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M1 Mac performance (Tahoe)
- Thread starter calvinchan.hkg
- Start date
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On an M1 Pro MacBook that I am using as a test (at the moment, my mini M4 Pro and, in particular, my mini M4 ‘server’ running Security Spy remain with Sequoia), apart from the questionable (horrible) graphic choices that will take years to be consistent between the system and third-party applications (hell, even between the system and the system itself), Tahoe 26.2 seems to be fast (perhaps even more responsive than Sequoia, but that's a matter of ‘feeling’), and the resources used are normal. (Installation always via pkg installer)
thebart
macrumors 6502a
I don't think it's specific Mx models. It seems to be a crapshoot whether you'll have performance problems
CasualFanboy
macrumors 6502a
I have noticed this. The reports are wildly different and there's no obvious pattern. I'm just not going to risk it.
My M1 MacBook Air 8 GB has no noticeable performance downgrade with Tahoe 26.2, and working like Sequoia.
But it's causing serious problem for some Firefox users. The browser hangs up on Tahoe. Some Tahoe's native functions (including Spotlight) are causing this and it's been reported by Firefox users since Tahoe Beta for months.
But it's causing serious problem for some Firefox users. The browser hangs up on Tahoe. Some Tahoe's native functions (including Spotlight) are causing this and it's been reported by Firefox users since Tahoe Beta for months.
My M1 Pro with 16GB RAM has so many issues still on 26.2
Update: Weeks after I've upgraded to Tahoe 26.2, my evaluation has changed now and my M1 MacBook Air 8 GB has serious problems in terms of the performance, especially when using Firefox.
Firefox freezes frequently, when launching some other apps like Apple Books, Apps (macOS native apps), Spotlight, etc.
Firefox freezes frequently, when launching some other apps like Apple Books, Apps (macOS native apps), Spotlight, etc.
Thanks for your updated feedback. What a crappy OS is.......
Then I will stay on macOS 15.7.x.....
IkerTB
macrumors member
I think it's the best option.
I have two Mac mini M1 at home. On mine (which I always updated to the latest version and the Mac continued to run very well), I had to downgrade to 15.7.3, and now it's running smoothly again, just like always.
I recently got my girlfriend another Mac mini M1 at a great price and immediately installed 15.7.3 on it. My father bought a Mac mini M4 and it was working well for him, although with the latest system versions he says the computer is slow… unbelievable. He mainly uses it for Photoshop with some plugins. He doesn't want to downgrade it because he says it was difficult to configure the plugins (it's his first Mac), but I think if he went back to Sequoia, his performance problems would be over (an M4 and 16GB of RAM should be more than enough for his use; he doesn't work with a thousand layers and effects in Photoshop…).
My advice: go back to Sequoia (both M1 I have at home are the basic 8/256 version).
M1 Max here, Tahoe feel quite a bit slower on all fronts, but especially with the UI. Feels like a significant downgrade at the moment. On my M2 it's the same 🙁
Flyview
macrumors regular
What are the physical symptoms that make it feel slower? Is it visibly dropping frames or freezing?
Opening a new safari window (apple-n) shows a window after 500-800ms. A new tab appears instantly. Switching apps feels slower (hard to measure now). Finder seems to be swallowing more clicks and keypresses than before.
MultiFinder17
macrumors 68030
No better and no worse here on 26.3 on my M1 machines. I don't find them to be unreasonably laggy or chuggy in general, so I'm happy enough. The performance and overall experience is a bit worse than Sequoia, but eh. I'm holding out hope for a Snow Leopardesque macOS 27.
Im noticing exactly this on my core i9 macbook pro as well. Mentioning because i think apple wants you to think your hardware is obsolete too.
Woodcrest64
macrumors 65816
I'm on 26.3 and I switch from Apple's Safari to Comet for my internet browser along with Chrome. I have found Safari to be buggy and sluggish compared to previous MacOS versions. Comet has been slick and stable for me. I also found Safari slowing down my whole machine where other apps in Tahoe would be unresponsive.
loby
macrumors 68020
I see improvements in my M1 MacBook Pro 16" also.
Encouraging to me that things have improved, but we will see how it goes.
The two Mac minis M4 and M4 Pro (from Sequoia to 26.3 with pkg) have also been updated a few days ago, and both seem to be working correctly, with no noticeable jerks or spikes in CPU/RAM consumption. In particular, the server, which is always on, has reduced its RAM usage over the last few days. So, apart from the graphics (LG), on M1Pro (16GB), M4 (16GB), and M4Pro (24GB), I haven't encountered any particular problems at the moment.
You're right - since 1 year Safari needs a lot of CPU power of my MBP M1 Max - from time to time you must close the App and restart - and a lot of other Bugs I know by now...
Nevertheless I don't accept to take other software into my Macs - the last would be the super spy Chrome 😛
The reason why Safari was always king in ressource usage was because it is deeply integrated into the system and had the best tab sleep function where it put unused tabs into some sort of sleep state and so it was using less cpu and battery. But Apple added a lot of (useless) stuff during the last updates and according to some reports even Chrome got better than Safari. Personally I'm using Firefox atm because I don't want to support Chromium browsers and I can't stand Safaris bubble gum UI.
The choppy OS animations many are mentioning I do not think are an M1 mac problem. I have noticed them ever since getting the m1 iMac back in 2021. One of the few things I hate about macOS is that it just loves to try and dazzle you with things moving around the screen.... at an often insultingly low framerate that makes the entire thing feel cheaper than if it didn't do it at all. You can select to reduce motion in the options, but that doesn't turn off all animations. I don't want to turn them off anyway, I want them to either have more frames animated or playback the frames faster so it feels snappier!
This probably sounds so trivial to some but for me its one of the few things that stops me from ever getting fully onboard with macOS.
I have a Windows mid-range laptop. Less than half the cost of an iMac. 60hz screen. Nothing on the screen ever feels clunky, stuttery, and slow the way macOS system animations do because, despite all of the flaws Windows has, they at least made an effort to make navigating the OS look snappy and fluid.
This probably sounds so trivial to some but for me its one of the few things that stops me from ever getting fully onboard with macOS.
I have a Windows mid-range laptop. Less than half the cost of an iMac. 60hz screen. Nothing on the screen ever feels clunky, stuttery, and slow the way macOS system animations do because, despite all of the flaws Windows has, they at least made an effort to make navigating the OS look snappy and fluid.