macOS Tahoe Slow? 8 Ways to Speed It Up

For a long time, users have chosen to invest in the Apple ecosystem because it’s generally faster than the Windows system. However, the story seems changed when it comes to macOS Tahoe. Some Apple users recently reported that the new macOS Tahoe on the M3 MacBook Air 15-inch model was slower than a four-year-old Windows computer.

If you’ve encountered a similar issue after updating to macOS 26 and you’re concerned about why our macOS Tahoe is so laggy, you’ve come to the right place. In this discussion, we’ll explore the causes and find quick fixes to speed up your Mac computer.

Why Is macOS Tahoe So Laggy?

Now, you may ask why your Mac has been acting so slow, even though it’s new. Here, you can find some clues.

• After installation, macOS Tahoe conducts aggressive reindexing for Spotlight and Photos that can last up to 48 hours. This will consume significant CPU and disk resources.
• If you’re running an early beta version of macOS Tahoe, you may also encounter slow performance.
• The new file system uses more aggressive caching for long-term performance. This might fill up SSD space and slow down your Mac.
• Some third-party apps might not be optimized for macOS Tahoe. When running these apps, your Mac will become slow or freeze.
• Newer releases of macOS require more CPU, GPU, and RAM to accommodate advanced features. Older Mac models may struggle with the additional load.
• macOS Tahoe needs 10–15% of free disk space to run smoothly. When your storage is nearly full, virtual memory and system processes will slow down, leading to lag.

Related Article: Top 10 Common macOS Tahoe Issues and Their Fixes

How to Speed Up Slow macOS Tahoe in 8 Ways

After updating to macOS Tahoe, your computer can be so laggy that you can’t even open basic applications like Google Chrome, Safari, or Apple Music. If you’re in the same situation, keep reading and find out some quick fixes.

1. Restart or Force Restart Your Mac

The first method worth trying is to restart your Mac. Close all running apps, click the Apple menu, and select Restart.

If your Mac is completely frozen, perform a force restart instead. Force restarting clears temporary files and cached data, resets stuck processes, and forces everything to start fresh. Shutting down your Mac also closes all applications and background processes, freeing up memory and CPU, and refreshing macOS.

Here's how:

1. Hold the power button or Touch ID for about 10 seconds until the screen goes black.
2. Wait for several hours or overnight, and then press the power button to start your Mac.

2. Free Up Storage Space

If you’ve used your Mac for a long time, the hard drive might be nearly full. In this case, the macOS will struggle to find space for system processes and temporary files. And this is why your Mac becomes slow.

It’s time to free up the storage space. This can significantly enhance the performance of a slow Mac. With BuhoCleaner, you can quickly locate and remove redundant files and large files. As a professional Mac cleaner, it enables you to junk files such as system cache, log files, duplicated media files, and unused DMG files. Also, it can remove large files that might take up much internal space. Moreover, BuhoCleaner can completely uninstall apps, removing all associated files and folders.

1. Free install BuhoCleaner and open it on your Mac.
2. Click on the Flash Clean mode on the left panel.

   

3. Scan the files on your computer and tap on the Remove button to initiate the process.

3. Manage Background and Startup Apps

Startup and background apps can consume a significant amount of system resources, slowing down your Mac. They use CPU and memory even when you’re not actively running them. That’s why it’s recommended to monitor CPU and memory usage in real time.

With BuhoCleaner’s built-in Menu feature, you can easily keep track of system performance right from the menu bar whenever BuhoCleaner is installed and running.

To identify and quit apps that consume a lot of CPU or memory, you can open Activity Monitor.

1. Open Activity Monitor.
2. Check the running processes and close the apps that consume a lot of CPU.

Despite background apps, startup apps can also lead to longer boot times and sluggish performance. By closing startup items, you can free up resources for essential tasks. Here is how to disable startup apps on your Mac.

1. Click on the Apple menu and open System Settings.
2. Click General > Login Items & Extensions.
3. Select the apps that start automatically and click on the “-” button to remove them from the startup list.

Alternatively, you can manage login items and startup services with BuhoCleaner.

4. Update Apps

App developers may frequently release new versions to enhance the performance of apps. This can fix bugs, enhance performance, and improve compatibility with the Tahoe operating system. The older versions of apps may comply with the former version of macOS. If you’re updating to macOS Tahoe, check if there are any updates to the apps to better match the new Mac system. To update apps on your Mac, you can:

1. Open App Store from the Dock.
2. Click on the Updates tab to see the available updates.
3. Tap on the Update button to update the specific apps.

5. Reduce Visual Effects

For older models or those with fewer hardware resources, you can try to reduce the visual effects. This is because features like animations, transparent windows, and motion effects can consume a large amount of system resources and slow down the overall performance. By disabling these effects, you’re likely to free up CPU and memory.

Here is how to reduce the visual effects in System Settings.

1. Open System Settings.
2. Click Accessibility > Display, then enable "Reduce Transparency".

   

3. Go back to Accessibility, click Motion, and enable "Reduce motion".

   

6. Reset SMC and NVRAM

By resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) and Non-Volatile Random Access Memory (NVRAM), you can restore the system configurations and hardware settings. The SMC manages power management, thermal management, and battery performance. As slow performance always comes along with overheating, it’s crucial to reset the SMC.

On the other hand, NVRAM clears settings concerning display resolution, startup disk selection, and recent kernel panic information. Similarly, resetting the NVRAM can also improve the performance of your computer.

• For Apple Silicon Macs, shut down and turn on your Mac.
• For Intel Macs, hold Option+Command+P+R while powering back on.

7. Check iCloud Syncing

Besides, excessive or inefficient syncing can also consume many system resources. When you’ve enabled iCloud to sync data, such as photos, videos, documents, or backups, your Mac can utilize much bandwidth and power, making other applications lag. If so, you should disable the syncing options and manage the data.

1. Open System Settings.
2. Click your Apple account > iCloud > Drive.
3. Toggle off Desktop & Documents Folder.

8. Downgrade to an Older macOS Version

If your Mac is still unbearably slow even after trying the methods above, consider downgrading your macOS. Keep in mind that this process will erase all data on your Mac, so think carefully before proceeding and ensure you have backed up your files.

For detailed steps, check out How to Downgrade macOS Tahoe to Sequoia

Conclusion

If you’re struggling with a slow macOS Tahoe, try the fixes in this post. By freeing up storage space, optimizing system settings, reducing visual effects, and resetting hardware configurations like SMC and NVRAM, you can speed up your Mac in minutes. If these methods don’t help, you may also consider downgrading your macOS to Sequoia or an earlier version—but only after creating a full backup.