Sonoma is the worst MacOs in years

[macohmac]

This probably has been discussed before but I just need to vent my frustration with Sonoma. As I traveled to my other location I decided to update my 2019 Intel Macbook pro that I use to work here that used to run like whipped cream. What is this now, so slow, overheats, the fan that I never felt running feels like a blowdryer, the animations lag like this was a Pentium and it has been 3 weeks since I installed Sonoma. Never before a MacOS affected an older machine so much that it's basically unusable, the battery life lasts less than 2 hours vs 6 with Ventura. All of this for what? What's really new?
Now I have to plan and downgrade to make this machine usable again, something that I never had to do with any of my Macs before because I used to buy new ones them simply to get the newer shinier hardware. I also have to stress that my M1 Pro at home won't be as future proof as previous gens used to be and its battery life will be affected.

 

[InvertedGoldfish]

Not like Apple has a history of slowing down equipment with bloatware

 

[fisherking]

this is a singular experience, not everyone's experience, and does not represent what should happen on your M1. perhaps call apple, get help with these things, they're not common. and apple is good with support even out of warranty. good luck!

 

[svenmany]

Contact Apple support. Software support is free. They will help you diagnose.

 

[fisherking]

we get these same threads with every new mac OS; check the ventura (& older) forums for some entertaining rants posts...

 

[MikeDr206]

we get these same threads with every new mac OS; check the ventura (& older) forums for some entertaining rants posts...

This. I find it funny that there are some who love Ventura, whereas when Ventura came out we got the same song and distance about “worst ever MacOS.”

 

[AlixSPQR]

Sonoma runs fine on my Mac mini Late 2012. It shouldn't run at all, but it does, thanks to OpenCore Legacy Patcher.

 

[Bigwaff]

I decided to update my 2019 Intel Macbook pro

Specs of your 2019 MBP.... ?

 

[AlmightyKang]

One of my colleagues has an i9 2019 MBP. It has been like that since the day he got it in 2019! My i3 Mac Mini was the same.

Not had a single problem since the ARM Macs came out.

 

[svenmany]

I have a 2018 MBP. The fans do idle up a lot when I'm doing anything intensive. But, I've not noticed any change in that between Sonoma (and all the OS's in between) and how it was when I first bought it in 2018.

I suspect the OP is running something that is incompatible with Sonoma.

 

[bousozoku]

I remember feeling that way when Leopard wasn't good on my PowerPC-based machines. People with Intel-based machines were happy for the first time, though.

My M1 MacBook Air is happy with Sonoma, as much as it was happy with Monterey. I didn't even bother with Ventura. My only Intel-based machine is running Catalina and can't easily go past that.

I sometimes wonder how many people tried a developer beta or public beta version and didn't wipe the drive before installing a production version of an operating system.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I have been happy with Sonoma. That wasn't the case with Mavericks and Catalina.

 

[KoolAid-Drink]

I remember feeling that way when Leopard and Snow Leopard weren't good on my PowerPC-based machines. People with Intel-based machines were happy for the first time, though.

My M1 MacBook Air is happy with Sonoma, as much as it was happy with Monterey. I didn't even bother with Ventura. My only Intel-based machine is running Catalina and can't easily go past that.

I sometimes wonder how many people tried a developer beta or public beta version and didn't wipe the drive before installing a production version of an operating system.

Slight correction: Snow Leopard didn't run on PowerPC machines. Only Leopard and earlier did. Rosetta 1 was introduced with Leopard, continued in SL (which was Intel-only), and discontinued in Lion.

 

[Ready-for-Apple]

@macohmac Are you using Memoji as User Pic / iCloud User Pic? Change THIS❗️
👉🏻 ATTENTION❗️ iOS 17.1+ your Contact Photo in adress book sync to iCloud and so to your Login pic. 😱
*** So DON'T use Memoji there either❗️***

Get rid off the Sonoma Wallpapers and Screensaver
Delete the Wallpapers in /Library/Application Support/com.apple.idleassetsd/Customer/4KSDR240FPS
! Check regularly whether the wallpapers have been downloaded again. This also happened to me several times until it stopped at some point.

 

[Alameda]

this is a singular experience, not everyone's experience, and does not represent what should happen on your M1. perhaps call apple, get help with these things, they're not common. and apple is good with support even out of warranty. good luck!

He said his Mac is an Intel Mac, not an M1.

 

[fisherking]

He said his Mac is an Intel Mac, not an M1.

right, but he also mentions an 'M1 pro' at home, and i was referring to that one (that sonoma should be fine on the M1)...

 

[MBAir2010]

I agree Sonoma is not up to par with Ventura or Monterey.
seems to me that this OS is designed for 's usage rather than mine.

I spent the last month explaining the small annoyances like
using TERMINAL to perform a task that System Preferences or Stetting can do in a second.

I still use this on my Mac mini until I get fed up and switch to Monterey from a ssd drive.

 

[fisherking]

I agree Sonoma is not up to par with Ventura or Monterey.
seems to me that this OS is designed for 's usage rather than mine.

