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Sequoia 15.1 is slows iMessage & WhatsApp keyboard input

Since MacOS 15.1 update I have a very slow keyboard input for iMessage and WhatsApp. I have turned off VPN just in case.

Those are the only two apps where this happens.

CPU usage is very low on both apps


Any thoughts or suggestions?

MacBook Pro (2021)

Posted on Oct 30, 2024 8:11 AM

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Posted on Nov 22, 2024 3:00 AM

Haven't gotten to the end of the thread, so it may be suggested already. But I've found a solution, or better said a workaround.

  1. Delete WhatsApp for Mac
  2. Go in your browser (for me that's Chrome), go to WhatsApp Web and log in
  3. Then you go to the 3 vertical dots in the upper right corner, go to Save & Share (or for me that's Casting, Saving & Sharing) > see screenshot (sorry it's in Dutch)
  4. Click on Open in WhatsApp Webb

That created a shortcut in my dock, different colour than the usual app-icon, but it works and my god the delay is gone. So happy!

55 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 22, 2024 3:00 AM in response to Carsten Nitschke

Haven't gotten to the end of the thread, so it may be suggested already. But I've found a solution, or better said a workaround.

  1. Delete WhatsApp for Mac
  2. Go in your browser (for me that's Chrome), go to WhatsApp Web and log in
  3. Then you go to the 3 vertical dots in the upper right corner, go to Save & Share (or for me that's Casting, Saving & Sharing) > see screenshot (sorry it's in Dutch)
  4. Click on Open in WhatsApp Webb

That created a shortcut in my dock, different colour than the usual app-icon, but it works and my god the delay is gone. So happy!

Nov 25, 2024 6:00 AM in response to Carsten Nitschke

I believe this is a combination of things, combining to cause the slowdown, at least in WhatsApp


  • Sequoia introduces Apple AI features, the library functions are present, but might not be authorised.
  • The input widget is requesting AI features (perhaps so it can offer AI autocomplete, etc.)
  • On systems where Apple AI isn't enabled, the system responds with a "not authorised"
  • The input widget immediately tries again, and keeps trying again hundreds of times with no significant wait
  • Each time it retries, it logs two lines to a file in /Users/johnhartnup/Library/Group Containers/group.net.whatsapp.WhatsApp.shared/Logs/WhatsApp_2/
  • It seems as if each time it logs, it opens the file, writes, then closes the file
  • If you have AV, it will scan the whole log file each time it is reopened


So, as you type, OSX is opening a file hundreds of times per second, and if you have AV, it's scanning the whole of that file, which can reach about 1MB, hundreds of times per second. No wonder it's slow.


Although the presence of the AI feature does trigger this, I'm not sure it's OSX's fault as such.


Fixes I can imagine include:


  • WhatsApp and iMessage -- or a component they both use -- should not retry on "ai/manager/composer-new-chat-ai-status/disabled", or at least retry much less frequently
    • I suppose it's possible that an OSX component is responsible for this retry
  • Don't log when this happens -- or at least, log it much less frequently
  • Keep the log file open and keep appending to it, rather than open and close the log file for every line
  • AV through some cleverness, notice the open/append/close pattern and avoid re-scanning parts you've already seen


Nov 11, 2024 11:47 PM in response to Carsten Nitschke

Honestly I'm already getting burnt out from this horrible update!


This is my first time using macOS, it's been two weeks since I bought my macbook air 13 m1.


After activating it I immediately upgraded from ventura to 15.1.


I thought macos is a very stable yay floating system, however not so.


It all started when I noticed slow scrolling in the system settings, when the left side of the system scrolls smoothly and the right side just jerks horribly. Twitchy scrolling also applies to the notification center.


And now I opened whatsapp for work and saw this jerky scrolling and delay.


It's good that such applications are practically few, which work so badly and have not yet been adapted to the new macOS.


But nevertheless it's very frustrating for me, I'm waiting for a fix for these problems to appear.


I wanted to roll back to the recommended sonoma, but since it's my first time using macos I'm afraid to roll back the system.

Nov 13, 2024 4:55 PM in response to Carsten Nitschke

I don't "update" any new system - till at least May, any more. Every Update has had bugs & some have had 12-14 "updates" - yet even then, there are still bugs n problems with software etc.


Ever since we were given a 24" mac by our "kids" [Monterey > Ventura > now Sonoma] I've had numerous problems, even with Apple's own software!


Too many of these Updates are sent out w/o proper testing by actual users, as used to be done. And I've kept my 2012 computer, now to High Sierra, as it works better & didn't "dump" some web pages n programs I NEED to have, like this new one [2022] did.

Nov 21, 2024 2:20 AM in response to Carsten Nitschke

Hello!


I'm having the same issue, I'm using a workaround that might work for you:

On Safari, open web.whatsapp.com and link your WhatsApp there.

Then, on the "share" button on Safari's bar select: "Add to dock"

Then you have a Whatsapp white and green icon that opens Whatsapp web but pretty much looks like the app and it's not laggy :)


Hope it helps!

Dec 15, 2024 10:21 AM in response to Platypus4

Don't you think it's relevant that we put our faith in Apple to be offering us improvements to our user experiences when they offer these software updates - and more or less encourage us to go for it - that they shouldn't f#$% up our work flow? Blame it on whatsapp? Yes of course whatsapp now has to adapt, but this was apple's change. I'm just surprised your trying to excuse them. Yes, they have a difficult job, but don't make changes if you're not confident it's actually going to improve our experience.

Sequoia 15.1 is slows iMessage & WhatsApp keyboard input

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