Three iPhone tweaks instantly make it feel way faster – just don’t ruin it by breaking ‘1GB’ rule that kills speed

SLOW iPhone? Give it a major speed boost with some simple tricks.

It’s easier than you think to make your iPhone feel much faster.

SPEED BOOST #1 – MOTION TWEAK

One very simple trick is to turn on Apple‘s Reduce Motion feature.

It’s built into your iOS as standard, and minimises the on-screen movement that you’ll see.

So for instance, graphical animations that usually work as you navigate your phone might be reduced or even totally disabled.

By turning Reduce Motion on, you can limit the burden on your iPhone’s processor – and improve performance as a result.

But it can also make your iPhone feel snappier just due to the visual effect.

To turn the setting on, go to Settings > Accessibility > Motion and then enable Reduce Motion.

SPEED BOOST #2 – BATTERY SWAP

The first trick was free and fairly effective. This one is paid for, but even more powerful.

Your iPhone’s battery gets worse over time as it chemically ages.

This happens over time, and is also affected by how many times you’ve charged and discharged it – as well as how well you’ve looked after it.

For instance, letting your iPhone get too hot often will degrade a battery.

And as a battery degrades, it holds less charge.

To protect your iPhone’s battery over time, iOS uses something called performance management.

This means your iPhone’s performance might be reduced over time to protect the battery.

Apple says you might notice things like:

• Longer app launch times
• Lower frame rates while scrolling
• Backlight dimming (which can be overridden in Control Center)
• Lower speaker volume by up to -3dB
• Gradual frame rate reductions in some apps
• During the most extreme cases, the camera flash will be disabled as visible in the camera UI
• Apps refreshing in background might require reloading upon launch

Sadly, there’s no way to make your battery age backwards.

But you can just pay for a battery swap from Apple, which is usually way cheaper than buying a brand new iPhone.

This will instantly improve your iPhone’s performance, and has the upside of giving you like-new maximum battery charge again.

A fresh battery should also increase the resale value of your iPhone, though it’s never guaranteed.

Check out The Sun’s guide to iPhone battery replacements.

SPEED BOOST #3 – UPDATES!

This is quite boring but very effective: install updates.

There are two kinds of updates to pay attention to: app updates and iOS updates.

Developers are constantly making improvements to the apps and software on your iPhone.

But you need to install those improvements for them to take effect.

By installing updates, the apps and features that you use might open more quickly, feel more responsive, or better use your iPhone’s hardware.

The updates can also fix bugs that slow your iPhone down.

Updating your iPhone itself is easy: just go to Settings > General > Software Update.

Typically you’ll only need to install these iOS updates every few months.

Apps need to be updated more regularly, especially if you have a lot on your iPhone.

Just go to the App Store, tap on your profile picture, and pull down on the middle of the screen to refresh the page.

Then scroll down and install specific app updates, or just hit Update All to do them in one go.

Try to do this on Wi-Fi and at a time when you’re not worried about phone charge, especially if you’ve got a lot of updates to get through.

DON’T BREAK 1GB RULE

An easy way to sabotage your iPhone’s storage is by breaking Apple’s “1GB rule”.

This refers to the minimum amount of free storage space you should have on your iPhone.

If you have less than 1GB of free space, your iPhone performance can be dramatically reduced.

You can check how much space you have left in Settings > General > Storage.

“If your device is low on storage, iOS or iPadOS automatically frees up space while installing an app, updating iOS or iPadOS, downloading music, recording videos, and more,” Apple explains.

“iOS or iPadOS only removes items that can be downloaded again or that aren’t needed anymore.”

Apple adds: “If your available storage is consistently less than 1GB, your device might slow down as iOS or iPadOS repeatedly makes room for more content.”

If your iPhone has less than 1GB of storage free, delete some media or apps to free up space.