I spent the last month explaining the small annoyances like
using TERMINAL to perform a task that System Preferences or Stetting can do in a second.

I still use this on my Mac mini until I get fed up and switch to Monterey from a ssd drive.

personally, i find sonoma to be better than ventura (or certainly monterey), and have no idea what's so profoundly different from ventura as to be 'designed for apple's use'. can you explain that?

 

[MBAir2010]

personally, i find sonoma to be better than ventura (or certainly monterey), and have no idea what's so profoundly different from ventura as to be 'designed for apple's use'. can you explain that?

no now
im busy writing a novel about 2198AD in which computers do not exist.

 

[fisherking]

no now
im busy writing a novel about 2198AD in which computers do not exist.

you could have typed an answer to my question instead of typing that. saying things without explanation is like saying nothing at all....

 

[minik]

I have the latest version of macOS Sonoma on multiple Intel-based Mac notebooks, from low end 2018 MacBook Air with 8GB of RAM to something more 'recent' 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro with 16GB of RAM. The 2018 MacBook Air seems to be struggling a bit but it was slow after installing macOS Big Sur, so not a shocker.

There's no noticeable differences in terms of snappiness going to macOS Ventura to macOS Sonoma on the 2020 model. To me I actually prefer macOS Sonoma especially with the widget.

On the other hand, I feel M1 MacBook Air and macOS Sonoma don't work that well. It may be a coincidence, after upgraded to macOS Sonoma, the headphone jack is no longer recognized.

 

[saudor]

This. I find it funny that there are some who love Ventura, whereas when Ventura came out we got the same song and distance about “worst ever MacOS.”

Probably because by the time the next OS rolls around, the previous "crap" OS has gotten a lot better.

 

[Resodelic]

This probably has been discussed before but I just need to vent my frustration with Sonoma. As I traveled to my other location I decided to update my 2019 Intel Macbook pro that I use to work here that used to run like whipped cream. What is this now, so slow, overheats, the fan that I never felt running feels like a blowdryer, the animations lag like this was a Pentium and it has been 3 weeks since I installed Sonoma. Never before a MacOS affected an older machine so much that it's basically unusable, the battery life lasts less than 2 hours vs 6 with Ventura. All of this for what? What's really new?
Now I have to plan and downgrade to make this machine usable again, something that I never had to do with any of my Macs before because I used to buy new ones them simply to get the newer shinier hardware. I also have to stress that my M1 Pro at home won't be as future proof as previous gens used to be and its battery life will be affected.

I am in the same boat as this one.
Some comments here made me really open an account here because I don't think this is necessarily a singular experience.
There are some other posts like this one and it's not very dendy situation.
I had re-installed my Mac and erased my bootcamp for a fresh start just to see how it's gonna perform with a fresh breath because since the last 2 updates that were "bug fixes" has made my MBP 2019 with an i9'er devastated , which is very sad to see.
I know my machine is still capable to perform better than this in just generic office/daily use.
Still wondering if it's worth to downgrade while still can to a more optimized and still some-what secure Ventura but I will see.
I want to give a month to my fresh install , let's see if it's gonna act up after bootcamp and general usage in Mac OS.

 

[svenmany]

I am in the same boat as this one.
Some comments here made me really open an account here because I don't think this is necessarily a singular experience.
There are some other posts like this one and it's not very dendy situation.
I had re-installed my Mac and erased my bootcamp for a fresh start just to see how it's gonna perform with a fresh breath because since the last 2 updates that were "bug fixes" has made my MBP 2019 with an i9'er devastated , which is very sad to see.
I know my machine is still capable to perform better than this in just generic office/daily use.
Still wondering if it's worth to downgrade while still can to a more optimized and still some-what secure Ventura but I will see.
I want to give a month to my fresh install , let's see if it's gonna act up after bootcamp and general usage in Mac OS.

If you reinstalled the same software you had before, you might have reintroduced an incompatibility that had been causing your problems.

 

[dmccloud]

I am in the same boat as this one.
Some comments here made me really open an account here because I don't think this is necessarily a singular experience.
There are some other posts like this one and it's not very dendy situation.
I had re-installed my Mac and erased my bootcamp for a fresh start just to see how it's gonna perform with a fresh breath because since the last 2 updates that were "bug fixes" has made my MBP 2019 with an i9'er devastated , which is very sad to see.
I know my machine is still capable to perform better than this in just generic office/daily use.
Still wondering if it's worth to downgrade while still can to a more optimized and still some-what secure Ventura but I will see.
I want to give a month to my fresh install , let's see if it's gonna act up after bootcamp and general usage in Mac OS.

Given the performance delta alone between Intel-based Macs and Apple Silicon Macs, the issues you're describing seem to be related to the older hardware in your machine rather than anything legitimately OS-related. You're talking about 8th/9th generation Intel CPUs coupled with either an AMD Radeon 5300m or 5500m GPU, none of which would even approach the middle of current benchmark charts. At least Apple hasn't pulled a Microsoft and deliberately made the latest OS incompatible with thousands upon thousands of PCs simply because they lack a TPM.