Yearly, a serious iOS replace lands with new options and safety patches. However the identical query retains coming again: do these updates make your iPhone slower? The brief reply is difficult. Apple designs every replace to help as many iPhones as attainable, usually going again 5 or 6 years. Meaning older gadgets just like the iPhone 11 (launched in 2019) had been nonetheless operating iOS 18 in 2024, and even iOS 26 in 2025, though it is dropping compatibility for older fashions than that. That is as a result of trendy options constructed for the most recent chips do not all the time play nicely with ageing {hardware}.
In follow, that interprets into longer app load instances, decreased responsiveness, or extra battery drain after updating. Typically, the slowdown is non permanent. Background indexing, system tweaks, and bug fixes usually trigger sluggishness within the first few days after set up. Apple normally smooths issues out in follow-up updates. Nonetheless, older {hardware} has limits.
That hole has fueled years of suspicion. Apple has been fined prior to now for slowing down gadgets with out telling customers. The corporate now admits it reduces efficiency on older batteries to stop sudden shutdowns, however it additionally offers customers the selection to disable the characteristic. Whether or not it is intentional or simply the pure results of newer software program on older silicon, the end result for a lot of customers is similar: their telephones really feel slower after an replace.
What Apple says — and what the info exhibits
Apple insists it doesn’t intentionally sluggish iPhones to push upgrades. Benchmarking exams again that up. Research throughout fashions from the iPhone 5S to the iPhone 7 discovered processor and GPU efficiency stayed constant from iOS 9 to iOS 11, with solely minor dips unlikely to be noticeable in each day use.
Whereas iOS provides options you need to try ASAP, apps additionally develop heavier. A social app that ran easily in 2018 is extra demanding right this moment, even when the cellphone’s uncooked chip efficiency hasn’t modified. Mix that with an older battery that does not maintain cost as nicely, and the gadget feels slower even with out intentional throttling. Apple has acknowledged this actuality and launched extra transparency. iOS now exhibits battery well being and lets customers flip off efficiency administration, although on the danger of sudden restarts.
Do you have to improve — or maintain again?
Your present wants will resolve if you should replace to the most recent iOS model. When you have a current iPhone, efficiency variations are minimal and outweighed by the safety fixes and options you acquire. For older gadgets, the dangers are larger. The appliance of updates leads to delayed app transitions, system overheating, and battery drain, which is most pronounced through the preliminary seven days. Some options might not even be accessible on older {hardware}, making the improve much less compelling.
There are alternate options. Apple generally provides a last-generation replace, like iOS 18.7 alongside iOS 26, for customers who need safety patches with out the most recent characteristic load. That is helpful if stability issues greater than new instruments. You can too lengthen the lifetime of an older gadget with a battery substitute, which might restore efficiency with out requiring a brand new cellphone.
In the end, skipping updates comes with its personal issues. Outdated software program means lacking privateness enhancements and app compatibility. Holding again should buy you time, however it is not a everlasting answer. The choice comes down as to if you’d somewhat preserve your iPhone operating as easily as attainable right this moment or unlock Apple’s latest options with the tradeoffs which will come. Both method, the slowdown is not all the time a fantasy, however it is not all the time the conspiracy some consider, both.
