Stuttery/choppy/low framerate animations

[no0nefamous]

So I've been a lifelong Windows user and last month made the leap to buy a 24" iMac M1 with 16GB of RAM.

One thing that's been bugging me is that most of the UI animations in macOS are choppy looking/low framerate and often slow. At first I thought that maybe I'm just used to 120hz on my iPhone 13 Pro, but even my Windows laptop at 60hz looks smoother. For instance, if you minimize an app or open a folder in macOS you see a slow, choppy "resize" animation that looks like its at 30 FPS or lower whereas on my Windows 10 laptop from 2016, similar animations are glass smooth and instant. Although this iMac is about three times faster than my Windows laptop, the Windows laptop feels faster because everything about the UI is nice and smooth and snappy.

Just to be sure I tried re-installing the OS and that wasn't it. I ran Geekbench tests and am getting the appropriate scores.

Is there any fix to this? Frankly it's a tad frustrating to have spent the equivalent of a pretty good gaming rig on a machine that has a perceived slow feel to it even if it's technically fast.

 

[Slartibart]

Some people suggest that resetting the SMC helps - shutdown your M1 iMac and disconnect it for 30 seconds from power. Then restart and check.

You might like - depending on which built of Monterey you are using - try turning of Promotion. Additionally you can turn on Reduce Motion via System Preferences -> Accessibility -> Display -> Reduce motion.

To exclude that apps run in the background and suck up valuable system resources open the Activity Monitor and check the CPU tab.

 

[no0nefamous]

Thanks for the tips. I tried all of this, but it didn't help. I don't think there's actually anything wrong with the iMac. I do, however, think Apple has gotten very bad and lazy about UI stuttering and showing you low framerates unnecessarily. For instance, the iPhone 13 Pro is nowhere near as consistently smooth as the Samsung S21/S22 Ultra or the Google 6 Pro even though they all have 120hz screens.

 

[adamlbiscuit]

The worst UI animation for me (in terms of frame rate), is when I open a folder full of apps in Launchpad. I know Launchpad hasn't been touched by Apple in a long time, but even on the M1 Mac mini that particular animation chokes it. Honourable mention goes to the animation when you click 'edit widgets' in the Notification Center.

 

[no0nefamous]

Yup, those, plus also opening a folder, any minimize/maximize animation, etc.

I'm not trying to champion windows, but even a low end Windows machine made today has a faster feel to it due to glossy smooth and snappy animations.

 

[no0nefamous]

Is there a command or something I can do to increase the animation speeds so I don't see the individual frames?

I know you used to be able to do this in Android in a hidden menu but I don't know if that's still a thing.

 

[Menno87]

I noticed the same, it does not impact productivity but it's something in the drivers I guess. I don't think it's performance related because I tested it with a m1, m1 max and m1 ultra chip. The systems responds very snappy just the launchpad / mission control animations can be a bit choppy. The weird thing is that it's smooth on the internal screen of my mbp.

MBP 16" m1 max --> Builtin XDR Display = smooth
MBP 16" m1 max --> Pro Display XDR = choppy
Mac Studio m1 ultra --> Pro Display XDR = choppy
Mac Mini m1 --> Pro Display XDR = choppy

Mac Pro (W5700X / 16c Xeon) --> Pro Display XDR = smooth

 

[no0nefamous]

Monterey 12.3.1 update...


Still choppy. Still makes this expensive device feel like a low-end budget machine that I regret buying. Do better, Apple.

 

[adamlbiscuit]

Monterey 12.3.1 update...


Still choppy. Still makes this expensive device feel like a low-end budget machine that I regret buying. Do better, Apple.

Not really a fix per se, more of a band aid solution:

- go to accessibility in System Preferences and turn on ‘reduce transparency’ - this often speeds up some animations.

- If like me you don’t like the systems appearance with this setting on, then an alternative is to click ‘reduce motion’ which gets rid of a lot of system animations and instead does a smoother fade in/out

 

[SPRADAESH]

Guys, now I have installed macOS Ventura 13.0 and the animation where you open a folder on the desktop is still kinda choppy, just like how it was on macOS Monterey 12.6 earlier. This is on an M1 MacBook Air. Does anyone still feel this way? Were Catalina's animations much smoother? Can we expect a fix? Windows animations are snappier and smoother feeling, especially the new Windows 11 ones. Why is it this way on macOS?

