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iOS 7.0.6 on iPad Air: Impressions and Performance

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With all of the attention on iOS 7.1 for iPhone and iPad, no one saw Apple’s iOS 7.0.6 update coming. iOS 7.0.6, an incremental update that promises to fix a critical bug, replaces iOS 7.0.5 and iOS 7.0.4 and here, we take a look at how its performing on Apple’s new 9.7-inch tablet, the iPad Air.

Since November, the eyes of iPhone and iPad owners around the world have been fixated on one update, the iOS 7.1 update that currently sits in the beta process. Shortly after the release of iOS 7.0.4, Apple released the first version of the iOS 7.1 beta to developers and it sent iPhone and iPad users into a frenzy. Why? Two reasons.

First, iOS x.1 updates are typically larger than your standard iOS update. They bring more bug fixes, they bring enhancements and often times, they’ll bring new features as well. They serve as the bridge between two major updates. In this case, it’s iOS 7 and perhaps, iOS 8. They’re exciting updates, even if they sit inside the beta process for several months.

The second reason is because iOS 7 brought some problems along with it. Some of those problems were remedied with iOS 7.0.2, iOS 7.0.3 and iOS 7.0.4 and iOS 7.0.5 updates but problems remain. iOS 7.1 figures to fix at least some of these issues.

Rumors have pegged the iOS 7.1 release sometime within the next four weeks so iPhone and iPad owners have been gearing up for its arrival. So, many users, myself included, were caught off guard by Apple’s surprise iOS 7.0.6 update release on Friday.

iOS 7.0.6 is important in its own right as it aims to fix a serious security flaw. It is not, however, iOS 7.1.

iPad Air

That said, these incremental iOS updates sometimes have a way of fixing problems that aren’t listed in the change log. They also tend to present new problems to iPhone and iPad owners. And that’s why we like taking a look at them.

Here, we take a look at how the iOS 7.0.6 update is running on the iPad Air, Apple’s newest 9.7-inch tablet and a device that has reportedly seen some of the random reboot problems that Apple’s other 64-bit devices have seen.

Seamless Installation

Sometimes, the iOS update installation process can cause headaches. Installing iOS 7 on my iPhone 5 was an absolute nightmare and I’ve even had trouble installing a few incremental iOS updates. So I’m always a little leery when a new update arrives.

Fortunately, iOS 7.0.6 didn’t cause me any problems when I downloaded and installed it on my iPad Air. The update is extremely small, smaller than the update for my iPhone, and it took around 10 minutes or so to download and emerge on my tablet. I installed the update Over-the-Air like I always do so I can’t speak for the installation process through iTunes.

I always tend to have problems with iTunes and iOS updates so my advice is to stay away if you can.

iOS 7.0.6 Performance

When it comes to the performance of incremental updates like iOS 7.0.6, I like to look at five different areas in particular. Those areas include applications and how they’re performing, battery life and whether there is abnormal drain, bugs or hiccups, Wi-Fi and cellular performance, and overall speed. After spending a great deal of time with iOS 7.0.6 in the past 24 hours, here’s what I’ve found.

Apps

You’re not going to have the same set of applications that I do so I’ll just focus on some of the major applications that many iPad Air owners likely have on board their tablet. Apps like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google Chrome, Spotify, Netflix, and Apple’s own collection of applications including Calendar and Camera.

Belkin CODE Ultimate iPad Air Keyboard Case Review -  9

I’ve had the iPad Air for a few months now and I haven’t had any issues with any of those applications before, or after the arrival of iOS 7.0.6. Developers have done a fantastic job of keeping their applications updated and bug free and it shows. Applications work as advertised and I haven’t run into any bizarre crashing, something that can occur after an iOS update.

As I noted in my iOS 7 reviews for the iPad 3, I encountered problems with Netflix and Google Chrome. I just haven’t seen the same issues on the iPad Air.

Battery Life

Battery life is important for any mobile device and I consider it to be an important piece of my tablet experience. I’ll admit, I am not a heavy tablet user but I do use it during the week to enhance my work day and I do use it to watch movies and content while in bed or while lounging on the couch.

For the past 24 hours though I have used the iPad Air extensively and I have found no sign of abnormal battery drain. The device is still holding a charge and it’s still charging as fast as it did when it was on iOS 7. These problems typically don’t show their face until a few days after release so it could be that I’m singing a different tune in the days ahead. Right now though, the battery life on my iPad Air is fantastic.

Bugs

Another thing I tend to scour for after installing an iOS update are bugs. iOS updates can often bring bugs along with them that hamper the overall experience. Since I picked up the iPad Air, I haven’t encountered any major problems that impacted my overall use with the device. In fact, I haven’t even run into any minor bugs in my time with the new slate.

I’ve heard plenty of iPad Air owners complain about the springboard issue, the problem wherein the device randomly reboots itself, but I still haven’t seen that happen with my iPad Air. Those that are experiencing that problem should get the fix they are looking for with iOS 7.1. Apple promised a fix inside that update.

Apple has done a good job of shoring up many of the well known iOS 7 problems and iOS 7.0.6 appears to be one of the most stable versions of iOS 7 yet. Again, bugs sometimes take a few days, or even weeks to emerge, but for now, things are good.

Connectivity

I don’t have a 4G LTE version of the iPad Air because it usually stays inside of my home. So I can’t speak to 4G LTE connectivity after the arrival of iOS 7.0.6. However, I can speak to Wi-Fi speeds and all is well for me after the latest update.

Yes, I’ve heard the complaints about the broken Wi-Fi inside of iOS 7. iPhone and iPad owners have been complaining about Wi-Fi issues for as long as I can remember and I have no doubt that they’re real. I just haven’t seen them since I encountered some connection problems in the early days of iOS 6 on my iPhone 5.

