issues, and Bluetooth issues.

If you run into issues, take a look at our fixes for the most common iPadOS 15 software issues. We’ve also released tips that will help you improve performance and tips that should help you improve your iPad’s battery life.

If you can’t stand iPadOS 15.1’s performance on your iPad, note that you can’t downgrade to older iPadOS software.

Apple stopped signing on iPadOS 15.0.2 which means you can’t move your iPad back to the previous version of iPadOS in an effort to improve its performance. Unfortunately, you can’t move your iPad’s software back to anything older than iPadOS 15.0.2 either.

This means that those of you jumping up to iPadOS 15.1 should proceed with caution. Once you make the move, there’s no going back to your current version of iPadOS.

iPadOS 15.1 Update: What’s New

Again, iPadOS 15.1 is a milestone upgrade and it brings a number of changes to the iPad line. Here’s the full iPadOS 15.1 change log:

SharePlay

SharePlay is a new way to share synchronized experiences in FaceTime with content from the Apple TV app, Apple Music, Fitness+, and other supported App Store apps.
Shared controls give everyone the ability to pause, play, rewind or fast forward.
Smart volume automatically lowers the audio of a movie, TV show or song when your friends speak.
Apple TV supports the option to watch the shared video on your big screen while you continue the FaceTime call on iPad.
Screen sharing lets everyone on a FaceTime call look at photos, browse the web, or help each other out.

Live Text

Camera app Live Text support recognizes text, phone numbers, addresses, and more so you can take action on them (iPad with A12 Bionic and later).
Keyboard support lets you insert text directly from the Camera into any text field (iPad with A12 Bionic and later).

Translate

Mandarin Chinese (Taiwan) support in the Translate app and system-wide translation.

Home

New automation triggers based on the current reading of a HomeKit-enabled humidity, air quality, or light level sensor.

Shortcuts

New pre-built actions let you overlay text on images or gifs, plus a new collection of games lets you pass the time with Siri.

Bug Fixes

Fixes an issue where the Photos app may incorrectly report storage is full when importing photos and videos.
Fixes an issue where audio playing from an app may pause when locking the screen.
Fixes an issue where available Wi-Fi networks may not be detected.

iPadOS 15.1 also brings new security patches to the iPad and you can read more about those over on Apple’s security site.

iPadOS 15.1 Jailbreak

If you still jailbreak, avoid the iPadOS 15.1 update.

The developer teams behind the Checkra1n and unC0ver jailbreaking tools have released versions that are compatible with newer versions of iPadOS 14, but they aren’t compatible with iPadOS 15. Not yet at least.

We’ll let you know when we learn more.

What’s Next

Apple’s confirmed a new version of iPadOS 15 and iPadOS 15.2 is currently in beta ahead of its public release. The company hasn’t confirmed a specific release date yet, but it should drop sometime before the end of the year.

If your problems on iPadOS 15.1 are really bad and/or you just want to try out the update’s new features, you can download the iPadOS 15.2 beta onto your iPad right now.

For more on iPadOS 15.2 and the beta, have a peek at our walkthrough. For more about the iPadOS 15.2 release date, check out our guide.

4 Reasons Not to Install iOS 15.8.2 & 10 Reasons You Should

Install iOS 15.8.2 for Better Security

1 / 14

If security is important to you, and you missed older versions of iOS 15, you'll want to think about installing Apple's iOS 15.8.2 update right away.

iOS 15.8.2 doesn't have any security updates on board. But, if you missed prior versions of iOS 15, you'll get their patches when you upgrade.

iOS 15.8.1 wasn't a big update, but it did have a pair of security patches on board. They're important and they will help protect your device from harm.

iOS 15.8 had an important security patch on board.

iOS 15.7.9 brought a new security patch with it. It addressed an issue where hackers could gain access via PassKit (Apple Wallet) image. For more information, head over to Apple's website.

iOS 15.7.8 had 10 security patches on board. These patches are essential if you want to keep your device and its data safe from harm. Apple's outlined the changes in detail and they're worth a look.

iOS 15.7.7 brought three security patches to iPhone models lingering on iOS 15. For more about them, head over to Apple's security site.

iOS 15.7.6 had several security updates on board. For more information about those patches, head here.

The iOS 15.7.5 update patched up actively exploited vulnerabilities making it an extremely important upgrade for your iPhone. To learn more about the patches, check out Apple's guide.

iOS 15.7.4 brought important security fixes to older iPhone models as well. If you want to learn more about these changes, check out Apple's guide.

iOS 15.7.3 also brought a batch of security patches to iPhone. You can learn more about these changes right here.

iOS 15.7.2 brought numerous patches along with it. For more about them, head over to Apple's website for more details.

iOS 15.7.1 update brought 17 security patches with it while iOS 15.7 delivered 11 security patches to iPhone. If you want a look at the details, head over to Apple's security site for more information.

If you missed iOS 15.6.1, it had two security patches on board. You can read more about the pair on Apple's website.

If you missed Apple's iOS 15.6 update, it had 30+ security upgrades on board. You can learn more about them right here.

If you missed iOS 15.5 it brought 27 new security patches to the iPhone. You can learn more about these patches over on Apple's security site.

If you missed iOS 15.4.1, it had one new security patch on board. You can read more about it over on Apple's website.

If you missed the iOS 15.4 update, it had a whopping 36 new security patches on board. If you want to learn more about these patches, head on over to Apple's security site for the particulars.

If you missed iOS 15.3.1, it had one security patch on board. For more about it, head over to Apple's security page.

If you missed iOS 15.3, you'll also get its patches with your upgrade. iOS 15.3 brought 10 new security patches to iPhone users. If you're interested in the details, you can read more about them right here.

If you missed iOS 15.2.1, you'll get its security patch with your upgrade. You can learn more about the change over on Apple's website.

If you missed Apple's iOS 15.2 update, you'll get its 30+ security patches with your upgrade. You can read all about them over on the company's security site.

iOS 15.2 also included some important upgrades to privacy. The software brought the company's App Privacy Report to Settings.

This lets you see how often your apps have accessed your location, photos, camera, microphone, contacts and more during the last seven days. You can also see their network activity.

In addition, iOS 15.2 brought Apple's communication safety features for kids. You'll find these features in the Messages app, in Siri, in Spotlight, and in Search.

If you missed iOS 15.1, iOS 15.8.2 will bring its security patches to your iPhone. You can read more about them on Apple's website.

If you missed iOS 15.0.2 you'll also get its security patch with your upgrade. You can learn more about it right here.

iOS 15.0 also brought numerous security patches to your iPhone. If you'll be moving up from iOS 14 and you're interested in the exact nature of these improvements, you can read about them over on Apple's security website.

Apple's updated its website with new information about iOS 15's batch of security patches. The company now says the software patched up an issue that could have exposed a user's private Apple ID information and in-app search history.

It also says iOS 15 patched up an issue that allowed apps to override Privacy preferences.

If you skipped iOS 14.8 or any older versions of iOS, you'll get the security patches from those updates with your iOS 15.8.2 update as well.

In addition to those patches, iOS 15 comes with some security and privacy upgrades including improvements to Siri. Requests made to Siri are now processed on the device itself using Neural Engine. This makes it more secure.

If you're an Apple Card user, you'll now get a security code that changes regularly to use when you make online transactions.

Apple's also included a built-in authenticator that's similar to Google Authenticator. This will let you generate verification codes for enhanced sign-in security under your Passwords.

There's also a Mail feature that hides your IP address.