 

[no0nefamous]

Guys, now I have installed macOS Ventura 13.0 and the animation where you open a folder on the desktop is still kinda choppy, just like how it was on macOS Monterey 12.6 earlier. This is on an M1 MacBook Air. Does anyone still feel this way? Were Catalina's animations much smoother? Can we expect a fix? Windows animations are snappier and smoother feeling, especially the new Windows 11 ones. Why is it this way on macOS?

I was just about to update this thread.

Ventura is just as choppy as Monterey. Apple just doesn’t seem to care about the importance of snappy, smooth animations. Windows 10 and 11 are WAY smoother and snappier, visually, even on a budget machine. It’s a huge shame and makes me hate using my iMac because it feels like a budget experience when it is anything but.

 

[65301361]

I noticed the same, it does not impact productivity but it's something in the drivers I guess. I don't think it's performance related because I tested it with a m1, m1 max and m1 ultra chip. The systems responds very snappy just the launchpad / mission control animations can be a bit choppy. The weird thing is that it's smooth on the internal screen of my mbp.

MBP 16" m1 max --> Builtin XDR Display = smooth
MBP 16" m1 max --> Pro Display XDR = choppy
Mac Studio m1 ultra --> Pro Display XDR = choppy
Mac Mini m1 --> Pro Display XDR = choppy

Mac Pro (W5700X / 16c Xeon) --> Pro Display XDR = smooth

Hi, is your map 16 M1 Max still have choppy Mission Control animation with external display with macOS 13.1? Mine still has and I notice it's the windowserver which uses a lot of cpu (40%+ sometimes over 100%) causing the lag. But the cpu use of it just spikes suddenly without any clue. Also have you noticed that the highlight (HDR) effect of the photos in your MacBook Potos app doesn't look as bright as if you check the photo on your iPhone with oled screen?

 

[Menno87]

Hi, is your map 16 M1 Max still have choppy Mission Control animation with external display with macOS 13.1? Mine still has and I notice it's the windowserver which uses a lot of cpu (40%+ sometimes over 100%) causing the lag. But the cpu use of it just spikes suddenly without any clue. Also have you noticed that the highlight (HDR) effect of the photos in your MacBook Potos app doesn't look as bright as if you check the photo on your iPhone with oled screen?

Still the same with macOS 13.2. Issue about HDR is irrelevant in this case I think. Different screen techs, maybe different issue.

 

[htpA]

Still the same with macOS 13.2. Issue about HDR is irrelevant in this case I think. Different screen techs, maybe different issue.

Hello there! I've been using a MacBook Air with the M1 chip, and I've noticed some lagging animations. I managed to resolve the issue by following a few steps: running the First Aid tool in Disk Utility, minimising the number of widgets in the Notification Center, and reducing the items in the Control Center. This solution worked for me, so I hope it helps you as well!

 

[no0nefamous]

Hello there! I've been using a MacBook Air with the M1 chip, and I've noticed some lagging animations. I managed to resolve the issue by following a few steps: running the First Aid tool in Disk Utility, minimising the number of widgets in the Notification Center, and reducing the items in the Control Center. This solution worked for me, so I hope it helps you as well!

What do you mean by reducing the items in the control center?

 

[akirk]

I have this issue as well. I have a 2020 13" M1 attached to a Dell 4k monitor. System animations such as launchpad, genie effect, minimizing windows, all very slow. To the point that I have to restart at least once a day. Truly unacceptable. Some people might scoff and say it's no big deal if everything else works, well I say no. For a premium product I expect premium functionality. I've tried a few of the recommendations above, but they don't work. When I have some time I'm taking it into an Apple Store to see what they say about this.

 

[adamlbiscuit]

I have this issue as well. I have a 2020 13" M1 attached to a Dell 4k monitor. System animations such as launchpad, genie effect, minimizing windows, all very slow. To the point that I have to restart at least once a day. Truly unacceptable. Some people might scoff and say it's no big deal if everything else works, well I say no. For a premium product I expect premium functionality. I've tried a few of the recommendations above, but they don't work. When I have some time I'm taking it into an Apple Store to see what they say about this.

Definitely go to the Apple Store with that. My 2020 M1 does still exhibit a bit of choppiness in Launchpad (especially when opening app folders) but the genie effects and minimising windows are still very smooth for me. You say you're running a 4k monitor - are you using a scaled resolution by any chance?

