why is ios 26 laggy and makes apps and games not work properly

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Level 1

4 points

why is ios 26 laggy and makes apps and games not work properly

I am using various apps and games and I have come to realise every 30 seconds or so it will lag tremendously, making the buttons not work or the software to completely lock up and become unresponsive until I reset it. This has only started happening once I upgraded to iOS 26.

iPhone 16 Plus, iOS 26

Posted on Oct 24, 2025 8:56 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Lawrence Finch

Level 10

229,618 points

Oct 24, 2025 9:49 AM in response to Haz_99

iOS 26 isn’t laggy, your specific iPhone is laggy. If the version was laggy you would see millions of posts from the several hundred million users of iOS 26.

Basic troubleshooting:

Force-restart your iPhone
Go to Settings/Battery/Power Mode - do you have Low Power Mode on? What about Adaptive Power?
Do you have a 3rd party VPN installed, even if you are not using it? If so, delete the VPN profile in Settings/General/VPN & Device Management/VPN, then restart your device. Don't just turn it off; delete the profile. If that fixes it, you can try reinstalling VPN, but probably shouldn't.
Last resort: Back up your iPhone and restore the backup you just made:

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Answer 2

Jeff Donald

Level 8

45,204 points

Oct 24, 2025 9:54 AM in response to Haz_99

You’ve got the cause reversed. Apple made available to all app developers preview or beta copies of iOS 26 in early June 2025. Developers had three months to update their apps for iOS 26 and track down their bugs and fix them. Many developers chose not to. Why? Well, for some it’s a cost issue, for others I suspect it a lack of care and concern for their customers (you).

Yes, Apple iOS has bugs too. They’ve released one update already and another is due soon.

Best thing you can do is look at the Battery settings and look at the apps consuming the most battery capacity. Post you top 5 or 6 and lets examine them and explore ways to improve your experience.

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