iOS 26 update slowed down my iPhone - anyone else experiencing this?

[Bloom64]

 

Hey everyone, I could really use some advice here
 

So, I updated to iOS 26 about four days ago. Normally I’m one of those people who install every iOS update right away, but this time I hesitated as I didn’t like the new design at all. Still, I eventually decided to go for it. Now it feels like I’ve turned my device into a brick, iOS 26 is slowing down my iPhone to the point it barely feels usable. It keeps freezing even during basic stuff, like swiping between home screens, searching something in Safari, or opening Messages. I’ve had iphones for years, and this is the first time I’ve seen such a mess.

Is anyone else having the same iOS 26 laggy issues? I read that downgrading iOS isn’t possible anymore, so I’m stuck with this laggy phone. Any ideas on how to fix it?
 

 

 

[Mido77]

Hey! My iPhone is slow after iOS 26 too. But even Apple themselves say this is normal after a major update, like the ones that end with .0, not smaller ones like 26.1 or 26.2 (https://support.apple.com/en-us/125039 ). During such updates, the system does a full re-indexing of everything on your phone. All files, photos, apps, basically your entire storage. So small freezes are normal, higher battery usage is normal, and even a bit of overheating can happen. For me, all that lasted about six days, I think. So I’d just wait a little, everything should get back to normal soon.

[Bandalar]

Oh hey, bro @Bloom64, iOS 26 is making my phone slow too. I also saw Apple saying this is normal, so I’ve been waiting for a couple of weeks already, hoping it gets better. But I watched a few YouTube reviews, and most people there said everything’s fine… so now I just feel kinda sad about it.

[MikeB76]

Hey everyone. I’ve also heard about the iOS 26 lag issues, but my update went totally fine, no problems at all.

@Bloom64, @Bandalar let’s figure this out together:

• Which iPhone did you install the update on?
• Do you use Low Power Mode all the time?
• How full is your storage?

All of this actually matters. Maybe the lags aren’t caused only by iOS 26 itself.

[Bloom64]

I updated on an iPhone 14. I never use Low Power Mode, not even once. As for storage, here it is. Could that be why iOS 26 is making my phone lag so much?

 

[MikeB76]

Oh wow.. you’ve got a lot of photos there, and tons of apps too. Only 40 GB free? Yeah, that could definitely be part of the problem. You should really clean up your storage a bit. Delete anything you don’t need or won’t miss. That’ll certainly give your phone a boost and might fix your iOS 26 performance issues.

 

Since the biggest chunk of your storage seems to be photos, I’d focus on that first. And if you don’t feel like spending weeks sorting everything manually, try using an app. I personally use Clever Cleaner all the time. It’s free and helps remove all kinds of photos and videos in just a few minutes.
@Bloom64

[Bandalar]

I updated on an iPhone 11, and I always keep Low Power Mode on. The battery’s kinda weak already, so it helps me get through the day.

[MikeB76]

Еhat’s your problem right there. Low Power Mode reduces your iPhone’s performance by default, and when you install such a heavy update like iOS 26 on an older model, it just makes things worse. You’ve got two options: either replace the battery and turn off Low Power Mode, or upgrade to something newer, at least an iPhone 13. And yeah, cleaning up your storage never hurts either
@Bandalar
 

[Bloom64]

Oh wow, thanks!! I honestly didn’t think my love for photos could actually cause iOS 26 lag issues on my iPhone. Really appreciate the tip!

 

Upd: can’t believe it, I cleaned up about 80 GB just by deleting duplicates and similar photos. And yeah, it really does feel like the phone’s freezing way less now! 

Edited October 30, 2025 by Bloom64

[D_Harris_05]

Oh wow, didn’t expect to see the app I use mentioned in a thread like this 😄. But yeah, it’s actually really good. I used Clever Cleaner before updating my iPhone, deleted a bunch of extra photos and videos first. That way, the phone had way less stuff to re-index during the iOS 26 update, and everything went super smoothly afterward.