 

[no0nefamous]

For what it's worth macOS Sonoma seems to have improved this stuff significantly on my M1 iMac. It still doesn't visually look as smooth as even a $300 Windows laptop, but it's better than it was.

 

[akirk]

Definitely go to the Apple Store with that. My 2020 M1 does still exhibit a bit of choppiness in Launchpad (especially when opening app folders) but the genie effects and minimising windows are still very smooth for me. You say you're running a 4k monitor - are you using a scaled resolution by any chance?

Thanks for your reply. Yes I am using a scaled resolution. I see the note in the Display settings that scaling resolution can cause performance issues. I will begin testing this at the default resolution of 1920x1080. It's unfortunate though because this resolution makes everything huge and doesn't provide enough workspace for me. I just bought a Dell ultra sharp u2723 which has been great, but not sure I can work at 1920x1080.

I will post an update after I have tested it for a few days.

Thanks

 

[HorrorMan321]

MacBook Pro 14'' M2 Max 32 GB RAM. Hi guys! I have the same issue... sometimes I have low fps animations during minimizing/maximizing windows (genie effect). It doesn't happens every time, but often. It's really strange because I didn't notice that when I'd bought it a month ago and everything was fine... Now I've updated to Sonoma and it's got better, but the problem hasn't been completely solved.

 

[akirk]

After testing my computer (13" M1 2020) with the default resolution (no scaling), it appears there is no UI animation lag or choppiness (or very little). But the problem is everything is huge, the OS interface and websites. My monitor size is 27" and the default resolution is 1920x1080. I would not have purchased this monitor had I known I could not use other resolutions. All the detailed specs online say this monitor has a resolution of 3840x2160. But I can't use it at that resolution. So, I feel like I've been duped.

There's an interesting article about resolution here which explains my issue: https://appleinsider.com/inside/mac...-and-why-you-probably-shouldnt-worry-about-it

It appears the only way I can have a smooth working Mac OS interface at a normal resolution is to buy an Apple Studio Display. Am I missing something? Is everyone putting up with laggy interface animation?

 

[akirk]

Here is a video of the UI lag.

It occurs after just an hour of using Adobe CC and Mail and Safari. Even after quitting all of the apps (not background apps), the lag continues. I realize though that my 16GB ram might not be enough. But still you would think the lag would correct itself after the apps have closed. I should not have to restart every hour...
Again, this is M1 Mac 2020, Ventura 13.5.2, 16GB ram, 64% full HD.

 

[adamlbiscuit]

Here is a video of the UI lag.

It occurs after just an hour of using Adobe CC and Mail and Safari. Even after quitting all of the apps (not background apps), the lag continues. I realize though that my 16GB ram might not be enough. But still you would think the lag would correct itself after the apps have closed. I should not have to restart every hour...
Again, this is M1 Mac 2020, Ventura 13.5.2, 16GB ram, 64% full HD.

Ok that’s definitely not normal, even if you’re using a scaled resolution it shouldn’t be that bad. Outside of a fresh install of macOS to see if that fixes it, I think you should definitely contact Apple.

 

[arcxevodov]

Hello! I bought a Mac Mini on m2. I also bought a 2K monitor for it, everything is smooth, except for the animation of expanding applications, for example, Chrome, iMessage, Telegram. macOS Sonoma.

 

[h9826790]

Looks like GPU driver's issue to me. Especially my 14 year old Mac has no such issue even though the UI resolution is set to 7680x2160.

Sadly, from my own experience, Apple rarely fix this kind of issues unless huge amount of users making bug reports.

After testing my computer (13" M1 2020) with the default resolution (no scaling), it appears there is no UI animation lag or choppiness (or very little). But the problem is everything is huge, the OS interface and websites. My monitor size is 27" and the default resolution is 1920x1080. I would not have purchased this monitor had I known I could not use other resolutions. All the detailed specs online say this monitor has a resolution of 3840x2160. But I can't use it at that resolution. So, I feel like I've been duped.

For 27" monitor, people usually happy with 2560x1440. Did you try 1440P non HiDPI (no scaling)?

It may helps you to get a balance between screen usable area, and UI animation smoothness.

Of course, the screen won't look as good as 1440P HiDPI. But some people seems OK with this non HiDPI resolution.