Still ultra slow startup .... Affinity Designer, Photo ...... V2 versions on M1 and M2 Pro Mac Mini ....

[Kobold]

Still the same old Guiness book of records super slow startup time of these apps. Why other apps, also big apps, open way faster, so you can keep working within a few seconds?

Example? Pixelmator Pro ........  takes 3 seconds, to be ready, so you can start working with the app. Affinity Designer V2? About 30 seconds!

How often you work on a project, but then you have to make a little graphic, and need to use Designer, but  .............  you have to wait ......

This is so outdated, so unprofessional, so "vintage style app" ......... but I do not want a vintage app! I want a fast starting and not workflow killing app!

Just my thoughts about that!

[Bryan Rieger]

This issue has been discussed at length, and the last time I checked I believe the answer was that it's 'Apple's fault' - despite the fact that it happens with no other applications, even those similar in size. Anyway, if you want to work around it here's what I do (fairly regularly) to 'solve' the slow start-up issue:

1. Copy all of the Affinity apps from the /Applications folder to your ~/home folder (or any place that isn't synced to iCloud).
2. Drag the Affinity apps from the /Applications folder to the trash (don't delete any related app data or info from your ~/Library).
3. Empty the trash.
4. Drag the copies of the Affinity apps from your ~/home folder (or wherever you stashed them).
5. Launch each app individually, and wait for the OS to verify the app (the little window with progress bar before it launches).
6. Repeat step 5 for each of the other Affinity apps.
7. Subsequent launches of the apps should be under 3 seconds.
8. Enjoy, until it happens again then proceed to step 1 and repeat.

Maybe, one day Serif will figure out what they're doing wrong (compared to EVERY OTHER COMPANY) and fix it. That said, I won't hold my breath.

[R C-R]

6 hours ago, Bryan Rieger said:

Subsequent launches of the apps should be under 3 seconds.

Does that still work after restarting your Mac?

[wonderings]

7 minutes ago, R C-R said:

Does that still work after restarting your Mac?

A restart brings it all back again. I launch Publisher V2 and like others have about 30 second wait time. After that first open, when I close the app and then open it again the app opens in about 1 second. While the initial load is annoying, it is not something that would keep me from the app itself. I am using a MacBook Pro M1 Max. 

[R C-R]

1 minute ago, wonderings said:

A restart brings it all back again. I launch Publisher V2 and like others have about 30 second wait time.

So whether or not you do your workaround every time you restart you get the long launch time again, right?

[wonderings]

3 minutes ago, R C-R said:

So whether or not you do your workaround every time you restart you get the long launch time again, right?

yes, a restart has longer load times. This is not unique to Affinity. I have longer load times with Adobe apps the first time I open them after a restart as well. Now it is not as long as the Affinity ones. After the first time loaded the apps load much faster. 

[Bryan Rieger]

3 hours ago, R C-R said:

Does that still work after restarting your Mac?

Often yes, until it doesn’t. It’s more superstition than science I’m afraid. It’s almost guaranteed after a system update (even a minor one), or an ‘invasive install/uninstal or update’ of some other app such as devtools, system extensions, etc.

[Kobold]

Heeeeeeeeeeeere   ......   we go! Finally, after "not counted years" of super gigantic ultra mega slow startup  ...........

.............  Affinity Designer now starts in 5 seconds on my Mac Mini!

Yeah! Is this a reason to party? Somehow yes, but: Nobody, really nobody may tell me this would not been possible on macOS 14. So on one hand I am very happy, that this now works nice, but I will not forget the "years of shame" being the slowest starting app I ever had, compared to other apps!

So the winner is  ...............  ha ha  ...................   Affinity Designer, getting the "slow cucumber award" from me, and a small "fast peanut award" for now being fast as it should be!

Thanks!     :-)

[walt.farrell]

5 hours ago, Kobold said:

Heeeeeeeeeeeere   ......   we go! Finally, after "not counted years" of super gigantic ultra mega slow startup  ...........

.............  Affinity Designer now starts in 5 seconds on my Mac Mini!

Yeah! Is this a reason to party? Somehow yes, but: Nobody, really nobody may tell me this would not been possible on macOS 14. So on one hand I am very happy, that this now works nice, but I will not forget the "years of shame" being the slowest starting app I ever had, compared to other apps!

So the winner is  ...............  ha ha  ...................   Affinity Designer, getting the "slow cucumber award" from me, and a small "fast peanut award" for now being fast as it should be!

Thanks!     🙂

If you're saying that you just updated to Sequoia, and the startup is faster now, then that means that either:

1. It's temporary, and will become slow again the next time you restart or the next time Apple updates their code scanner (as has happened many times for users who have reported this issue); or
2. Since Serif did nothing to fix it, then Apple fixed it, and it was an Apple issue all the time as Serif suggested it was. And therefore there's nothing that Serif could have done to make it work faster in Sonoma.

[Kobold]

Still after days  .......  daily switching Mini off  .......  and on  ...........  4 seconds to start, just checked again!

[Philbee]

Just wait for the next app update – it's back to the 20 to 30 seconds wait time for the first app launch after that, even though Apple does its little checking dance thing while installing.