A new beta 6 build for iOS 26 was released today, bringing a variety of changes, including one update that is especially hard to miss: iPhone apps launch much faster than before.
Animation to launch apps in iOS 26 beta 6 noticeably speeds up
It’s a running joke to say that new Apple betas make things feel ‘snappier’—especially Safari.
But with iOS 26 beta 6, that’s absolutely the case with app launches.
That’s because Apple seems to have significantly sped up the animation used when you tap an app icon on your Home Screen.
The contents of the app itself won’t necessarily load faster—it all depends on how recently you used the app. But the time between hitting the app’s icon and having the app open has been noticeably made shorter.
Here’s a video of apps launching in iOS 26 beta 6:
If the video doesn’t make the speed apparent, actually using iOS 26 beta 6 on your iPhone certainly does.
Is this just the quirk of a new beta build that could go away in future versions? It’s possible. But the change is noticeable enough that it seems like an intentional move. In other words, it’s likely a feature, not a bug.
iOS 26’s biggest feature, of course, is its systemwide Liquid Glass redesign. It’s possible Apple is speeding up the app launch animation for the purpose of making Liquid Glass not just look more modern, but also feel faster than before.
What do you think of iOS 26’s new, faster app launching? Let us know in the comments.
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