Best gaming update?

Evaluating iOS 26.3 Beta 1 after 3 days shows impressive battery life of nearly 9 hours and the highest GPU performance score in history.

Three days ago, Apple released iOS 26.3 Beta 1 and the user community quickly began to experience it.

Usually, the first Beta versions always come with a stereotype of minor bugs and instability. However, after 72 hours of continuous, intense use, iOS 26.3 Beta 1 is proving the opposite.

This can be considered one of the “safest” and most impressive Beta versions that Apple has ever released, especially the explosion in graphics performance and durable battery life.

This is the device that delivers the smoothest iOS 26 experience:

New record-setting graphics performance turns iPhone into a gaming machine

If in the first 24-hour review we saw positive signs, then after 3 days, the performance of iOS 26.3 Beta 1 has really shined.

All initial slight lag has completely disappeared, replaced by absolute smoothness in all operations. Geekbench scores continue to grow impressively day by day.

In the latest test, the single-core score reached 3,484 and the multi-core score reached 8,754. These are very high numbers, even superior to the official iOS 26.2 in some aspects.

However, the most shocking thing is the GPU (graphics) score. For the first time on this device, the Metal GPU score has consistently surpassed the 28,000 mark over many consecutive tests (peaking at 28,451).

Previously on iOS 26.2, this number was usually below 28,000. The remarkable improvement in graphics processing capabilities shows that iOS 26.3 seems to be a powerful optimization update for gaming capabilities (Gaming Update), promising to bring a satisfying visual experience and the most stable frame rate for gamers.

Unbelievable battery life for a Beta version

Besides performance, battery life is the next bright spot after 3 days of testing. On the first day, the device achieved an incredible 8 hours and 46 minutes of On-screen time with 93% battery consumption.

The tasks used are all top battery-consuming applications such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Spotify. It is extremely rare for an early Beta to be able to optimize energy this well.

Stability continued to be maintained in the following days. On the second day, with lighter usage, the device only consumed 43% of the battery for nearly 5 hours of use. On the third day, despite using many social networks and watching sports online, battery performance remained very consistent.

Summing up after 3 days, users can completely rest assured that iOS 26.3 Beta 1 does not cause battery drain, on the contrary it works much more effectively than previous official versions.

(A small note is that the battery’s maximum capacity has dropped to 99% after 9 months of use, but this is normal physical wear and tear and is not related to software errors).

Conclusion: Beta is safest to experience early

To sum up, iOS 26.3 Beta 1 is a big surprise at the end of 2025. It not only eliminates worries about minor bugs but also brings new records in hardware power.

With skyrocketing GPU graphics performance and excellent battery life, this is an update worth checking out, especially for those who love gaming on iPhone.

If you’re looking for a smoother and more powerful experience, don’t hesitate to update and enjoy what iOS 26.3 Beta 1 has to offer this holiday season.