Originally Posted by
scruffypig I am running iOS 10.3 on my iPad Mini 2 (Retina) and iPhone 5S and both are still very snappy. I suggest doing a clean install and setting up as new. It take a little bit of time, though makes a world of difference.
I find my self agreeing and disagreeing, at the same time. Especially if you consider their age, the 5S and the Air still work quite well. OTOH, if you own an iPhone 6S or 7, you can definitely tell the difference in speeds -- the newer devices clearly have a "step" on the 5S and Air.
I do agree that doing a clean install will help -- this is doubly true if your iPad has used most of the available storage, you'll likely gain a bit of space from a clean install. OTOH, if you are nearly out of space, that is likely contributing to your slowdown, and even with a clean install you'll "quickly" get back to being out of space (which again will cause the iPad to slow down) -- quickly being after a few weeks to a few months, depending on your usage.