A little more than a week ago, Apple pushed out its third iOS 8 update, an update that the company naturally called iOS 8.0.2. Over the past week, we’ve spent quality time with iOS 8.0.2 on iPad mini with Retina Display and today, we want to take a look at how Apple’s latest iOS 8 update is holding up on the company’s current 7.9-inch slate.

In mid-September, after a lengthy stint in the company’s beta program, Apple released the iOS 8.0 update for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. As expected, the iOS 8 update delivered a number of big time changes including improvements to the Photos app, iMessage, battery usage, accessibility, and more. In addition to these features, it also delivered iOS 8 problems to owners of the iPhone and iPad.

We detailed many of these problems in the hours and days after the iOS 8.0 release date in our initial impressions and roundups. Ultimately, these issues forced Apple to release a couple of bug fix updates in iOS 8.0.1 and iOS 8.0.2.

The first update was iOS 8.0.1, an upgrade that rolled out on last Wednesday and one that immediately caused problems for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users. Cellular connectivity died and Touch ID stopped working for thousands of users around the world. Apple pulled the plug on iOS 8.0.1 and promised to issue a fix.

A day later, Apple made good on its promise to fix those iOS 8.0.1 problems. Late last Thursday, Apple pushed out iOS 8.0.2, an update similar to iOS 8.0.1 but one that came with fixes for those iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus problems. Despite the arrival of Apple’s iOS 8.1 beta, iOS 8.0.2 remains the current iOS 8 update for iPhone and iPad users.

Now that iOS 8.0.2 has been out for about a week, we want to revisit Apple’s latest update and take a look at iOS 8.0.2 on iPad mini with Retina Display. Our review will detail our experiences so iPad mini with Retina Display users can make an informed decision about whether to upgrade from iOS 8.0 or below.

iOS 8.0.2 Performance

When it comes to the performance of iOS updates like iOS 8.0.2, I like to look at five different areas in particular. Those areas are: Applications and how they’re performing post update, battery life and whether there is abnormal drain, random bugs or hiccups, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth performance, and overall speed.

After spending a week with the iOS 8.0.2 update on the iPad mini with Retina Display, here’s what I’ve discovered. Keep in mind, mileage is going to vary depending on usage so my experience might look different than yours.

Apps

As I noted in my iPad Air impressions, I’ve been experiencing some app troubles on my iPhone 6 and iPhone 5. Crashes and bugs have plagued both devices for several days and I’m hopeful that developers roll out updates to squash these issues. It’s probably not Apple’s problem.

App performance on the iPad mini with Retina hasn’t been as good as app performance on the iPad Air. I’m not sure why that is but I’ve seen more issues on the smaller slate. App crashes in iOS 8.0.2 aren’t common but I’ve seen a few when using Google Chrome, Twitter and once with Facebook. Again, I’ve only seen a few crashes and I should also note that I saw crashes in iOS 8.0 and in iOS 7.1 as well. Infrequent crashes but crashes nonetheless.

Developers have been pushing out iOS 8 compatibility updates and bug fixes like crazy and that’s a big reason why app performance hasn’t taken a huge hit after the arrival of iOS 8. Again, I’ve seen some issues on my iPhones but nothing game changing and nothing that’s made me consider throwing the devices against a wall.

Bear in mind, I keep my applications updated on a regular basis. If you’ve seen a drop in performance after the arrival of iOS 8 (apps crashing, sluggish performance, etc) I highly suggest updating your apps. This will typically work out the kinks. Personally, I just keep auto updates on so that I never have to remember to do this.

iOS 8.0.2 Battery Life

I’ve been getting a ton of complaints about iOS 8.0.2 battery life on the iPhone 5 and iPhone 6. I haven’t gotten the same complaints from iPad Air or iPad mini with Retina Display users perhaps because they aren’t as many of you out there. Or maybe there just aren’t as many problems going around, I’m not sure. The volume isn’t the same though.

My battery life in iOS 8.0.2 is about the same as it was in iOS 8.0.1 and iOS 8.0. That is to say that it’s been absolutely fantastic. I haven’t noticed any abnormal battery drain, slow charging, or any other weird issues with the device’s battery. It’s par for the course here with iOS 8.0.2. I’m still able to get more than a full day of use out of the iPad mini with Retina though if I mix in 4G LTE, it’s typically less.

Of course, my experience doesn’t mean that other iPad users aren’t having issues. If you are experiencing abnormal battery life after installing iOS 8.0.2, you’ll want to check out our iOS 8 battery life tips. These tips could help to alleviate iOS 8 battery life issues on your iPad mini with Retina Display going forward though, as is the case with any unofficial fixes, they might not solve them.

Connectivity

I own an AT&T 4G LTE iPad mini with Retina Display. After installing iOS 8.0.2, I’ve yet to run into any issues with LTE. Cellular connectivity remains solid and stable. Same goes for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

I realize that Wi-Fi issues have plagued iOS for years and I have no doubt that iOS 8 is causing some serious problems for some of you. If you are experiencing issues with Wi-Fi you will want to check out our potential fixes for those iOS 8 Wi-Fi issues. They aren’t a cure all but they have worked out well for iPad owners in the past.

If you’re experiencing Bluetooth issues, try resetting your network settings. Just make sure to back up you files before you do because there’s a chance that you could lose some in the process.

iOS 8.0.2 Bugs & Issues

Besides the occasional app issues, I haven’t really run into any significant game-changing bugs on board the iOS 8.0.2 update for iPad mini with Retina Display. It has been very, very stable.

I’ve encountered a bit of sluggishness with the keyboard in the Messages app and the stock Mail app has crashed once or twice but I’ve seen these in other iOS updates before. I don’t think these issues are native to iOS 8.0.2 and I have a feeling that performance here will improve as time goes on. We’ll see.

Random reboots were a major issue for iPad mini with Retina users but I haven’t noticed any in iOS 8.0.2. I’ve also yet to stumble upon any smaller bugs lurking in the shadows. That’s not to say that there aren’t any bugs inside iOS 8.0.2, I just either haven’t found them. I prepared for the iOS 8 update’s arrival and it looks like that might be paying off.

Speed

iOS 8.0.2 is extremely fast on the iPad mini with Retina Display. I haven’t seen any abnormal slow down at all and the operating system is very fluid. Animations and transitions are still crisp and the experience is on par, if not better, than what I saw with iOS 7.

Should You Install iOS 8.0.2?

For the most part, iOS 8.0.2 on the iPad mini with Retina Display has been treating me well. Battery life is good, my key connections are stable, most apps are working great, and the iPad mini with Retina Display is still very, very fast. There are a few annoying issues but I think the good here outweighs the bad. And there’s no guarantee you’ll see the same issues I do.

Right now, I recommend iOS 8.0.2 to iPad mini users dealing with issues inside iOS 8.0 or iOS 8.0.1. If you are having an insanely good experience with iOS 8.0 or iOS 8.0.1, it might be worth waiting a few weeks.

What’s Next for the iPad mini with Retina Display

It looks like it will be iOS 8.1. Apple is scheduled to roll out a new update sometime this month and with Apple Pay support said to be on board iOS 8.1 beta, it could be iOS 8.1 that lands next. The iOS 8.1 release date is now rumored for October 20th so it looks like we may see a very short beta period.

This is great news for iPad mini with Retina Display users because we’ve discovered a laundry list of fixes on board iOS 8.1 beta. In other words, it should be a much bigger bug fixer than iOS 8.0.2 and it has the potential to solve the biggest iOS 8 problems. Stay tuned.