Macbook Pro Retina 13" late 2013 (Haswell) UI Lag

Guys, how come do you believe that this is a software/driver problem? Because, since its introduction rMBP has had 4 model iterations (Mid-2012, Late 2012, Early 2013 and Late 2013) which came with 5 graphics card from two manufacturers (HD 4000, Iris 5100 and Iris Pro 5200 by Intel and GeForce GT 650M and GeForce GT 750M by Nvidia) plus 3 different iterations of OS X (namely Lion, Mountain Lion and Mavericks) and their updates. Not to mention there have been improvements on other hardware aspects, primarily to CPU.

Do you sincerely Apple could and still can obviate the UI lag program despite all these models, iterations and improvements?

IMHO all these evolutions prove that the current hardware, primarily the graphics cards (may be other hardware or even software aspects as well) are not yet ready for retina.

I have mixed feelings about the issue being software or hardware. I do think the GPU is probaby not 100% ready for Retina, but I think it should be able to do a better job than it does right now, with the same hardware.

The ASUS UX301 has the SAME specs than the MacBook Pro (i5-U4200, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, and Intel HD 5100 (Iris) GPU), a high 13.3" screen with a resolution of 2560x1440, and absolutely no lag at all. Which makes me think Apple should be able to update Mavericks/drivers/apps to remove the lag altogether.

Plus, the lag is almost invisible in Safari; so there's definitely a way of optimizing apps to be more compatible with Retina; which makes me hope Chrome/Firefox could do it in a near future.

Yeah, I definitely think its within Mavericks software. Im definitely not returning my 15" maxed out rMBP. I bought it to be used within my cinematography company, a portable editing suite, and it performs perfectly for these tasks. The lag in the UI is definitely a burden and gets on my nerves especially when knowing Ive got 2GB of VRAM to perform these minimal tasks.

Software problem for sure, and IT will be fixed.... In the meantime download RDM (RetinaDisplayMenu) from here

Run in 1920X1200 Non HiDPI and the response is amazing. No Lag whatsoever in anything! And with it at this resolution, the non retina graphics are right on the edge of being un-noticeable. Of course, when starring at the 1920X1200 HiDPI resolution for a few hours, then switching to non-HiDPI, it will be noticeable, but only for a few hours/minutes.

Best solution until apple fixes their UI on OS X

It's my solution too: I abandon Retina and use 1680x1050 non-HiDPI with RDM. I thought about exchanging it for a MacBook Air and save some money, but the MBP has better performance and I can set it to a higher resolution; and ultimately I don't care that much about the $200. Who knows... maybe at some point the Retina lag will be fixed.

Even without Retina, my laptop is worth its $1500 price tag. In the Ultrabook PC world, I wouldn't find an equal build quality/screen quality/specs for the same price. PC laptops with "retina" screen are about $2000, which I'm not ready to pay.

Respect...for refuting my argument. Specs-wise that Asus corresponds to the mid-level 13-inch and therefore other Haswell rMBPs have even better specs. We must note that even those lag because this thread contains lots of complaints from even highest spec'd 15-inch Haswell rMBP owners.

I've just checked the release/shipping date of that PC, which is before the release of the Haswell rMBP. How come Apple, despite the same complaints from the Ivy Bridge rMBP and the existence of same-spec'd PC back then without any UI lag problem, went on and released the Haswell rMBP that has the same problems even with a new OS is beyond reason. Why did not Apple ship Haswell rMBP with an updated Mavericks that has solved the UI lag problem in the first place? Why is Apple overlooking the already-existing complaints since 2012 which must have aggravated with Haswell?

All in all, considering the hardware argument is refuted and how Apple "normally" cares about customer feedback, there seems to be an "abnormal" situation here where Apple deliberately ignores addressing this problem.

I agree with you that there's something abnormal with the situation... but what is it? We'd need the input of hardware AND software engineers at Apple about this... but I bet they won't tell us anything. At the Apple Store basically told me that Firefox and Chrome suck, that I should use Safari. Shame on that answer. And actually most of the Geniuses never noticed the issue in Chrome.

When you think about it, the MBP is probaby not their first priority. They make their money with iPhones and iPads. So, yeah, they have that little retina glitch, they'd have to look into it and spend maybe $100M to fix it, maybe even admit their mistake and recall the existing units... But why? Only power/trained-eye users are complaining about it... they'll silently fix it in 1-2-3 years when technology is better, and never raise the issue they're currently facing.

In the meantime people buy expensive rMBP and will never say it has a problem, so it justifies their purchase. Everybody's happy! Well, except us...

(I'm not better, I'm still hoping it's software-related and could be fixed within 6 months, and that I could resume using HiDPI resolutions.)

