Beachballing, slow operation with iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)

I do not see any of the usual suspects in the report. However, the key contributor to the performance is the fact that your iMac is the slowest model offered by Apple, i.e. 8GB RAM, a 5400 rpm hard drive and the 3.6 GHz CPU.

Therefore you'll need to limit the apps running at the same time. I would remove all of the apps in the System/User & Groups/Login Items preference pane and run them only when you need them.

Also you could get a USB 3 external SSD, clone your system to it and run from it. It will be much quicker than your current drive:

Performance:

Write speed: 61 MB/s

Read speed: 66 MB/s

With an external SSD I typically get these read and write speeds:

These are considerably faster than yours, over 5 times faster. Crucial.com and MacSales.com have excellent external SSDs and are very reliable. You can test your Mac with the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test app which is free.

Please navigate to the Mac App Store and download the free version of EtreCheck OR please click www.EtreCheck.com where you will find the app. Once you downloaded the free app and created the report please post it as your reply to this message. In order to post it, please use the following link for more detailed instructions on how to correctly include the results: 

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250000211

We can then look for obvious issues that may be causing your problem.

That mode is the least expensive, entry level model designed to try to compete with PCs. It was never touted as a barn burner performance wise.

I just noticed your replies. The fact that someone is saying "the key contributor to the performance is the fact that your iMac is the slowest model offered by Apple, therefore you'll need to limit the apps running at the same time." makes me think twice about this brand.

The advantage of APPLE vs WINDOWS PCs was precisely that! PERFORMANCE!

Macs were not supposed to run slow or freeze, ever! "You'll need to limit the apps running at the same time"???

So now APPLE is making crappy models to force you to buy the more expensive ones?

The replies on your original post shed a lot of light on my situation.

Saludos! :)

I just posted a similar question, bought brand new iMac about 3 weeks ago, returned it to Best Buy, got the replacement last Saturday and returned it again last Thursday. Apple support help me over the phone, we had a joined session where the rep could see the problem and he agreed this was not the way it was supposed to work. Recommended not to replace it in Best Buy because it was probably a defective lot. But with all these posts I am finding here, I think it is the computer itself the problem.

Have you find any solution? I am supposed to replace it today directly with APPLE, I am not sure anymore.

Maybe downgrade to the "2.3GHz Dual-Core Processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz 1TB Storage" that is 1099.00 vs this one at 1299.00?