Affinity SUPER SLOW OPENING on macOS Big Sur

[Affinity User 123]

Hello,

I recently purchased a new iMac (running Big Sur) and installed the Affinity suite of apps. On my other machines that have yet to upgrade to Big Sur, all Affinity apps open like usual, takes a bit of time but is fairly quick. BUT on my new machine running Big Sur, all Affinity apps take forever to load/startup. Like around 30 seconds to a minute or longer in some cases.

Is there a solution for this? To get Affinity apps to open more quickly on Big Sur?

Thanks for any help.

[Dan C]

Hi @Affinity User 123,

Welcome to the forums

This is a known issue with the current version and is with our developers to be fixed, please see the following FAQ for more info -

I hope this helps.

[Affinity User 123]

THANK YOU for fixing the slow opening issue.

Just upgraded Affinity apps to the latest, rebooted, and tried again with the opening. Result is super snappy just like before Big Snur.

Thanks again.

[Affinity User 123]

Looks like the slow loading issue is back again:

 

[Patrick Connor]

This post and the ones below it explain what we think is happening

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/127869-universal-apps-launch-very-slowly/&do=findComment&comment=757963

[Affinity User 123]

Thanks for that infos. It sounds like that may explain it, but the issue is no longer just on first launch of the app. It happens every time the app is launched.

[Patrick Connor]

10 hours ago, Affinity User 123 said:

It happens every time the app is launched

Does it happen for you with the betas, or only the release build?

[Affinity User 123]

I only use the release builds for my Affinity apps. Currently Photo is at version 1.9.1.

[v_kyr]

On 3/14/2021 at 11:36 PM, Patrick Connor said:

This post and the ones below it explain what we think is happening

 

Looks to be similar of what MS Defender does locally on Windows systems here. However better a slower and more app secured startup, than an open door for possible malware. - So you have at least the chance to quickly take a sip of coffee during the program starts. 😉

[Affinity User 123]

Hi v_kyr,

Yes Patrick already shared that link, thank you.

"However better a slower and more app secured startup, than an open door for possible malware. - So you have at least the chance to quickly take a sip of coffee during the program starts."

I disagree wholeheartedly. Better for Apple to NOT play big brother and scan everything that millions of users are doing. It's a massive invasion of privacy and totally unacceptable. If people want more security, scanning or whatever, there are apps that can do that for them. Apple is going way out of bounds by pushing this scanning crud on all of its users, in the name of keeping us "safe".

I don't drink coffee, so having to wait 60-90 seconds while my Affinity app bounces up and down waiting to open is just a complete waste of time. Not just for me, but for millions of users around the world.

[v_kyr]

60-90 seconds? - Hmm that's indeed a lot even for Big Sur fat binaries.

[Affinity User 123]

It's sometimes less, sometimes more. Probably more like 30-90 seconds is more accurate. 

But even 10 seconds is ~9 seconds too long to open an app.

[jmwellborn]

Just to throw my 2 cents worth in.  Affinity Photo, Designer, and Publisher continue to open in 2-3 seconds on my MacBook Pro with Big Sur. M1 chip. Time after time.  Day after day.  Week after week.   But I purchased my versions from the Affinity Store not the Mac App Store.    

[Affinity User 123]

I also purchased from the Affinity Store. My system is 2019 iMac:

3.7 GHz 6-Core Intel Core i5
16 GB 2667 MHz DDR4

Until I upgraded to Big Sur, Affinity apps opened fast. Big Sur slowed em down and then Affinity released an update that seemed to resolve the issue; all apps were opening speedy again. Now as mentioned above the slowness issue has returned (Big Sur 11.2.3).

Currently testing on a MacBook Pro (Intel chip), will post the results shortly.

Update: testing Affinity apps with Big Sur on MacBook Pro yields similar results, possibly a bit faster loading. Will actually measure the difference next chance to fiddle.

[R C-R]

3 hours ago, Affinity User 123 said:

Better for Apple to NOT play big brother and scan everything that millions of users are doing. It's a massive invasion of privacy and totally unacceptable.

Just curious, but how exactly is this an invasion of privacy? 

[Affinity User 123]

"Just curious, but how exactly is this an invasion of privacy?"

Privacy means being able to run whatever apps you want on your own computer without interference, scanning, spying, etc. From what I've read, Apple prevents this with its 3rd-party app checking or whatever it is they're doing. And it has the unwanted side-effect of slowing down apps and workflows and frustrating users.