Decibel Meter – dB Noise Level , Heads Up! , 8bitWar: Necropolis and more
iPhone:
Decibel Meter – dB Noise Level ( $29.99 → Free ) PaoApps Decibel Meter – dB Noise Level is a powerful and easy-to-use sound meter level. Whether you’re monitoring noise at home, measuring sound at work, or checking noise pollution outdoors, this app provides accurate, real-time readings.
Inku: Calendar Planner AI ( $9.99 → Free ) Inkboard, Inc. Inku: Calendar Planner AI App helps you balance life and productivity. Whether you struggle with ADHD, have an unpredictable schedule, or just feel like your days control you instead of the other way around—Inku adapts to your rhythm, not the other way around.
Heads Up! ( $1.99 → Free ) Warner Bros.
Heads Up! will have no problem getting any party started. This hilarious guessing game can be played with a single friend or one hundred. All you have to do is split up into teams and then pick a category. The game starts when you put your iDevice up to your forehead facing your team, and you have 60 seconds to guess what’s on each card based on the clues your teammates provide. If you guess correctly, tilt your iDevice down to score it. If you want to pass, tilt it up. After each round you’re able to see your final score. The game includes seven categories to choose from, with additional categories available via in-app purchase.
8bitWar: Necropolis ( $2.99 → Free ) Rosendahl Software AB Decide which units you want to hire to take down opposing enemies. There are 100 levels with 24 different unit types and monsters for hours of fun. You can play solo, against a friend on the same device, or online.
Analog Camera – Nostalgia ( $29.99 → Free ) SER_INT Vintage Camera – Nostalgia is designed for creators who crave authentic analog vibes with the convenience of digital.
Go through these 10 troubleshooting tips if your Apple silicon or Intel Mac is lagging, freezing, and not working smoothly after updating it to macOS Tahoe 26.
The problem
First off, if you’re facing this problem, then you’re not alone. Reddit, Apple Community, and other similar sites and forums have numerous complaints from Mac users with an Intel machine to ones with an M4 Max MacBook Pro, and those with 8 GB RAM to 64 GB RAM! In other words, this issue is related to macOS Tahoe itself and not a particular Mac model.
Usually, the apps and the entire machine in general lag; the rotating rainbow beachball comes up frequently on the screen; the mouse pointer stutters; and so forth. This affects native apps, Electron apps, games, and even core Apple apps like FaceTime, Messages, Notes, Safari, etc.
Now, to be fair, not all Mac users are facing this issue. I have not noticed any considerable slowdown on my M1 MacBook Pro, M2 Mac mini, or M4 MacBook Air. However, after reviewing numerous user posts, it’s clear that people have issues with macOS Tahoe, and I’ve compiled all the solutions that have worked for others below.
Simply turning your Mac off and back on can fix this issue, albeit temporarily. So, do it to regain normal performance, and follow the remaining tips below.
Free up a few GBs of local space
If you don’t have at least 4 GB of free space on your computer, delete large apps, photos, files, etc., that you don’t need. Then restart your Mac, and it should feel snappier.
Update to the most recent version of macOS 26
Most Mac lags, freezes, and unresponsiveness were reported with initial builds of macOS 26. If you haven’t updated since, just go to System Settings > General > Software Update and install the most recent version of macOS Tahoe 26 beta or non-beta. There is a huge chance that this will solve your issue, and you won’t have to read the remaining solutions below.
Make sure Mac isn’t too hot or cold
All smartphones and computers slow down and start to work poorly in extreme temperatures, whether too hot or too cold. Shut down your computer for 5 minutes or move it to a room with normal temperature to restore regular performance.
Boot in safe mode
Restart your Mac in safe mode, and if it works fine, that means the slow laggy issue is because of apps or extensions. If you recently installed a new app and started experiencing slow computer performance, restart your Mac in normal mode and delete that app.
Turn off autofill
I can attest that, although autofill is helpful in certain situations, it can slow down Safari and other text fields, as well as contact forms, on both iOS and macOS. If Safari feels slow, try turning off autofill from its settings, as shown in the screenshot below. You can also check out this Reddit post for a Terminal command to turn off autofill.
Consider removing anti-virus, cleaner, or other optimization apps
If you have installed such apps, delete them and see if the user experience improves. In multiple cases, an anti-virus or cleaner app, when left running, can slow down your Mac.
Have macOS reindex Spotlight
Multiple Apple Community users, such as AppleUsedToBeMyFriend (interesting username), atomicvibe, and TonyMattheys, have shared that macOS Tahoe feels slow if your Mac is still indexing Spotlight files and has not finished it, even though it has been a few days since you updated. The issue is linked to corespotlightd, which you can see in the Activity Monitor app.
To address this, go to ~/Library/Metadata/CoreSpotlight/ and delete all files there. Then restart your Mac, and it should reindex the files in a day or two. You can also use erase and rebuild Spotlight using sudo mdutil -E / in Terminal.
Additionally, go through these resources to read suggestions by people who have faced the problem of a slow and laggy Mac after updating to macOS Tahoe: Reddit | Apple Community
Decibel Meter – dB Noise Level ( $29.99 → Free ) PaoApps Decibel Meter – dB Noise Level is a powerful and easy-to-use sound meter level. Whether you’re monitoring noise at home, measuring sound at work, or checking noise pollution outdoors, this app provides accurate, real-time readings.
Inku: Calendar Planner AI ( $9.99 → Free ) Inkboard, Inc. Inku: Calendar Planner AI App helps you balance life and productivity. Whether you struggle with ADHD, have an unpredictable schedule, or just feel like your days control you instead of the other way around—Inku adapts to your rhythm, not the other way around.
Heads Up! ( $1.99 → Free ) Warner Bros.
Heads Up! will have no problem getting any party started. This hilarious guessing game can be played with a single friend or one hundred. All you have to do is split up into teams and then pick a category. The game starts when you put your iDevice up to your forehead facing your team, and you have 60 seconds to guess what’s on each card based on the clues your teammates provide. If you guess correctly, tilt your iDevice down to score it. If you want to pass, tilt it up. After each round you’re able to see your final score. The game includes seven categories to choose from, with additional categories available via in-app purchase.
8bitWar: Necropolis ( $2.99 → Free ) Rosendahl Software AB Decide which units you want to hire to take down opposing enemies. There are 100 levels with 24 different unit types and monsters for hours of fun. You can play solo, against a friend on the same device, or online.
Analog Camera – Nostalgia ( $29.99 → Free ) SER_INT Vintage Camera – Nostalgia is designed for creators who crave authentic analog vibes with the convenience of digital.