iOS 9.3.2 Beta 4 Gives the iPhone 4s a Substantial Speed Boost

Apple began rolling out the fourth beta of iOS 9.3.2 to developers and members of the public beta program last week. Although the update doesn’t introduce any exciting, new functions, it does add some bug fixes and noticeable performance enhancements.

The first iOS 9.3.2 beta update addressed a long-standing bug in the Game Center that has been plaguing users for months, in which several popular gaming titles regularly crashed to a white screen, infamously known as the “white screen of death.” The beta also added the ability for users to use the popular new “Night Shift” mode alongside Low Power mode simultaneously. Although the next three iOS 9.3.2 beta updates focused almost primarily on under-the-hood improvements, it appears as if the latest one is already displaying some noticeable performance improvements when installed on older devices.

YouTube channel “iAppleBytes” posted a video last week, performing a speed test that displays a bump in performance, especially on older devices. The beta was installed on an iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6s device, each restored prior to the test using the same backup. Then each device was compared against the same devices running iOS 9.3.1. On the iPhone 4s, you may notice that the device running iOS 9.3.2 beta 4 not only boots faster, but several apps, including the Photos and Weather apps, load a bit faster than on the device running iOS 9.3.1.

The speed difference is much less noticeable in the iPhone 5 and newer – however, the speed bump in the iPhone 4s may indicate that Apple is modifying iOS to run in a smoother and more efficient fashion. Perhaps the difference will be more evident on newer phones when they are placed under a more demanding load from the user.

Apple hasn’t mentioned a date for the final release of iOS 9.3.2, but it will likely come before the end of the month – perhaps within the next week or two. The company is expected to unveil iOS 10 at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference, beginning on June 13^th. The event is also expected to unveil a new Mac OS X operating system, as well.

Have you noticed any speed improvements running iOS 9.3.2 Beta 4? Let us know in the comments.