It’s not unusual for both hardware and software companies to make claims about faster performance for new models and new software releases. I generally roll my eyes a little at these since they often refer to tiny improvements that would hardly be noticed in real life usage.

Apple has claimed more than 40 speed improvements in iOS 27, and I have to say that I did do a little eye rolling …

My general view has been that the only time speed improvements matter is when they make a really noticeable difference to tasks where we find ourselves waiting for them to complete in order to carry on our next step. For example, AirDropping a lot of photos or videos from iPhone to Mac. The claimed speed improvement here is both real and meaningful.

But I was rather less impressed with claims like iOS apps opening up to 30% faster. First, I can’t remember the last time I was waiting for an iPhone app to open. Second, 30% seems pretty irrelevant when something typically takes no measurable time. Third, there’s that “up to” phrase.

However, nearly two weeks after first seeing iOS 27, I’m reaching the conclusion that while many less significant speed improvements won’t matter individually, they may very well add up to a collective experience of a snappier device.

This may be of comfort to owners of older iPhones who might generally feel short-changed by iOS 27. You don’t get all of the shiny new features unless you have either an iPhone 17 Pro or the iPhone Air. The Siri AI features, which are by far the most exciting, are limited to the iPhone 15 Pro and up. I recently commented that iOS 27 is “technically supported” on the iPhone 11 to iPhone 15, but without any of the headline features.

I now think my phrasing may be a little unfair. I do think there’s a decent chance that even owners of older iPhones will find iOS 27 makes their phone feel like a brand new device thanks to the collective impact of all the performance enhancements, even if they notice few of them individually.

• Official Apple Store on Amazon
• Discounted AirPods Pro 3
• Wireless CarPlay adapter
• AirTag holders and accessories
• Mac Pro-style Mac mini casing
• NordVPN – privacy-first VPN with no logs and independent audits to verify