This iOS 26 upgrade could make your iPhone feel much faster, but there’s a catch

• August 18, 2025

• iOS 26 public beta 3 improves app opening times
• This makes using apps feel much quicker and snappier
• The adjustment does make apps’ content load any faster, though

The third public beta of Apple’s iOS 26 has just landed, and it comes with a few minor tweaks and adjustments for your iPhone. But there’s one change that has really caught my eye, and it’s made my iPhone feel so much faster in the process.

Once you’ve downloaded iOS 26 public beta 3, you’ll likely notice the change almost immediately: now, opening and closing apps feels much snappier than before, with apps springing to life on your screen as soon as you tap them. Instead of waiting for them to fill your screen, they’re there almost instantly. The video further down this page shows the speed in action.

In objective terms, there’s probably only a minor difference in app opening and closing times between iOS 18 and the third beta of iOS 26 – maybe just a few milliseconds. Yet in practice, you absolutely notice the change. I love how quickly it feels like I can dive into my apps without waiting for the animation to finish in iOS 26.

In times when I need to get started rapidly – like opening my camera app to capture a one-off moment, for example – the new animation is a real blessing. But those times are comparatively rare, and I’ve found the main benefit is simply the feeling of increased snappiness I now get with my iPhone. It’s a small change, but a meaningful one.

The slight drawback

That said, it’s worth noting that you might not feel the benefits at all times. That’s because the change impacts how quickly an app’s container loads and fills your screen, but it doesn’t actually make that app’s content load any faster.

So, if an app is poorly optimized or takes a long time to show any content on-screen, the latest iOS 26 public beta likely won’t make it feel any faster. That means the improvements could vary, depending on which apps you use the most.

Still, if your apps are well-made and load their internal workings quickly, you’ll really start to feel the improvement when iOS 26 lands properly next month.

Updates like this show that small tweaks can sometimes make more of a difference than new features or big, showy changes. That’s certainly the case here, and the rapid app-loading animations might be one of my favorite adjustments found in iOS 26 so far.

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iOS 26 public beta 3 improves app opening times This makes using apps feel much quicker and snappier The adjustment does make apps’ content load any faster, though The third public beta of Apple’s iOS 26 has just landed, and it comes with a few minor tweaks and adjustments for…