iPhone slows by 41% after iOS 11.2.2 update thanks to Meltdown and Spectre patch

Apple recently disseminated iOS 12.2.2 to patch the operating system and protect it from problems that could be caused by security flaws Meltdown and Spectre. The update was sent out and should be installed on every iPhone, iPad and iPod touch that receives it. Unfortunately, there is a bit of a downside to this fix. It tends to slow down the performance of an iOS powered device that it is installed on.

To find out how much of a hit his Apple iPhone 6 would take on its performance, a gentleman by the name of Melvin Mughal ran his handset through a benchmark test before and after the update to iOS 12.2.2. With no apps running, the results showed a 41% decline in the single-core benchmark test after the installation of iOS 12.2.2. The drop in the multi-core benchmark test was 39%.

As Melvin pointed out, some of the decline could be due to the throttling of the CPU that Apple admitted to recently. This was done to prevent iPhone units with weak batteries from shutting down when faced with a complex task that requires full battery strength.

"All numbers point to the same conclusion: it took a serious hit in performance at every possible level. A lot of benchmark levels show a significant decrease in performance on the iPhone 6 up to 50% on some benchmark levels. Although this is not the best news, this security update is a ‘necessary evil’. It demonstrates a message the security community have reminded us time and time again: security can’t be compromised over performance.

Some have fairly pointed out the results could be influenced by the battery throttling that was exposed last month and confirmed by Apple. That may be a technical correct argument (which has not been proven by vendor benchmark numbers correlated with the Spectre patch). Several other users and reporters mentioned fluctuating benchmarks with some showing no loss of performance but others did (which were already throttled, so Spectre specific)." - Melvin Mughal

Regardless of the drop in performance, if you own an iPhone 6 or later model, it behooves you to install iOS 12.2.2 as soon as possible.

Benchmark

The iOS 12.2.2 update that protects the OS from Meltdown and Spectre can slow down the speed of your iPhone 6 and up