Requesting OS 17 retention for 4GB RAM devices: 2018 iPad Pro 11" performance issues on new iPadOS

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Requesting OS 17 retention for 4GB RAM devices: 2018 iPad Pro 11" performance issues on new iPadOS

I have two devices in active use: a 7-year-old 2017 iPad Pro 10.5-inch (with Home button, 512GB / 4GB RAM, capped on iPadOS 17.7.1), and a recently purchased 2018 1st-gen 11-inch full-screen iPad Pro (no Home button, 512GB / 4GB RAM, brand new old stock).

Even though that 2017 iPad has been used for years, its aluminum chassis naturally bent over time, and it always leaks electricity, giving my skin a numb, tingling feeling, its system experience remains rock solid. On OS 17, no matter how long an app stays in the background, its state is preserved with almost no app reloads or crashes. Split screen works flawlessly too. For example, opening a heavy website in Chrome runs smoothly on the 2017 model.

When I first unboxed this 2018 1st-gen full-screen iPad, its default system was also OS 17, and it felt super smooth. However, when I tried restoring my backup from the old iPad, the system forced an OS upgrade before allowing the backup to restore. At first, when updated to around OS 24, it was still fairly smooth, though it ran hotter and occasionally lagged compared to OS 17. But after the last two OS updates (now on OS 26.6.1), the experience turned into a complete disaster.

Now almost every app freezes for no reason. Whenever an app freezes, the entire screen goes pitch black or completely white for a minute or two, completely unresponsive to taps. I just have to wait for it to crash 2 or 3 times in a row before it can reopen. Turning on split screen guarantees overheating. Using Chrome to open the exact same website, my old 2017 model handles it effortlessly, while the 2018 model on OS 26 constantly freezes and crashes. A brand-new stock machine with theoretically stronger performance ends up running worse than a 7-year-old device.

Both machines have the exact same 4GB of RAM. Why can the 2017 model maintain background apps and overall smoothness just because it stayed on OS 17, while the 2018 full-screen model stutters like crazy on the new OS? Is 4GB RAM really unable to handle the new OS overhead? Since both have only 4GB RAM, why couldn't Apple let the 2018 1st-gen full-screen iPad stay on OS 17 just like they did with the older 2017 model?

I am a resident of a Third World country. This brand-new stock 2018 full-screen iPad was bought with savings I scraped together for months, so upgrading to a new M-chip iPad is completely out of the question. As a Third World resident, I don't need any flashy new OS features or AI. I just want to ask the community or Apple: for devices with 4GB RAM like ours, can't we at least have the option to stay on OS 17 for a normal, stable experience?

iPad Pro

Posted on Oct 13, 2026 1:22 PM

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Answer 1

Rudegar

Level 10

186,526 points

Oct 13, 2026 2:23 PM in response to qaq96

we are not apple

these forums are user helping other users like yourself, it's sort of going to a physical apple store and asking other customers their advice

This is a user helping users with tech questions forum, we are not apple and apple do not read your posts here

You can provide them with feedback using Product Feedback - Apple

Or reach out to their official support channels

Get Support (apple.com)

And or

Contact - Official Apple Support

And or

Contact - How to Contact Us - Apple

Or

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

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Answer 2

Oct 13, 2026 3:42 PM in response to qaq96

No such thing as iOS 24. You may have udpated to iOS 18, or some earlier version of iOS 26. There are no versions in between those 2. Apple skipped from 18 to 26.

With that said, there is currently no way to go back to a previous iOS version, so your First Gen iPad 11" will stay on iOS 26.

You can of course try to restore the iPad to factory settings without a backup. It will remain on iOS 26, but will install a clean version. If it works ok then, then any issues are related to any data restored previously from the backup.

Of course it's also entirely possible the iPad was still working in the background to finish up update processes like the heavy indexing iOS 26 has to do for Apple Inteligence. It should return to normal working order after a few days.

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Answer 3

Oct 13, 2026 7:08 PM in response to qaq96

qaq96 wrote:

At first, when updated to around OS 24

FYI, there was no iPadOS 24. The most recent versions of iPadOS are

iPadOS 17
iPadOS 18
iPadOS 26
iPadOS 27

The gap between 18 and 26 is due to Apple changing from a "version" system to a "model year" system like that which car dealers use. (iPadOS 26 came out in Fall 2025, and was current through most of 2026.)

As a Third World resident, I don't need any flashy new OS features or AI. I just want to ask the community or Apple: for devices with 4GB RAM like ours, can't we at least have the option to stay on OS 17 for a normal, stable experience?

Your iPad Pro (11-inch, 1st-generation) doesn't support Apple Intelligence. All Apple Intelligence features require a minimum of 8 GB of RAM. Some Apple Intelligence features in iOS/iPadOS/macOS 27 require a minimum of 12 GB of RAM, and are not available even on all M-series-based machines.

As far as staying on iPadOS 17 – now that you have upgraded, you don't have that option. Apple does not support, and has never supported, downgrading from a released version of iOS/iPadOS to an earlier version.

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Answer 4

Oct 13, 2026 2:22 PM in response to qaq96

This is a user-to-user technical support forum. You are not addressing Apple representatives or decision makers, just fellow users.

You can offer Apple feedback here: Product Feedback - Apple

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