Speeds are normal on my iPad Air and video is streaming as well as it normally does on my home Wi-Fi network.

Speed

iOS 7 on the iPad 3 is not fast at all. iOS 7 made the user interface extremely sluggish and slow and it was one of the reasons why I opted to replace the iPad 3 with the iPad Air. The experience on the iPad Air is night and day. Since I bought it, iOS 7 has been nothing but fast and efficient, thanks to the device’s 64-bit processor. iOS 7 flies.

iPad Air Outdoors

Same goes for iOS 7.0.6. The user interface is smooth, animations are quick and fluid, and there isn’t the same overwhelming sense of slowness that I encountered on the iPad 3. I have encountered the occasional slow down with the keyboard but it’s not something that happens every single time that I use it.

Should You Install iOS 7.0.6?

iOS 7.0.6 has had no apparent effect on my iPad Air. Apps runs as they should, battery life is normal, I haven’t discovered any catastrophic bugs, connectivity is superb, and the software is still as far as it was in iOS 7.0.4.

iPad Air Review -  14

If that’s not convincing enough, know that the update plugs up a very serious security flaw that Apple discovered lurking about. I recommend installing the update, if only for that.

Those who are thinking about jailbreaking should wait until the developer team gives the go ahead. MuscleNerd should give the all clear once the iOS 7.0.6 update is deemed safe and an iOS 7 jailbreak for iOS 7.0.6 is released.

21 Comments

21 Comments

  1. Deb Miller (@eowtravels)

    02/22/2014 at 3:30 pm

    Glad you didn’t have any issues, but when I tried to update my iPad Air, it forced me to put my iPad into Restore Mode and connect it to iTunes. I’m in the middle of having to do a full factory restoration and no clue what caused this. So that’s annoying.

    • Susan

      02/27/2014 at 3:17 pm

      Did this work? My iPad has slowed to a crawl, none of the apps will connect to a server, and my banking app just crashed!!

  2. Borgo

    02/23/2014 at 1:06 am

    iOS 7.0.6 seems to have broken one of my banking apps

  3. kaimeng

    02/23/2014 at 1:48 am

    I have iPad 4 and still on 6.1.4 and still not dare to upgrade to iOS 7. That’s how scary it is.

  4. Djuka

    02/23/2014 at 9:34 am

    Does this iOS 7.0.6 update affect other installed apps, games, etc.? Does it delete them, or not? Should I make first full backup on my desktop, and then run the update?

    Thanks!

  5. Woochifer

    02/23/2014 at 9:59 am

    No problems on my 5s. If anything, it freed up quite a bit of storage space (presumably from flushing the caches and other cruft).

    I gotta take issue though with your recommendation that people “stay away” from iTunes on an iOS update. On large updates especially I much prefer to go with iTunes since it will download the full installation file rather than just the delta update. I’ve had no issues using iTunes for any iOS update, so my experience does not square with your “stay away” recommendation.

  6. Madiha

    02/23/2014 at 10:26 am

    how do i update

  7. Mehreen

    02/23/2014 at 10:27 am

    updated my cell

    • Djuka

      02/23/2014 at 12:12 pm

      @Ian,

      did this update affect any of your installed apps, games, etc.?

      I need to update my iPad Air for the first time, so I need to know does have some influence on installed apps.

      Don’t want to update and then realize that my apps are gone..

  8. Ian

    02/23/2014 at 10:36 am

    I Just Update My iPad Air From iOS 7.0.4 To 7.0.6, So Far No Problems

  9. jayesh

    02/23/2014 at 10:45 am

    AFTER installing IOS 7.0.6 in my iphone ,phone is hanging…..and speed is slow down

  10. Kim

    02/23/2014 at 11:18 am

    I just updated my phone and lost everything. It won’t let me restore the backup and reset everything to factory. It keeps asking me for my voicemail password, shoot, I don’t know. Didn’t know I had one.

  11. Louis

    02/23/2014 at 12:37 pm

    I did the update on my air and so far good.

  12. Debbie

    02/23/2014 at 9:00 pm

    Something is draingin my battery FAST after the upgrade! On iPhone & iPad!

  13. Bazmati2020

    02/24/2014 at 10:09 am

    Updating my iPad 2 has caused it to disconnect from wifi whenever left to go into sleep mode. Then takes time to reconnect. PITA,

  14. Susan

    02/24/2014 at 6:31 pm

    I installed iOS 7.0.6 and now any app that goes out to connect with a server has stopped working. I’ve deleted most of my apps and tried to reload them…no luck. I think the security might be a little TOO tight.

  15. Djuka

    02/25/2014 at 6:51 am

    I’ve installed iOS 7.0.6 update on my iPad Air, and so far good :)

  16. Ellen

    02/25/2014 at 10:56 am

    I installed on my iPad and my previously downloaded videos wouldn’t play. I did a hard reset and that helped temporarily, but videos now take forever to load.

  17. frazer

    02/25/2014 at 3:15 pm

    It slowed down my 5s.

  18. Reality_Bytes

    02/25/2014 at 8:23 pm

    After installing this update, I’ve noticed a lag in speed. Some YouTube videos won’t play at all. At least this update stopped them from auto loading in my FB newsfeed, but the YouTube app is having major lag issues. Safari too when viewing video and graphic intensive websites. The videos aren’t loading at all. Guess they need a new fix to the fix. Hope we don’t have to wait for 7.1.

  19. Reality_Bytes

    02/25/2014 at 8:24 pm

    I meant to include that my device is an iPad air.

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