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Engadget Guide Lists Five Ways to Make an Older iPhone Feel Faster

Engadget lists five ways to speed up older iPhones, including freeing storage and reducing visual effects.

AI News Feed · 2026-10-21 01:43

The guide identifies low storage as a common cause of slowdowns. iOS needs free space for cache, temporary files and updates, and flash memory needs room for wear leveling, according to Engadget. It recommends keeping at least 10 percent of total storage available—about 12.8GB on a 128GB iPhone. Users can check usage under Settings > General > iPhone Storage, where iOS shows what is taking up space and may suggest offloading unused apps or reviewing large message attachments.

Engadget also suggests enabling Optimize iPhone Storage for iCloud Photos. The setting, found under Settings > [user name] > iCloud > Photos, automatically offloads older photos and videos while keeping low-resolution copies on the device; full-resolution versions download when needed. The guide adds that Safari's stored website data can be cleared at Settings > Apps > Safari > Clear History and Website Data, though the gain is likely small.

For apps, the guide recommends deleting ones that are no longer used. The iPhone Storage page shows the last time an app was used. If users want to keep an app's data, they can choose Offload App, which removes the app but preserves its data and settings; tapping the cloud-marked icon on the Home Screen downloads it again. Engadget says users can also turn on Offload Unused Apps under Settings > Apps > App Store.

The guide further recommends disabling Background App Refresh, which lets apps fetch content and update data in the background. Turning it off entirely or for selected apps, under Settings > General > Background App Refresh, can reduce strain on older hardware, Engadget reported.

Engadget also points to iOS visual effects as a source of load on the GPU. It suggests turning off Reduce Motion under Settings > Accessibility > Motion, which removes the Home Screen parallax effect and changes app-opening animations from zoom to fade. It also recommends enabling Reduce Transparency under Accessibility > Display & Text Size, making blurred backgrounds in Control Center and the Dock appear solid. The guide says users lose the Liquid Glass effect but may get faster performance and cooler operation, and that the toggles can be reverted. It notes that Liquid Glass appearance can also be adjusted in iOS 27.

The guide also begins a final recommendation under Accessibility > Touch.