iPad Air 5th gen: Overheating and lagging with Notes and Freeform

Hello everyone,

I’m facing a persistent issue with my 5th generation iPad Air, which I bought in November 2022. Right from the start, using the native Notes app with my original Apple Pencil caused the device to overheat significantly. Fearing damage to the battery, I switched to a third-party app, Notability.

Interestingly, Notability worked perfectly fine; I could use it extensively with the Apple Pencil without any overheating issues. I have been using Notability for the past three years hoping that something would change, but a recent test of the Notes app confirmed that the problem still exists.

I recently decided to try Freeform, as I needed a large, continuous canvas for my notes. However, I encountered the same performance problems. After a short period of use, the app begins to lag, the device overheats, and it occasionally crashes.

I previously contacted Apple Support three years ago. They ran a remote diagnostic on the device but found no issues and suggested taking it to a service center. At the time, I couldn't part with my device, so I opted to use third-party apps instead.

I find it baffling that native Apple apps perform worse than their third-party counterparts. A friend of mine has experienced a similar problem with OneNote, which suggests this isn't an isolated incident. Is there any known solution to this problem?

Thank you for your help.

iPad Air, iPadOS 26

Posted on Oct 15, 2025 8:50 AM

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iPad Air 5th gen: Overheating and lagging with Notes and Freeform

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