Apple yesterday shipped the first iOS 27 Developer Beta, which features app animations identical to its previous version. Comparing side-by-side, the animations of One UI 8.5 feel smoother than the iOS 27 Beta, for now.

Samsung leaker IceUniverse has been comparing the two, and the observations are worth noting for anyone following both platforms closely.

Tapping an app icon on iOS 27 (Developer Beta 1) does not trigger an instant response. There is a slight delay before the animation actually begins, which makes the overall interaction feel a step behind.

The app animations in iOS 27 are not significantly different from those in iOS 26, and some long-standing issues are still present.

Opening apps or heading back to the home screen in One UI 8.5 (official version) feels closely tied to actual finger movement. The transitions are immediate, the motion feels consistent, and nothing appears to lag behind the input.

One UI 8.5, on the other hand, delivers top-tier performance, especially after my own tuning and optimization.

This level of responsiveness is something Samsung has been refining over recent One UI versions, and 8.5 seems to carry that forward noticeably.

You can watch the video below:

Let's compare the app opening and closing animations in iOS 27 Beta 1 and One UI 8.5.

The app animations in iOS 27 are not significantly different from those in iOS 26, and some long-standing issues are still present. When you tap an app icon, the animation does not start… pic.twitter.com/nOvE8lnuU4

— Ice Universe (@UniverseIce) June 9, 2026

Before we wrap up, comparing a Stable One UI build to an early iOS Beta is not entirely apples-to-apples. Apple typically irons out performance rough edges well into the Beta, but the animation delay IceUniverse points to in iOS 27 is not new behavior; it has persisted across versions, which is what makes it worth paying attention to this time around as well.

Whether Apple addresses it before iOS 27 goes public remains to be seen.

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