Scrolling and UI Choppy on M1 Macbook Air

[Apple_Robert]

I just tested Safari on my Mac mini with BS 11.1 and did not observe any lag or stuttering.

I leave my M1 running all the time unless I have to reboot for an update. I rebooted just now to see if that would fix the problem and it didn't. It isn't as bad but, it is still noticeable.

 

[LED]

Have you tried different ad blockers? I don't notice any stuttering in Safari with Wipr enabled.

I have not, I'll take a look into Wipr and investigate some others though. If anyone else has any recommendations, I'd love to hear.

 

[JeroenDebruyne]

I just got the macbook pro m1 , I have the same issue. Its really annoying to almost use any browser. Feels very choppy/laggy.

Its a little better in Chrome, safari is not even useable ... I would get a headache using this long.


I see quite some posts on this.


Anyone got some solution yet or?

 

[JeroenDebruyne]

I had to test a little more with the M1 Macbook pro, the bad scrolling is also there in apps like number or pages. Its not only on the browser.

Will test external mouse to see if its the touchpad.

 

[podycust]

I had to test a little more with the M1 Macbook pro, the bad scrolling is also there in apps like number or pages. Its not only on the browser.

Will test external mouse to see if its the touchpad.

glad its not just me even had apple replace my M1 MBP to have the same issue on the replacement. Might create a bug report in the feedback assistant with a video showing it so apples engineers can see it happening

 

[HatMine]

glad its not just me even had apple replace my M1 MBP to have the same issue on the replacement. Might create a bug report in the feedback assistant with a video showing it so apples engineers can see it happening

Wait, you had your MBP replaced due to some choppy scrolling in Safari? Is it not obvious that this is software-related? I really do not see how choppy scrolling in one particular browser could be deemed a hardware issue that warrants a completely new device. That seems wasteful on so many levels.

Either way, the so called choppiness is not really present at all in Chrome for me, and in Safari I do not notice it unless I really look for it.

 

[neilmacd]

Those seeing choppy behaviour on Safari, try giving the Safari Technology Preview (Jan 6) a try. I've had no issues since installing.

If I compare them side by side default Safari stutters and lags, Safari Technology Preview is butter smooth. Definitely a software issue.

 

[JeroenDebruyne]

It has nothing to do at all with browser, the choppiness is in more things than just browser.

We have 3 new machines at work and all of them have it so yeah its a software issue but kind of a big deal in my opinion.

Even in launchpad or pages etc.

 

[captain_henry]

I've noticed this choppiness too. In firefox with ab, safari and even in Spotify when scrolling through libraries. I've been thinking that I'm just spoiled by the 120hz ipp display. But now comparing them side by side to my windows laptop yeah it is very noticeable.

 

[neilmacd]

It has nothing to do at all with browser, the choppiness is in more things than just browser.

We have 3 new machines at work and all of them have it so yeah its a software issue but kind of a big deal in my opinion.

Even in launchpad or pages etc.

It has lots to do with the browser? You said it yourself, it's a software issue - a software issue that affects the browser.

In my case, installing the technology preview made a massive difference. It obviously won't fix the issue in Launchpad or Pages, but it does fix the issue in Safari.

 

[Silvestru Hosszu]

I have the same choppy scrolling issue in Safari (only there, not in launchpad) on MBP 8/16/512.
Installing Wipr mitigated the issue a bit.
I also tried the technical preview but saw no significant improvement.
I have to say that it is really annoying, all the more because my much more pedestrian windows laptop is able to scroll webpages without any kind of issues.

 

[JeroenDebruyne]

It has lots to do with the browser? You said it yourself, it's a software issue - a software issue that affects the browser.

In my case, installing the technology preview made a massive difference. It obviously won't fix the issue in Launchpad or Pages, but it does fix the issue in Safari.

Like I said, it has nothing to do with the browser. Yes its a software/driver issue.

Technology preview can't change anything as its not a browser issue

Compare any M1 to an Intel or Windows machine you will notice a huge difference in anything that has a scroll/slide etc... there is some sort of stutter. Even scrolling in pages or numbers has the same effect as on a browsers. You only notice it more in a browser.

 

[anonymous888]

Like I said, it has nothing to do with the browser. Yes its a software/driver issue.

Technology preview can't change anything as its not a browser issue

Compare any M1 to an Intel or Windows machine you will notice a huge difference in anything that has a scroll/slide etc... there is some sort of stutter. Even scrolling in pages or numbers has the same effect as on a browsers. You only notice it more in a browser.

Expect it to never get solved. Apple software is lately getting bloated. There is a swipe to go home screen lag on the latest iPhones, which has been there for 3 months at least.

 

[M2cipher]

Hello everyone,

I struggled with this for quite some time. I was able to fix the problem by going to:

1. System Preferences
2. Displays
3. Turning High Dynamic Range off - I also changed my Refresh to my monitor's highest 144hz.

