Is it worth upgrading to iOS 5 on a jailbroken iPad 2?

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cass October 12, 2011

Is it worth upgrading to iOS 5 on a jailbroken iPad 2?

I have a jailbroken iPad and I have a few apps that I would lose if I upgraded to iOS 5, primarily VLC (I really hate having to convert video files).

Does iOS 5 bring a lot of new features to the iPad that would make it worth upgrading to? It seems like the upgrade is a no brainer for iPhone users, but I'm not sure what I'd be missing out with the iPad.

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jabbar 7 months ago

I think if you have an Apple TV, then it's a no brainer. AirPlay mirroring works great, and Real Racing HD 2 already has AirPlay mirroring built in (move over Wii U). Also, if you haven't activated the multitouch gestures, do it and you'll wonder how you ever got along without them. Besides those two things, notifications aren't as seamless, mainly because of the content I consume on the iPad, and the OS as a whole behaves the same as before (multitasking, folders, etc. - all of what you had in iOS 4). I will say that when everyone has updated to iOS 5, iMessage will be a killer feature. It really depends on what you use your iPad for.

Kind of unrelated: I am confused as to why the iPad 2 doesn't have Siri on it. I figure it would be able to determine if you have a data connection, but on my 3G iPad 2, there really isn't a big difference in terms of functionality between it and the iPhone 4S. If anything, the iPad 2 would be a better platform, as evidenced by the Knowledge Navigator. I'd be ok with a bow tie on my iPad 2.

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cass 2011-10-12 17:26:36

I don't have an Apple TV, but the multitouch gestures sound like they're worth it. So conflicted right now. #FirstWorldProblem

jabbar 2011-10-12 17:35:23

Well you could just download Xcode and activate the gestures on iOS 4. It takes about 5 seconds after you download the 5GB app from the App Store. Or just find someone that already has Xcode, plug in your iPad, click on it, and unplug it. It should be in the Settings at this point.

Blade3562 2011-10-13 09:58:17

I updated on my iPad 2, overall iOS4 was much much better. The new iOS is very laggy, amd adds 3 more freaking usless apps. I have nothing positive to say about the update. iOS 4 is a step above this so called "update"

jocopa3 2011-10-22 20:12:28

Multi-task gestures are possible on a jailbroken iDevice. You just have to search for it. SIRI (still under beta, coming out soon for all exploited devices) and Gameboy advanced games are also possible only on jailbroken iDevices. Same with a Flash player. I develope third party software for jailbroken devices only, I have no limits as to what I can do. Seriously, I could even connect a Nintendo Wii remote to my iPad and use the built in gyroscope to control my iPad, its a project i am working on only possible with jailbreaking. Apple has their head up their ass when they say "IOS 5 is years ahead of its time!" cause everything IOS 5 can do has been around in the exploiting community since 2007.

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Dawagner1 7 months ago

If You Don't Like the iOS 5 Features
If you don't like the ability to use more gestures on your iPad, if you don't like the idea of the new notifications, if you don't like being able to wirelessly sync, if you don't want a tabbed browser and reader function, if you don't want to use airplay mirroring, if using iCloud seems like a bad idea, ect ect, then you should not upgrade and don't worry about having to spend a few minutes converting video files. :)

Personally, I have never had any issues converting video files. I have done hundreds. I just spend a couple of minutes to set up a batch to run overnight and drag into iTunes in the morning.

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NotHotWater 2011-10-12 17:50:04

It's worth upgrading, especially because there's a VLC alternative on the App Store called It's Playing (itunes.apple.com/us/app/its-playing/id442839861?mt...) - works wonderfully.

The notifications and iCloud integration are the main parts of iOS 5 and they are really well integrated on both the iPhone and iPad 2.

It's worth it to me, because you'll more than likely be able to re-jailbreak once someone hacks 5.

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ericwass 2011-10-13 23:40:16

I'm completely torn about this. I upgraded my iPhone 4 to iOS 5 and promptly jailbroke it. MyWi, SBSettings and BiteSMS are working beautifully. I'm really tempted to upgrade my jailbroken iPad 2 from 4.3.3 to 5 because I'm really enjoying the notifications center, the wireless syncing and the iCloud Photostream. I'm also hoping Newstand will manage my New Yorker, Vanity Fair and NYT subscriptions better than they're currently working. On the other hand the thought of losing MyWi and SBSettings (perhaps permanently) is holding me back. I know I don't necessarily need MyWi on the iPad to tether but the OnDemand bluetooth tethering is awesome. I wondering if anybody here has any insight or even rumor about the status of the iOS 5 jailbreak on the iPad 2. For a few weeks or even a month or two, it's totally worth it to upgrade. But if the jailbreak's never coming I'll regret it.

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jocopa3 2011-10-22 20:07:59

It ISN'T worth it to upgrade from a jailbroken iPad 2 to IOS 5. Infact, I have SIRI on my iPad 2, and all of you have to buy an iPhone 4S for that. Everything you can do in IOS 5 was possible since 2009 in third-party software. Apple ripped off 200 different tweaks and third-party software engineers, expescially with iCloud. Wifi-sync has been around in the jailbreak comunity since 2010. I have two iPads, one's wifi the others wifi-3g. I have 4 iPods, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generations. I have an iPhone 4g. The only one that i updated out of all of those is my 3rd generation iPod, strictly for exploiting and testing, they are all hacked. Heck, I could add multi-task gestures to any jailbroken iDevice. It isn't hard at all. What I can also do is activate toggles for anything such as turning on wifi, bluetooth, 3g, E data, I can also control what's going on in the background, beyond what switcher can show you, to save battery life and memory. I can actually customize my iDevices now. I can run Nintendo 64, gameboy advanced, playstation games, snes, nes, and almost every other old console on my iDevices. Can you play resident evil or pokemon emerald maybe even super mario world on your iDevice? No. Jailbroken iDevices are better than anything Apple can push out. Infact, I have SIRI on my iPad 2, and all of you have to buy an iPhone 4S for that.

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Is it worth upgrading to iOS 5 on a jailbroken iPad 2?

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