Everything You Need to Know about Game Mode in iOS 18

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Your complete guide to Game Mode in Apple's new iOS 18

Co-authored by Hannah Dillon Reviewed by Stan Kats

Last Updated: September 26, 2025 Fact Checked

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iOS 18 Game Mode Overview

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How to Enable/Disable Game Mode

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Should you use Game Mode?

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If you've updated to iOS 18, you may be wondering what the "Game Mode" pop-up means when you open up a game. Game Mode is a new feature in iOS 18 that turns on once you open a game, and it allocates more resources to the game you're playing so the game runs more smoothly. In this article, we'll go over what Game Mode does, how to enable or disable it, and explain why you should use this new feature.

iOS 18 Game Mode: Fast Facts

Game Mode is a new iOS 18 feature that helps your games run faster and smoother. It minimizes background activity so your game can run better, and it also decreases latency between your phone and Bluetooth controllers and AirPods. Game Mode is enabled by default but can be disabled when a game is open.

Section 1 of 3:

iOS 18 Game Mode Overview

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Game Mode enhances your mobile video gaming experience. According to Apple, Game Mode minimizes background activity when you're gaming, which allocates more resources to the game app you're playing, resulting in sharper graphics, higher frame rate, and an overall better gaming experience.^{[1]
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- Game Mode will be especially helpful if you play intensive games on your iPhone, such as Genshin Impact, Zenless Zone Zero, Return to Monkey Island, PUBG Mobile, Assassin's Creed Mirage, and more.
- Additionally, Game Mode lowers the latency of wireless controllers and AirPods.

Section 2 of 3:

How to Enable/Disable Game Mode

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1
Open a game. Game Mode is enabled by default in iOS 18. However, there is no way to enable or disable it in the Settings app. You can only enable or disable Game Mode when you have a game open.
- Note that not all games will trigger Game Mode. If you don't see the Game Mode banner pop up when opening a game, try a different one. This may or may not get fixed as Apple and app developers fix bugs with iOS 18 and/or their apps.
If you miss this banner, you can instead swipe down from the top-right corner to open the Control Center and tap the game's name at the top of the screen.
3
Tap Game Mode to disable it. If you want to enable Game Mode, simply tap the Game Mode button again to enable it.
- Note that if you disable Game Mode, you may need to restart your phone to enable it again. It's unclear if this is intended or not for Game Mode, so this may or may not get fixed in future updates to iOS 18.

Section 3 of 3:

Should you use Game Mode?

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Yes, you should use Game Mode. Depending on the games you play, you may or may not see the effects of Game Mode while gaming. If you previously played CPU-intensive games on your iPhone, you likely will notice the most difference. However, having Game Mode on doesn't negatively affect your phone whether you're playing a game or not.
- However, if you notice that Game Mode is making one of the games you play run worse, you should disable it for that game. You should also report what happens to Apple, as there might be a bug causing Game Mode to not work correctly for that particular game.