Is your phone slowing down to a snails pace?

If you are like many people whose devices are lagging and becoming increasingly frustrating to use, before you think of buying a new one, try some of these smart tips to help you speed up your Android or iPhone, let’s try to get the longest life out of your devices without it being mortally wounding to do so. With just a few changes in your settings and a few tweaks in your habits, you can improve your performance, free up space, and breath new life into your current phone.

What to do?

Here’s our recommendations:

1) Restart Your Phone Regularly

The same as your computer, your phone benefits greatly from a fresh start. Restarting your phone:

• Clears memory
• Stops background processes
• Can fix tempory lags

Try restarting your phone once a week  for consistent performance

2) Delete Unused Apps

Over time, apps pile up. Many of them:

• Run in the background
• Use memory and battery
• Take up storage

Go to Settings > Apps and remove what you don’t need.

On iPhone, you can also offload apps to save space without deleting data.

3) Free Up Internal Storage

Low storage = slow phone

Your device needs free space to run smoothly and effectively, especially for updates and  and system operations.

Tips:

• Delete large videos or move them to the cloud
• Use Google Photos or iCloud for backups
• Remove downloaded files you no longer need

Aim to keep at least 20% of your storage free.

4) Clear Cache and Junk Files

 For Android:

• Go to Settings > Storage > Cached Data and clear it.
• Or use tools like:

1. Files by Google
2. CCleaner
3. SD Maid

 For iPhone:

While there’s no universal “clear cache” button, you can:

• Go to Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data
• Offload or reinstall apps with large cache sizes

 

Android-Specific Speed Tips

5) Disable Animations ( Developer Options )

 

1. Go to Settings > About Phone
2. Tap Build Number 7 times to unlock Developer Options
3. Then go to Developer Options and set:
4. Window animation scale – Off
5. Transition animation scale – Off
6. Animator duration scale – Off

This removes unnecessary effects and speeds up navigation.

6) Use Lite Versions Of Apps

Install lightweight alternatives:

• Facebook Lite
• Messenger Lite
• YouTube Go

They use less RAM and load faster, especially on older devices.

7) Restrict Background Apps

• Go to Setting > Apps
• Tap the app > Battery > Restrict background activity

With this small step you’ll save both your speed and your battery.

8) Keep Android Updated ( If Possible )

Updates often fix performance bugs and improve the stability of your device.

Check under Settings > System > Software Update

9) Try a Lightweight Launcher

Replace bulky launchers with:

• Nova Launcher
• Niagara Launcher
• Smart launcher

They’re fast, simple, and very customizatable. These have lost some popularity over the past few years as android manufacturers have made their own launchers better and easier to use, generally if you have newer android versions, for the newer versions and if your phone is still supported you needn’t install a custom launcher.

 iPhone-Specific Speed Tips

10) Turn Off Background App Refresh

 Setting > General > Background App Refresh > Off

 This stops apps from using resources when you’re not using them.

 

11) Reduce Motion and Transparency

• Settings > Accessibility > Motion > Reduce Motion – On
• Settings > Accessibilty > Display & Text Size > Reduce Transparency – On

These changes lessen system animations and improve performance.

12) Offload Unused Apps Automatically

•  Settings > iPhone Storage > Offload Unused Apps – On

This removes apps you don’t use but keeps the data safe.

13) Clear Safari Cache

• Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data

 It frees up to space and can improve browser speed.

14) Update iOS and Your Apps

Apple regularly pushes performance updates.

• Settings > General > Software Update

Also, check the App Store for app updates, they often fix laggy behaviour.

Bonus Tip: Check Your Battery Health

iPhone:

Go to Settings > Battery Health & Charging

If it says Performance Applied, your phone may be intentionally slowing down due to battery issues.

Android:

Check in Settings > Battery or use third-party apps like AccuBattery.

Low battery health can cause slowdowns and overheating.

If needed, consider a battery replacement before a full device upgrade.

Here are some Helpful Tools:

For Android:

• SD Maid: Junk and cache cleaner
• Files by Google: Storage cleanup and file manager
• CCleaner: Tempory files cleaner

For iOS:

• Battery Life: Monitor Battery Health

Having a faster phone, doesn’t always mean you have drop your hard earned dimes on a new device, and let’s face a lot phones stay the same for many years, even with the new releases. With the right habits and a few settings tweaks, your current Android or iPhone can feel noticeably faster and more reliable.

FAQ

Q: Is it safe to clear cache?
A: Yes. Clearing cache doesn’t delete your data—just temporary files.

Q: Will updating slow down my phone?
A: In older devices, it might seem slower due to added features, but updates usually include important performance and security fixes.

We thank you for reading and hope this was helpful to you. Please tell us if you used these tips and if they helped you. Please leave a comment and share your results and don’t forget to bookmark this page for the next time your device feels sluggish. Please don’t forget to also follow us on our socials.