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Has Your iPhone Slowed Down Since Installing iOS 17? It’s Really Not an Evil Plot

Have you upgraded your iPhone to iOS 17 and are seeing shorter battery life and hampered performance? Don’t freak out, as this is normal for an iPhone that has recently been updated to a new version of iOS and it’s really not part of some evil plot on Apple’s part.

We’ve seen it happen over the years. Apple releases a new version of iOS, and we almost immediately see complaints of shorter battery life and complaints that users’ iPhones aren’t performing like they used to.

Your battery is going to drain quicker and your iPhone’s performance will suffer for a few days after you update to iOS 17. Why? Spotlight is the culprit.

After a full version update like iOS 17, Spotlight has to re-index all of the files stored on your iPhone. Spotlight needs to do this to provide those fast searches we rely on.

There are thousands and thousands of files on the average iPhone, even older models with less storage space. Re-indexing all of those files can take a while, taking several days or as much as a week to complete the task. This means while this is going on, your iPhone has to work harder, as it also has to provide all of the features you’ve grown used to. This means the processor in your iPhone (which is also older) has to work harder, meaning the device’s battery power is consumed at a faster rate.

Once the database re-indexing has been completed, your iPhone will return to its usual day-to-day workload, and your iPhone’s battery life and performance will return to their usual levels.

If after a week or so you’re still having battery and performance-related issues, contact Apple support. While they won’t immediately be able to fix it, they will document the issue, which will allow Apple engineers to use that information to work on fixes for the issues.

The age of your iPhone could contribute to lessened battery life and slower performance. Older iPhones have slower processors, less memory, and older batteries that have gone through hundreds, possibly thousands of charging cycles. Plus, newer operating systems and updated apps may put a heavier strain on your iPhone’s resources.

There are two options in this case. Buy a new iPhone or don’t upgrade to iOS 17.

(Via AppleInsider)

Chris Hauk

Chris is a Senior Editor at Mactrast. He lives somewhere in the deep Southern part of America, and yes, he has to pump in both sunshine and the Internet.