IF your iPhone has been moving slower than your brain on a Monday morning ever since the iOS 26 update, you are definitely not alone. Nothing ruins your day faster than a phone that refuses to keep up, especially when you are trying to multitask like a functioning adult.
Instead of tossing it out the window, give it a little tender, loving care, because your iPhone might just need a few simple pick-me-ups to snap back into shape.
Address temperature and reboot
The first thing to pay attention to is your phone’s temperature. When your device becomes too hot from bright sunlight, intense gaming sessions, or max brightness, it naturally slows down. Likewise, if it gets too cold, the battery chemistry weakens and performance takes a hit.
Keeping your phone at a normal, comfortable temperature can instantly help it perform better, the same way humans function best when they are not melting or freezing.
Next, if your phone still feels sluggish, try giving it a hard reset. This quick reboot clears minor glitches and does not harm your device at all.
Simply press the volume up button and release it, press the volume down button and release it, then hold the power button until the Apple logo appears. It only takes a few seconds and gives your phone a quick refresh.
Tackle storage and settings
Another major cause of lag is full storage. When your phone is packed with photos, videos and forgotten screenshots, iOS struggles to run smoothly.
The easiest way to clear the clutter is by using the free Clever Cleaner: AI Cleanup App. Once installed, the app helps you delete duplicate photos, compress large videos, clean up Live Photos and swipe through individual images for quick decisions. After cleaning up, remember to empty your Recently Deleted folder so the files do not sit there for a month pretending they are gone.
Turning off Low Power Mode also helps significantly. While it saves battery, it limits performance, so switching it off in your battery settings allows your iPhone to run at full speed again.
You can also reduce visual effects by enabling the “Reduce Transparency” setting in the accessibility menu, which lightens the graphic load and helps your phone run more smoothly.
To free up even more system resources, turn off Siri features and Apple Intelligence. These background tools consume plenty of RAM that your device could use for better performance. Disabling them, clearing Siri’s history and switching off suggestions can give your phone a noticeable boost.
Troubleshoot apps and VPNs
If your apps keep freezing, try closing or offloading them. You can access the app switcher to shut down unresponsive apps and visit the iPhone Storage menu to offload or delete problematic ones. This clears leftover cached data that may be slowing down your system.
Another sneaky culprit is a poorly optimised VPN. If you are using one, disable it, delete its profile in the VPN & Device Management menu, and uninstall the VPN app. Restarting your phone afterwards clears the remaining cache and immediately helps stabilise your device.
Long-term maintenance
To keep your iPhone running smoothly in the long run, always maintain at least 10 to 15 per cent of free storage so the system has space to breathe. Restart your phone once a week to clear temporary junk files.
Most importantly, take care of your battery by avoiding extreme temperatures and preventing it from dying completely, because a neglected battery will force your phone to slow down.