[MikeB76]

Oh, that’s actually a great idea, but I don’t really have that many files on my iPhone, so the updates usually go super smooth for me anyway.
@D_Harris_05

[UrbanExplorer7]

Looks like you guys already shared some solid tips here. But for anyone who’s got plenty of free storage and still finds iOS 26 slow, the reason might actually be those goofy Liquid Glass effects. They put quite a bit of load on the system. As far as I know, you can’t disable them right now, but I saw in some iOS 26 beta reviews that Apple added an option to tone them down a bit.

[PixelDreamer5]

@UrbanExplorer7

I test every beta Apple releases, and that feature is real, you can actually reduce the Liquid Glass motion now. But honestly, hearing people say that iOS 26 causes lag feels kinda strange to me. Since release day till now, I haven’t noticed any major changes in performance on my iPhone 16 Pro (512 GB). To me, this is one of the smoothest updates Apple’s done in years.

I remember updating my old iPhone X to iOS 18, and that was a nightmare, lagging all the time, nothing helped, and I eventually just bought a new phone. So yeah, it’s fair to say that newer iPhones always handle the newest iOS versions better.

[xavav]

Surprised no one mentioned this yet, what actually helped me was going into the App Store and updating all my apps. Not sure how, but it worked. Maybe some older versions were clashing with the new iOS 26 design, and developers started pushing updates to match it. Either way, after updating everything, the lag just disappeared.

[UrbanExplorer7]

I know some people managed to fix the lag by turning on Reduce Transparency (you can find it under Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Reduce Transparency).

Also, I’ve read a bunch of comments saying that those who had iOS 26 lag issues got rid of them after updating to iOS 26.0.1. Since it was the first follow-up update, it probably included a bunch of bug fixes Apple was already aware of.

[GeladeN]

@MikeB76

oh wow, thanks for the tip. Free apps are pretty rare these days. I tested Clever Cleaner after you mentioned it, and it doesn’t even have ads! That’s awesome.

--

When I had lag issues after an update (back on iOS 18), the problem was also my photo library, I had around 40k photos and deleted the junk manually. Back then, I tried to find free apps too, and the only one I found was Remo Duplicate Remover but it took like four hours to scan, my phone got so hot you could fry an egg on it, and it never even finished. I’m saving Clever Cleaner for future updates, but I’ll probably do what U5 (clean up everything before installing the next iOS).

[Patalain]

Yo hey everyone 👋 I haven’t installed iOS 26 yet, but I’ve been checking forums to see how it affects iPhones, and looks like I was right to hold off. I’ve been doing this since iOS 17 and iOS 18, I only update when Apple drops the smaller follow-up versions. Feels like that’s when everything actually runs smooth, with no slowdowns or random lags.

[tadoka]

Whoa, so many great tips here already, it’s easy to lose track. Let me sum things up and make a quick guide for anyone dealing with iOS 26 slowing down their iPhone 👇

 

What to do if iOS 26 makes your iPhone slow:

• Wait a few days. After a major update, your iPhone re-indexes all files in the background, which can take up to a week.
• Reduce Transparency (Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size >Reduce Transparency and toggle it on). This lightens the system visuals and reduces lag.
• Check your battery health (Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging). Ifthe  Maximum Capacity is below 80%, it’s time to replace the battery.
• Check your storage (Settings > General > iPhone Storage). If it’s nearly full, clear out the categories that take up the most space (like Photos or Apps).
• Update all your apps (App Store > Account > Update All).
• Install iOS 26.0.1. 
• I would like to add that you should try to restart your iPhone. Press and quickly release the Volume Up button, then the Volume Down button, then hold the Power button until you see the Apple logo.

If you haven’t updated yet:

• Do steps 3-4 first (battery and storage check) and make sure your iPhone is even supported (Apple’s website lists all devices compatible with iOS 26).

Did I miss anything?

[MikeB76]

 Looks like you covered everything, awesome job, man!
@tadoka

[Allan]

I’ve waited until yesterday, I updated from iOS 18.7.2 to the 26.2 version!

 

And it’s very cool. All my files such as photos and videos are uploaded the Cloud. 
 

So what I did was: backup everything and after installed the new iOS I reset the phone to the original settings. Restored what I really need and done. 
 

No heat, no freezes, no issues. Perfect! 🤩