I'm on iOS 9.0.1 and have been lagging ever since I updated to iOS 9. In settings > general > accessibility go to increase contrast and turn on reduce transparency. Also turn on reduce motion. It's not as pretty as it was before but I have NO lag now and it might actually be faster than 8.4.1. Hope this helps.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I changed 2 settings and my 6 Plus is smooth as butter.
- Thread starter MacJones
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I just turned on reduced transparency and noticed an immediate difference. I then turned it back off to compare and contrast again. Now my phone is as "smooth as butter" and reduced transparency is still off. I never touched reduce motion. I'll continue to watch, but, it is very noticeable.
Last edited:
So by sticking your head in the sand, your phone becomes faster?
I've changed no settings and I'm on 9.1, it's smooth 
Before iOS 9 I've always preferred these Reduce Transparancy and motion settings toggled on.
Just my preference.
I find Siri Suggestions not useful for my needs so no loss there either.
Just my preference.
I find Siri Suggestions not useful for my needs so no loss there either.
I agree with you. This is a iPhone 6 Plus ffs! We don't have to turn off those fancy stuff to feel buttery smooth!
While that's all well and good, the fact you have to do that on a 12 month old device to get the kind of performance you did on iOS 8.4.1 is appalling.
I'll just stick it out on iOS 8.4.1 on my 6 and Air 2, Apple won't be gimping my devices.
How is that sticking my head in the sand? I'm making the best of a bad update by adapting. I never said I liked doing this, but I'd rather have a phone that doesn't lag over one that has a transparent UI. Try not being such a negative nancy lol.
I totally agree. I bought this phone in April so I haven't even had it a year and the update makes it annoying to use. This is a $950 phone, it should work for at least 2 years.
Thanks for that. I did know those settings were there but had forgotten them. Thanks for reminding me. I'm on an iPad 4 and with transparency on, my iPad would noticeably lag or drop frames. Now it's buttery smooth like it used to be back on iOS 7. Thanks again mate, it's quite nice to have buttery smooth animations again for switching between apps, amongst other things. +1 like.
A lot of the problems are poor coding. There is noticeable jank when triggering spotlight by pulling the home screen down. And it persists regardless of reduce motion/transparency. And it even was there on the 6s I checked out in store. Yet pretty much the same action in the "proactive" screen comparatively smooth. This type of stuff has been pretty much par for the course through iOS 7-9.
I thought iOS 9 was supposed to make our phones faster with much better battery life?
I'm staying on 8.4.1 until I get my 7, or they actually live up to their promises.
I'm staying on 8.4.1 until I get my 7, or they actually live up to their promises.
That's a good idea. I wish I would have kept my Apple Watch on os1 so I could downgrade to 8.4.1.
I'm disappointed with Apple. I always liked their phones over Android because they didn't have lag, but now it feels like I'm back on my old HTC Thunderbolt from several years ago.
Low Power Mode certainly extends the battery. And even without it a lot of people experience good battery life. The faster part is more questionable with many mostly seeing the same performance (and some having more lag/glitches for some reason). Not completely unexpected from a x.0 release unfortunately.
Last edited:
As C DM said, life has been improved substantially on iOS 9, especially with Low Power Mode.
My only issue right now is that it makes pretty much every iOS device much slower.
Totally agree.
It does raise a concern when some new iPhone 6s / 6s Plus owners are reporting stutter and lag. To add balance to that some are saying its blazingly fast.
My iPhone 6 Plus is fine on iOS 9.0.1.
I accept for others it may not be.
Bring on iOS 9.1 to see if this improves the end user experience.
What's next? Keep your iphone on airplane mode to save battery? Leave it in its box so that it does not scratch?
No, but Low Power Mode can help with the battery, and a case can help with not getting the phone scratched.