Serious performance drops when swapping apps using custom resolutions

[snh230]

Hi everyone 👋
 

My specs

MBA 2022
M2 chip
16 GB RAM
1 TB space
macOS 13.4.1
Affinity Suite 2.1.1. + earlier versions
 

The problem

Whenever I attempt to swap apps I experience severe stutter with Affinity apps only. XD, e.g., doesn't stutter at all, but any Affinity app does, noticing severe slowdowns while the app swaps to another app's place.
 

Ways to reproduce

• Set a custom resolution;
• Use Stage Manager;
• Load the app (any Affinity app);
• Click anywhere on the screen to minimise the app and bring it back on the screen;
• Observe the lag.

Misc

I noticed this happens mainly because I use a custom resolution (3008 x 1692)—best legible for me—and we know macOS works the way it upscales a resolution first to accommodate it to the screen, having to process more, but this shouldn't be a problem for an M2 chip, right? 🥴

I only have this problem with any Affinity app. All other apps render without any noticeable lag/stutter.
 

Could Affinity apps be better optimised for different resolutions?

[NathanC]

Hi @snh230,

The Affinity apps don't currently support stage manager which can result in some unexpected issues with the app when it's enabled such as the one you have described. Support for stage manager will hopefully be added in a future update but it's not something that we can provide a timeframe for currently.

 

[Bryce]

anything else you might be running that might cause this? I don't have any issues with Stage Manager and Affinity 2.11 (or even 1.10) apps. It doesn't seem to matter Intel or Apple. I'm surprised how well they behave with stage manager.

[snh230]

21 hours ago, Bryce said:

anything else you might be running that might cause this? I don't have any issues with Stage Manager and Affinity 2.11 (or even 1.10) apps. It doesn't seem to matter Intel or Apple. I'm surprised how well they behave with stage manager.

I have no clue. I disabled Tiles, a window manager, but that didn't do it. Any idea what sort of app might cause it?

I had noticeably less lag when I tried the monitor's native resolution (without Apple's upscaling), but then things are too small for me to read, and when I use sidecar with my iPad they are so small I can barely see them.

The only suitable resolution I found for my 4K UHD LG monitor is the resolution I mentioned in my first post. Things look the same for me on both the built-in retina display and the external monitor. I had to choose - to experience severe lag but things become legible, which means no eye strain and no headache, or the opposite, with larger screen space and less lag.

Can't have both, I guess, at least not until Apple releases Sonoma which will allow to use virtually any resolution with custom font sizing.

[snh230]

@Bryce, if it's not Affinity as you say, then it's definitely to do with the upscaling factor. Because I'm running a non-native resolution, I noticed several other things on my MBA:

• It heats up much faster for much longer when using resource intensive apps;
• Battery drains much faster as well, compared to doing the same running native resolutions.

It's because macOS cannot run a resolution like mine, so what it does is it upscales to 6k and then divides by 2, giving me the comfortable resolution to work with, but the downside is the performance hit, which Apple warns about when using custom resolutions (so they know):

My resolution:

UI looks like 3008 x 1692, but it has to upscale to 6k first, so a massive performance hit.

[snh230]

On 6/23/2023 at 6:56 PM, NathanC said:

Hi @snh230,

The Affinity apps don't currently support stage manager which can result in some unexpected issues with the app when it's enabled such as the one you have described. Support for stage manager will hopefully be added in a future update but it's not something that we can provide a timeframe for currently.

 

That is most unfortunate that something like this isn't on the roadmap. Especially since Stage Manager is something many use and rely on.

It also means I would be stuck with this horrid lag for a long time, or at least until I'll be driven to give up on Affinity and use another app. I do have my own battles with Affinity software, with its UX being sub-par in many corners. Adding this to the mix makes me consider going back to Adobe since I don't have any issues there.

[Bryce]

I wish I had a better answer on that. Have you tried using Display menu Pro? It lets you choose different native resolutions. I use it on all my macs. It might be something to try.

[snh230]

On 6/27/2023 at 12:44 AM, Bryce said:

I wish I had a better answer on that. Have you tried using Display menu Pro? It lets you choose different native resolutions. I use it on all my macs. It might be something to try.

Thanks for the suggestion! Before I read it I modified all system settings I could find to accommodate my external screen's native resolution (increased font sizes where I could) so I could use that and now I'm experiencing significantly less lag since macOS doesn't have to deal with a scaled resolution constantly. It turns out going with a native resolution whenever possible does bring significant benefits with it, from less stutter to less overheating and battery drain.