How to improve performance of iPhone 4, 4s, iPad 2 and iPad mini with iOS 7

So, you have an iPhone 4s, an iPhone 4, or maybe an A5-powered iPad, such as the iPad 2 or the first-gen iPad mini? Well, in this case, you've probably found out that the fresh, new iOS 7 experience by Apple has caused the performance of your iDevice to no longer be as buttery smooth as it used to be. With iOS 7, Apple has implemented some neat visual tricks, like the ubiquitous blur effect that can be seen every time when something pops up in front of something else. Sadly, though, it appears that as cool as these graphical goodies are, they are causing the frame-rate to drop unpleasantly with some of Apple's older smartphones and tablets. What makes this issue potentially experience-spoiling is that it can actually make some completely ordinary apps, such as Messaging, seem somewhat laggy and slowish.

But fear not - there is a way to fix all of this, albeit through the sacrifice of some of these visual enhancements that came with iOS 7. Here are the very simple steps that you need to follow in order to improve the performance (and even battery life) of your iPhone 4s, 4, iPad 2 or iPad mini with iOS 7:

1. Open the Settings app;

2. Go to General;

3. Go to Accessibility;

4. Enter the Increase Contrast field and enable it - this will get rid of the blur effects;

5. Go back, then enter the Reduce Motion field and enable it - this will get rid of the parallax effect;

6. Hit the home button and enjoy a faster, smoother experience with iOS 7!