SpriteKit framerate drop on iOS 26.0

Hello,

I have noticed a performance drop on SpriteKit-based projects running on iOS 26.0 (23A341).

Below is a SpriteKit scene used to test framerate on different devices:

import SpriteKit
import SwiftUI

class BareboneScene: SKScene {
    
    override func didMove(to view: SKView) {
        size = view.bounds.size
        anchorPoint = CGPoint(x: 0.5, y: 0.5)
        backgroundColor = .darkGray
        
        let roundedSquare = SKShapeNode(rectOf: CGSize(width: 150, height: 75), cornerRadius: 12)
        roundedSquare.fillColor = .systemRed
        roundedSquare.strokeColor = .black
        roundedSquare.lineWidth = 3
        addChild(roundedSquare)
        
        let action = SKAction.rotate(byAngle: .pi, duration: 1)
        roundedSquare.run(.repeatForever(action))
    }
    
}

struct BareboneSceneView: View {
    var body: some View {
        SpriteView(
            scene: BareboneScene(),
            debugOptions: [.showsFPS]
        )
        .ignoresSafeArea()
    }
}

#Preview {
    BareboneSceneView()
}

The scene is very simple, yet framerate drops to ~40 fps as shown by the Metal HUD. Tested on:

• iPhone 13, iOS 26.0: framerate drops to 40 fps. Sometimes it runs at near 60fps. But if the screen is touched repeatedly, the framerate drops to 40-50 fps again.
• iPhone 11 Pro, iOS 26.0: ~40fps.
• iPad 9th Gen, iOS 18.6.2: 60fps, no issues.

See screenshots attached. These numbers were observed by me and members of our beloved SpriteKit Discord server.

Thank you for your attention.