Before Apple even started talking about new features, it devoted a significant chunk of Monday’s WWDC26 keynote to talking up improvements to performance and stability coming to all its operating systems this fall, including macOS 27, iOS 27 and iPadOS 27.
It’s surely welcome news to Apple users that their devices with run faster, with fewer bugs. And that’s includes a significant performance improvement especially for older iPhone models.
iPhone, Mac and iPad in need of performance improvements
In recent years, Apple users have frequently taken to social media to complain that new versions of iOS and macOS have felt less stable and polished than the company’s software releases were once known for. Reports of bugs and performance slowdowns have become a recurring topic.
There have even been accusations that the claim that “it just works” is a fading dream for Apple.
Critics often point to the growing complexity of Apple’s software ecosystem, the rapid pace of annual updates and the company’s increasing focus on major new features such as AI and Liquid Glass. The accusation is that these distract Apple from fundamentals, most notably the performance and stability of its code.
WWDC26 promises a massive bug hunt
Screenshot: Apple
In response, the keynote for WWDC26 devoted considerable time reassuring users that Apple has been listening and doing something about their concerns.
“We made things faster, smoother, even easier to use, and we took care of a bunch of things you’ve been asking about,” said Stacey Ford, VP, OS Program Management, during the streamed event.
“We also spent a lot of time digging into the fundamentals — things like memory usage, CPU utilization, networking operations, display rendering — I could go on and on — but really, the point is this: we optimize the parts of the system that make a big difference in the responsiveness of our products,” said Ford.
She went on to call out some specific examples, including that iPhone and iPad apps launch up to 30% faster, and the iPad’s Files app is up to 5 times faster.
A graphic shown during her presentation includes a number of other speed improvements in iOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate and iPadOS 27. She promised that it’ll be quicker to switch between Lock screens, faster to connect to AirPlay devices, windows switching in iPadOS will be faster, finding AirDrop recipients is quicker, and many more.
Screenshot: Apple
A speed boost for older iPhone models
Users of older iPhone models have reason to celebrate: Ford explained that its best CPU scheduler has been extended all the way back to the iPhone 11.
“The CPU scheduler is a key system component that manages CPU resources across workloads as you use your iPhone throughout your day,” said the Apple executive.
“On our newer iPhones, iOS already has an advanced CPU scheduler. This year, we further optimized it, so it’s even more efficient when handling performance-intensive workloads, and not only that, but we also figured out a way to bring it to older models all the way back to iPhone 11,” explained Ford.
Faster searches, too
And iPhone, Mac and iPad users can expect enhancements to search, too, so users can find what they are looking for.
“On iOS, iPadOS and macOS, we’ve rebuilt the foundation of search that powers Spotlight, photos and Mail,” said Ford. “At its core is the search index — a rich catalog your device builds of all your content, so it can understand what you have and where to find it. We re-architected the index, so it’s more stable, more efficient and more comprehensive of content, both old and new.”
Now in beta
Developers already have access to the first betas of iOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate, iPadOS 27, watchOS 27, etc. These will be seeded to the public in July.
Apple says the full versions won’t be available until autumn, which probably means September and October.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh SE/30 (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer.
That’s because he’s a “tablet first” type of guy. Rather than use a Macbook, he connects a keyboard case to the iPad. And instead of a desktop Mac, he connects his tablet to a 27-inch display and full-size keyboard. (So don’t try to tell him that everyone has to use a Mac to be productive.)
Before coming to Cult of Mac, Ed wrote for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
