Speed Up a Slow iPad

Here’s a quick tip if you have an aging iPad in your technology collection particularly if it is an original iPad.

If there is one thing that drives me nuts with a touchscreen device it would be when it becomes slow or unresponsive to touch. Mobile devices are less powerful than your laptop or desktop computer and given that you can’t crack open your smartphone or tablet and upgrade it like a regular computer the lifespan of such devices can be limited. Operating system updates that introduce new features and capabilities and apps that require more resources to run properly will gradually chip away at what once seemed to be rather generous specifications of your device.

Case in point, single core CPUs in mobile devices were where things were at two years ago but now we have quad core CPUs under the hood of smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S III (my current smartphone).

Of course, one solution to this dilemma is to stump up cash and buy the latest and greatest. That will work but some people will want to get the most from their devices before parting with their hard earned cash. After all, why should we reward technology companies for allowing devices whose hardware cannot be upgraded to get away with manufactured obsolescence?

Which brings me to the iPad. I have an original iPad and it can be annoying to use with the latest version of iOS. Some applications complain of low memory and web browsing can be sub-optimal at best. There had to be a solution.

One thing that I found that really helped was turning off Spotlight Search. It seems that search can take up a good chunk of resources just for the off chance that you may use it every now and then. If your iPad is reasonable organised and you don’t need to search your contacts or e-mail then this might be worth doing as follows:

1. Go into Settings,
2. Tap General on the left,
3. Tap Spotlight Search on the right,
4. Untick everything,
5. Press the home button.

This should hopefully speed up your iPad to perform at a more acceptable level albeit sacrificing a capability that you may only use every now and then.