Slow performance and lag after iOS 26 update on iPhone

Almightyadil I did the same: turned off low power mode and the problem was solved for me. iPhone 14PM iOS 26.0.1.

the bad thing still is that I can’t use low power mode anymore. That is a bummer because I use it many hours a day if not all day.

suchinjack ~ Your iPhone 13 Pro Max could be 4 years old and the long process of applying a major iOS upgrade to an iPhone with a weak, aging battery can be the proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back." So...

Does your iPhone 13 Pro Max still have its original battery?

And what's the Maximum Capacity % here?...

Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging

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I found that closing all apps after updating significantly reduces/eliminates lag.

To me, it seems like performance suffers when using an app that has remained open since pre-update. Closing and reopening an app after updating allows the app to factor in your current iOS version. After doing this once, you can continue using your lagfree updated phone as you normally would.

For information; I’m using an iPhone 14 Pro 512GB with ~380GB of unused storage running iOS 26.1 (23B85). My battery condition is currently at 81%, and it’s been ~12 hours since updating from iOS 18.6. I did not adjust any settings, including settings related to Apple Intelligence.

iPhone 14Pro here on iOS 26.1, 256GB.

Go to Settings > Search.

Turn off “Help Apple improve search”.

It changed a lot for me, phone is usable again. I guess it must have been setting up some encrypted connection with Apple servers every time search was available (any browser address input, in many apps etc). Before the change I practically couldn’t use safari. Now it’s smooth.

... almost unusable for MONTHS now. This is not post-update machinations of a few hours or days. This is PERMANENT LAG and bugs. I have been using Apple products since 1985, and been a programmer since 1969. This is the worst software Apple has ever released. What a mess.

Giacomo_Saccone wrote:

Is it possible to downgrade?

Asked and answered.

I will never update before checking positive feedbacks.

While it's certainly a good plan to wait a bit before updating, comments on technical support forums will almost always skew negative, as they are places for people to come with problems. The larger group, the people without problems, aren't posting anything.

I also am not happy with this new IOS. Just opening mail or messages causes serious lags in loading content or simply not loading at all and having to close and reopen the app. It also seems and has been in previous IOSs, to be less intuitive requiring more steps to complete the same tasks. Then the layout of controls on safari and other apple apps is difficult to navigate with way too many hidden actions. Finally, the liquid glass should have never made it thru beta testing and obscures the clean look apple products typically have. This is by far my least favorite update. Please fix it.

millermotto wrote:

I also am not happy with this new IOS. Just opening mail or messages causes serious lags in loading content or simply not loading at all and having to close and reopen the app. It also seems and has been in previous IOSs, to be less intuitive requiring more steps to complete the same tasks. Then the layout of controls on safari and other apple apps is difficult to navigate with way too many hidden actions. Finally, the liquid glass should have never made it thru beta testing and obscures the clean look apple products typically have. This is by far my least favorite update. Please fix it.

Tell Apple:

Product Feedback - Apple

See also:

Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

I don't know why Apple acknowledges this should have been done better. Exactly in the same boat. It's not an 'momentum' after an initial update. It's a very very bad update and it should be fixed.

Also Apple should make it possible to revert back to the previous OS.

The keyboard-lag or random skipping is a disaster and should be done first.

The general lag - i'm sure they can fix it. I rater have LESS functionality and a functioning phone than this terrible update.

NikaLee wrote: "... My 12 mini is so slow after the upgrade..."

NikaLee ~ Your iPhone 12 mini could be 5 years old and the long process of applying a major iOS upgrade to an iPhone with a weak, aging battery can be the proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back." So...

Does your iPhone 12 mini still have its original battery?

And what's the Maximum Capacity % here?...

Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging

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Apple support and senior advisors have even noticed the issues themselves. And considering the amount of people that are reporting the issues after this update solidified it as the root cause.

Toggling off reduce transparency work for my 15 pro max, cheers!

Soloved lag by;

1. Reduced transparenty on
2. Battery save mode off
3. Adaptive battery on

Now 100% smooth

A temporary fix

just do a hard reset and it will work fine for few weeks, speaking from personal experience

Was having the same issues. Terrible lag specially affecting my keyboard. Disabling and disabling vpn solved it