Apple finally figured out how to make old iPhones faster

Every year at WWDC, Apple tries to impress users with major new features or a redesigned interface. And yes, iOS 27 comes with some cool new additions, like Siri AI and improved Liquid Glass. But what got me most excited about iOS 27 is something most users won’t see, but they’ll definitely notice.

Apple spent a significant part of its keynote talking about performance. That’s because, according to the company, iOS 27 has many under-the-hood improvements that will make your iPhone or iPad run much faster and use less battery power.

Performance is the upgrade

Of course, we all love new features. But there’s no denying that iOS 26, announced last year, was a buggy release. As I recently wrote for Macworld, iOS 26 had serious performance issues and glitches.

Instead of completely overhauling the operating system from scratch, Apple’s engineers focused on refining what already exists. For instance, Apple claims that system animations are much smoother in iOS 27.

According to Apple’s data, apps now open 30 percent faster, and photos load 70 percent faster after being taken. Other parts of the system have also been improved, such as AirDrop, which is now allegedly 80 percent faster at transferring files. The search engine across the entire system has also been overhauled to be faster and more reliable.

Apple

Part of this was made possible by optimizations to the CPU scheduler, a system component that manages CPU resources as you use your iPhone throughout the day. But you don’t need to understand all of this. You just need to know that Apple tweaked the right things to make everything feel more fluid.

And that’s especially good news not only for the latest iPhones, but also for older models, such as the iPhone 11. Thanks to all these improvements, iOS 27 runs on the same iPhone models supported by iOS 26, which also includes the 2nd-generation iPhone SE.

That means iPhone users won’t have to buy a new device just to get better performance this year. And honestly, that’s way more exciting than some of the AI features shown at today’s event.

People don’t just notice when their phone gains a new feature. They notice when it becomes slower and apps take too long to open. The reality is that speed itself has become a feature. And Apple seems to finally understand that again.

Apple

More refinements across the system

Apple didn’t just make iOS 27 faster. The company also tweaked the Liquid Glass interface, which has been a major reason for complaints from a number of users since last year. 

iOS 27 introduces a new slider that lets users adjust the intensity of the Liquid Glass effect exactly as they like, ranging from more transparent to more frosted. And even if you opt for a more transparent look, Apple has made changes to make everything easier to read.

Many icons and buttons have also been slightly redesigned to highlight the depth effects of Liquid Glass. Apple has also added a subtle background to toolbars, aimed at improving readability.

None of these changes sound revolutionary on their own. But together, they point toward something important: Apple is prioritizing usability again. And honestly, usability is what made the iPhone great in the first place. It’s the kind of thing I missed from the last several releases, and Apple seems to have gotten it right this time.

Apple

Few actual new features

For those looking for something new, iOS 27 includes features that Apple desperately needed to deliver this year. Apple Intelligence continues to expand throughout the system, and Siri AI is clearly the company’s biggest bet for this year.

But I genuinely think the quieter improvements may end up mattering more in daily life. Most users won’t spend all day talking to Siri, but they’ll notice if their iPhone feels faster. Those are the kinds of improvements that make devices feel better over time.

And that might just end up being the best part of iOS 27.

iOS 27 is available now as a developer beta, with a public beta to arrive next month. The official release will land on iPhones this fall.