It seems that by turning it off I was able to turn it back on and it still worked smoothly (Thank God for buttery smoothness.) I am not sure what turned High Dynamic Range on because I have a 144hz monitor, I was wondering why things were not fluid all this time.

I hope this works for you also!

 

[M2cipher]

I just got the macbook pro m1 , I have the same issue. Its really annoying to almost use any browser. Feels very choppy/laggy.

Its a little better in Chrome, safari is not even useable ... I would get a headache using this long.


I see quite some posts on this.


Anyone got some solution yet or?

Hello everyone,

I struggled with this for quite some time. I was able to fix the problem by going to:

1. System Preferences
2. Displays
3. Turning High Dynamic Range off - I also changed my Refresh to my monitor's highest 144hz.

It seems that by turning it off I was able to turn it back on and it still worked smoothly (Thank God for buttery smoothness.) I am not sure what turned High Dynamic Range on because I have a 144hz monitor, I was wondering why things were not fluid all this time.

I hope this works for you also!

 

[The Cockney Rebel]

Hello everyone,

I struggled with this for quite some time. I was able to fix the problem by going to:

1. System Preferences
2. Displays
3. Turning High Dynamic Range off - I also changed my Refresh to my monitor's highest 144hz.

It seems that by turning it off I was able to turn it back on and it still worked smoothly (Thank God for buttery smoothness.) I am not sure what turned High Dynamic Range on because I have a 144hz monitor, I was wondering why things were not fluid all this time.

I hope this works for you also!

Is the HDR option there if you don’t use an external monitor?

I’m not at home, so can’t check.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Is the HDR option there if you don’t use an external monitor?

I’m not at home, so can’t check.

No, it is not.

 

[chad.petree]

Scrolling on YouTube videos to see the comments (while using the air M1) is so laggy, it is completely botched, I tried on firefox and it is so much better, I don't remember the scrolling being this laggy when I used the MacBook Pro, I guess it's a bug on the MacBook Air :/

I'm thinking of switching to firefox

 

[squareeyes]

I just went looking for the HDR setting (and didn't find it - not on an external display right now... though Displaylink Issues are also prevalent), and I found the setting "True Tone". I turned it off and scrolling jitter was improved on Firefox. Still a bit choppy. Just migrated from a 2014 MBP, which was far better. Issue seems to be with momentum scroll slow down, and is there for Chrome, Firefox and Safari for me (8 core, 16BG, M1).

 

[The Cockney Rebel]

I just went looking for the HDR setting (and didn't find it - not on an external display right now... though Displaylink Issues are also prevalent), and I found the setting "True Tone". I turned it off and scrolling jitter was improved on Firefox. Still a bit choppy. Just migrated from a 2014 MBP, which was far better. Issue seems to be with momentum scroll slow down, and is there for Chrome, Firefox and Safari for me (8 core, 16BG, M1).

Thanks for the info, but I love True Tone so wouldn’t turn it off.

I also notice a bit (tiny) of choppiness when invoking Mission Control.

Surely a firmware update can cure this?

 

[Apple_Robert]

At first, I thought 11.2 fixed the slightly jittery scrolling problem in Safari. It didn't.

 

[Quackers]

Is this choppiness only seen when using a monitor?
I see none of it but I don't use a monitor.
As far as Safari is concerned it could be the sites you go to. They load so much gubbins now and it all has to be constantly redrawn when you're scrolling and some of the ads are slow to load.
I have no difficulties with Facebook which I've heard complaints about.
I do have problems scrolling with some news sites but that's to be expected as they load so much stuff over and above the news stories.

 

[NewBench]

Anyone else experienced an issue where if you are scrolling down certain pages on some websites in Safari it'll 'judder' and you won't be able to scroll down any further beyond a certain point? Even if I refresh the page it'll do the same thing. Seems to happen at random, but only on pages with lots of content or long pages.

The choppy scrolling in general is mostly in Safari for me, happens on most websites. Firefox very similar. Chrome was generally okay though.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Anyone else experienced an issue where if you are scrolling down certain pages on some websites in Safari it'll 'judder' and you won't be able to scroll down any further beyond a certain point? Even if I refresh the page it'll do the same thing. Seems to happen at random, but only on pages with lots of content or long pages.

The choppy scrolling in general is mostly in Safari for me, happens on most websites. Firefox very similar. Chrome was generally okay though.

I have never seen or experienced that bug.

 

[NewBench]

I have never seen or experienced that bug.

Just did a screen recording (720p - 16mb) of the 'judder'. This happens on several websites, at random, when scrolling lots of content. Notice how it hasn't reached the bottom of the page (the scroll bar on the right isn't at the bottom). It won't let me go beyond that point when it starts to judder..