# Why Waiting Feels Slow -- and How We're Using Real-Time Signals to Change That

DevFeed: [Why Waiting Feels Slow -- and How We're Using Real-Time Signals to Change That](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/why-waiting-feels-slow-and-how-we-re-using-real-time-signals-to-change-that-23985.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://medium.com/mcdonalds-technical-blog/why-waiting-feels-slow-and-how-were-using-real-time-signals-to-change-that-754cb13fdab1?source=rss----3bac42476d27---4>)

Author: Global Technology

Published: 2026-03-31T14:17:27Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [McDonald's Technical Blog - Medium](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/mcdonald-s-technical-blog-medium.md>)

Topics: [iOS](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ios.md>), [User Experience](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/user-experience.md>), [user experience design](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/user-experience-design.md>)

Tags: [customer-experience](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/customer-experience.md>), [digital-experiences](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/digital-experiences.md>), [ios](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ios.md>), [ios-development](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ios-development.md>), [mobile-development](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/mobile-development.md>), [real-time](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/real-time.md>), [technology](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/technology.md>), [user-experience](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/user-experience.md>), [user-experience-design](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/user-experience-design.md>)

## AI overview

McDonald's product, design, and engineering teams describe using iOS Live Activities to provide real-time order updates on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island. The backend-driven platform aims to reduce uncertainty during waits and support reusable trackable experiences across the digital ecosystem.

## Source excerpt

A look into how our team turned uncertain wait moments into confident, glanceable experiences for guests in iOS using Live Activities. by: Maitree Shukla, Product Manager, Menu Browse, Alex Timmler, Director, Product Management, Nick Wilczynski, Sr Manager, Engineering Tech Lead, and Connor Sheehan, Software Engineer Quick Bytes: Digital transparency directly shapes perceived speed -- and uncertainty can make even fast experiences feel slow Live Activities provide customers with real-time order updates directly on the iOS Lock Screen and Dynamic Island Built as a reusable, backend-driven platform, this work unlocks future innovation across McDonald's digital ecosystem In a digital experience, speed isn't just about how fast an order is prepared -- it's about how fast it feels. When customers lack visibility into what's happening with their order, uncertainty creeps in, and even short waits can feel longer than they are. Our Product and User Experience Design teams set out to reduce that uncertainty by delivering real-time, glanceable updates through iOS Live Activities. The concept of Live Activities stemmed from one guiding question the team asked ourselves: How might we make the ordering experience feel as frictionless as possible? From there, that question naturally led to others. How do we make waiting feel faster? How can we be more transparent with customers? And how can we reduce moments of uncertainty along the way? To address those questions, we turned to Live Activities -- a capability built into iOS -- that enables real-time order updates on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island, using premium screen real estate to provide reassurance without opening the app. It's a simple but powerful way to reinforce McDonald's reputation for leadership in convenience and speed, across both physical and digital experiences. To deliver this experience, we needed strong foundations: updates must be timely, flows can't disrupt restaurant operations, edge cases must be handled gra