macOS Tahoe arrived for everyone on September 15, 2025, as the successor to Sequoia. Apple followed with 26.0.1 at the end of the month to squash early bugs. Many M1 owners still report heavy lag, stutters, and UI glitches after updating, even with clean restarts.
What users are seeing
Reports from M1 and even M2 machines describe slow animations, choppy cursor movement, and delays when dragging items or opening menus. One widely shared thread says: Sequoia felt “super fast,” Tahoe feels “laggy and choppy.”
Another Apple Support Community post lists mouse pointers jumping, windows lagging, and performance degrading after hours of use. Your complaint about right-click and Dock lag matches those patterns.
The “Apps” icon and surprise iPhone clutter
Tahoe reshapes how apps surface on the Mac, including a redesigned Apps/Launchpad experience that some users dislike for tiny grid icons. Confusion deepens when iPhone apps appear alongside Mac apps, especially if you use iPhone Mirroring or Spotlight’s cross-device results.
You can stop iPhone apps from showing up in the list by opening System Settings, going to Siri & Spotlight, and turning off “iPhone Apps” in Spotlight’s results. That small toggle reduces the clutter you described.
Apple Intelligence noise and the opt-out problem
Some users say prompts to enable Apple Intelligence keep returning after updates. Earlier this year, Apple shipped builds that re-enabled AI features for some people who had turned them off, then asked them to opt out again. If you want it off, revisit System Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri and confirm the master switch after every point release. It is not elegant, but it avoids background downloads and surprise prompts.
Quick triage before you consider a rollback
First, eliminate corruption and rebuild caches with a Safe Mode boot, then restart normally and retest the Dock and right-click latency. If the lag persists, reinstall macOS over the top from Recovery; this keeps your files and settings but refreshes core components. If you still see regression, consider restoring Sequoia until Tahoe reaches 26.1 or later. Apple documents each step clearly, and 26.0.1 is already live for early fixes.
A practical checklist for M1 iMac owners
- Boot in Safe Mode, then reboot normally. Test Dock magnification, right-click, and menu bar responsiveness.
- In System Settings > Siri & Spotlight, disable “iPhone Apps” to keep Mac app lists clean.
- Reconfirm Apple Intelligence is off in Apple Intelligence & Siri after any update.
- If problems persist, reinstall Tahoe from macOS Recovery to repair the OS without wiping data.
- As a last resort, revert to Sequoia until more Tahoe patches land.
Tahoe brings a new look and deeper cross-device ties, but the M1 experience is clearly uneven right now. Triage what you can, document what you cannot, and watch for the next point release.
