If your iPhone’s running slow and you’re finding the battery’s draining quickly, it’s probably not an issue with the hardware getting old. It’s more likely to be because you’ve got a lot of apps running at the same time. BGR says the apps that put the most strain on the system are social media apps like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, which constantly load background content and videos. Apps like Waze and Google Maps use up your data and battery because they’re always on, so it’s best to let them know you’re using them. Messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram are a real storage pain because they automatically cache loads of media files in memory, which takes up a lot of storage space. Email clients (like Gmail) keep the processor busy with constant background synchronisation, so users are advised to consolidate all their inboxes into a single app and set up manual email checks.
A lot of iPhone owners will eventually notice that their phone starts to run more slowly. This is normally put down to battery degradation or outdated hardware, but experts say there’s another key reason – the apps you’ve got on there. The apps listed below use a lot of the device’s resources: they run in the background, download content, send notifications and regularly synchronise data. So, the iPhone might run out of battery faster, overheat and not work as well, according to a report by BGR.
Social media and streaming apps – the main cause of stress
Apps like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok are really hard on your phone’s system. They load content in advance so you can scroll through your feed straight away, which puts more strain on the processor and battery.
Apps like these are some of the most demanding because of all the video playback and heavy use of graphics.
Navigation and geolocation
Apps like Waze and Google Maps use GPS, the internet and real-time map processing to help you find your way. This puts an extra strain on the battery, especially if the signal’s weak. In that case, the phone has to work harder to stay connected.
One of the best ways to reduce the load is to change geolocation access from ‘Always’ to ‘While Using the App’ in your iPhone settings. It’s also a good idea to close the app once you’ve reached your destination and, if you need to, turn off background updates.
Messaging apps can eat up storage space on your phone
Apps like WhatsApp and Telegram are designed to store all the media content sent to you – photos, videos, files and GIFs – on your phone so you don’t have to re-download them every time you open a chat.
This approach avoids re-downloading data when you open a chat, saving mobile data, but at the same time it takes up valuable storage space. And if your iPhone’s getting sluggish, freeing up some space is a top tip.
Email clients can also be a bit tricky
Apps like Gmail are always synchronising incoming emails, even if there are no new messages. They use notifications and cache attachments, which means they’re constantly exchanging data in the background. If you’ve got a bunch of these services, it’ll put more strain on the system.
One of the most important things to do is to bring all your email accounts together into one app, whether that’s Apple’s standard Mail app, Gmail or a third-party client. You can also switch to checking emails manually or increase the sync intervals, which will improve the battery life and performance of the device.
If your iPhone slows down, it’s usually not because the device itself is broken, but because of a few different things happening at once. These days, apps are getting more and more demanding, and if you don’t have control over them, they can really slow down your phone.