Apple

7 Things to Know About the iPad iOS 11 Beta

Published

7 years ago

08/17/2017

Already running iOS 11 beta on the iPad? Thinking about trying it? Our guide will take you through everything you need to know about the iPad iOS 11 beta as we push toward the official iOS 11 release.

Apple’s iOS 11 update will be a significant upgrade for Apple’s tablet. The new operating system will deliver a tremendous number of changes including a new Files app, a brand new dock for your apps, improved multitasking, improvements to Apple Pencil, and drag and drop functionality.

The company’s iOS 11 update for iPad is so exciting that we, and many others, are taking the pre-release version of iOS 11 for a spin ahead of the final release this fall.

Thanks to the iOS 11 beta, anyone with a working Apple ID can try the software out right now. There’s a lot to like about the iPad’s version of iOS 11 but the beta isn’t perfect. Far from it actually.

iOS 11 beta problems continue to plague iPad users and we’ve seen some frustrating issues emerge while testing the latest version, iOS 11 beta 6.

With all of that in mind, we want to take a close look at the iPad’s beta. This guide goes over some of the problems we’ve faced, some of the problems others have faced, some ways to fix those problems, and some of the other key things to know about the iPad’s iOS 11 beta before you try it.

Quick iPad Air iOS 11 Beta Review

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Apple recently released iOS 11 beta 6 (beta 5 for public beta testers) and we've been using it on the original iPad Air for a few days now.

If you're making the move from an earlier version of the iOS 11 beta, your download size shouldn't be too big. We were able to download the update in under three minutes on a high-speed Wi-Fi network. The installation took about eight or so minutes to complete.

If you're trying iOS 11 beta for the first time, you can expect your download (whether it's on the iPad Air, iPad Pro, or another model) and installation to take a lot longer. We recommend putting aside 45 minutes if this is your first time trying iOS 11 beta.

The latest beta feels a bit more stable than the previous versions but it's still not good enough to use as a daily driver.

Battery life is stable. We haven't seen any major battery drain and that's been consistent across all versions of iOS 11 beta.

We've tested the update on several Bluetooth devices, with the eero mesh Wi-Fi system, and with several different routers. We haven't experienced any problems with our connections.

We continue to experience problems with our core applications, with lag, and with random reboots.

Many apps are still unstable. Popular apps like Twitter, Soundcloud, Spotify, and Slack have crashed repeatedly on the latest version.

Animations and transitions (opening folders, apps, etc) aren't as fluid as they once were. There's a certain jaggedness to them.

The keyboard lag continues to be problematic on the sixth beta. We use the iPad to write emails and messages to co-workers and friends and the latest beta makes this a difficult task.

Apple's cleaned up some of the annoying bugs but be prepared to deal with some annoying issues if you decide to download the beta on your iPad.

If you need additional feedback, take a look at our list of reasons to, and not to, install the iOS 11 beta right now.

If you're curious about the iPad iOS 11 features, take a peek at our iOS 11 vs. iOS 10 walkthrough.