Since you have the same configuration as me, would you mind running a quick test? Boot into Safe Mode, then four-finger-swipe left to the Dashboard. When I do that, I get major graphical distortions. Likewise when I open up Mail in Safe Mode, or when I open Chrome.

I don't often use my Mac in Safe Mode, but I do think it's incredibly strange. I reinstalled Mac OS X 10.9, but the issue persists. I created a new user, booted into Safe Mode, and it's the same thing. Took it to the Apple Store, and they said I "may have the wrong build of the OS installed." So they wiped the computer, reinstalled OS X 10.9, and the issue is there again. This seems pretty major to just be a software issue and I'm wondering if it's unique to my machine.

I'm having the same problem with my MabookPro 13inch 120gb/2.6ghz/8gbram.

When I set the resolution to 1680x1050 the UI lags. When I swipe up to go into mission control the animation lags. When I swipe down to multitask between programs the animation lags too. I want a solution for this. It isnt a big problem, but it is very annoying. I want a smooth macbook without any lag..

Hope Apple will update this, because I'm experiencing this since I first got my macbook in November.

I've actually got the same issue as all of you. It came out of no where about a week ago. I even get lag when the dock pops up for use. But I am running:

MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2013)

MacBook Air - model: MacBookAir6,2

1 1.7 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 2 cores

8 GB RAM

Video Information:

Intel HD Graphics 5000 - VRAM: 1024 MB

System Software:

OS X 10.9.1 (13B42) - Uptime: 0 days 0:31:22

My post is not meant to equate our issues but to ask if the fact that I'm having the same issues on a very different machine doesnt point to it being a software issue. A very big software issue. Any fixes anyone miight know of that work for my machine but not the retina would be appreciated.

Issues I'm having that differ for mbp users:

when I connect to an hdtv the lag is still there at all resolutions.

the lag persists at all resolutions on my native screen.

the dock lag

This is another reason for the issue being software related. I will purchase the rMBP and if it has a Samsung screen, I will keep it waiting for apple to fix the bugs.

Here the reason for you problems:

You are planning to run highest resolution along with highest DPI (aka Retina mode).

That's why you all are going to have problems with animation lags!

High DPI will only work smoothly today (Feb’14) with lower resolution. Maybe it's a bug, maybe Apple needs to adjust it's config related to high DPI, or maybe an option for high resolution and high DPI will be available with time in future.

Resolution to your problem:

Get yourself an app called “Display Mode” from the Apple Store and use any resolution but avoid two options with "(Retina)" feature. This will lower the DPI and take it to standard tether then high. This will allow you to run resolution of 2560x1600 without any UI lags.

How normal DPI compares vs high DPI?

It's a tiny bit worst, but performance of you MAC will increase and you will be able to run super high resolution.

A the end of the day, I want to have a small laptop (I just got 13' late 2013, i5, 8gb, 256GB), but I want to squeeze a lot of windows in to the desktop and enjoy a standard smooth UI animations and super high performance.

To obtain all, I just need to sacrifice DPI. For me job done!

I think that if Apple would provide more options in their Display menu these problems would go away as people would have a choice to run high DPI or not and would see a difference on their own.

I’m currently running a resolution of 2048x1280 without any problems with annoying lags and I enjoy my new MacBook Pro 13’ late 2013 model. (I’m not running it higher as I fear that I will go blind:) ).

Enjoy!

Yeah it sounds you've found your workaround but I strongly believe that it is NOT acceptable on a $1,500 laptop...

I searched days on the internet and I found an app that is like display mode but it is free. You can set the resolution on the 13" inch way up to 2560x1600 but the text will be too small. I have set my resolution to 1650x1050. There is no lag and the screen is big enough even when you have to edit movies or photos like I do! This app made my day. I have searched so long to solve this UI lag problem. Hope this works for everyone!

Have a nice day guys!

App name: Display Menu

Hi all!

I've recently had my 15' rmbp late 2013 (with dedicated graphics) replaced at the Genius Bar. On a brand new top-line machine with Samsung screen I still sometimes see the GUI lag. Seriously, don't worry about hardware, as the issue is clearly inside of Mac OS. With 10.9.2 update the preview is almost fixed (no delays when scrolling). Let's keep waiting, Apple clearly knows about the issue and is quietly making improvements. My laptop shows awesome performance in heavy apps like final cut and photoshop (disregarding resizing), and also in games (55-60 fps in bioshock and crysis 3 are pretty good results), and also no scrolling problems in Boot Camp! So just keep waiting, don't forget to send feedback to Apple, I still believe that they will fix this and we all will have great working machines.

Also, thanks for mentioning Display Menu, I'll check it our and see what the result will be.