User level: Level 1 (4 points)Why are OS 27.0.1 and Safari 27.0.1 so clunky and slow? This update has ruined "ease of use" for my M5 MacBook Air. Even apple.com pages (including this one) take multiple attempts to even start trying to load.
Posted on Oct 3, 2026 10:58 AM
User level: Level 9 (72,871 points)Oct 3, 2026 11:22 AM in response to Capn Pat
Runaway processes and low free storage space are common reasons for Macs and applications like Safari to run slow / beachball.
It is possible there are processes running in the background that are using significant resources. Check Activity Monitor, CPU tab (sort by % CPU) and Memory tab (sort by Memory) to see what's running hard.
Activity Monitor User Guide for Mac - Apple Support
Confirm that you have sufficient free space on your internal storage. The absolute minimum is ~20-25 GB free space, and as a rule of thumb you should aim to have 15-20% of your total internal storage as free space. You can check the amount of free space you have on your Mac in a variety of ways:
Note that on version of macOS prior to Golden Gate, the ‘available’ space reported with the first two methods above was greater than the ‘free’ space reported by the second two methods. Apple corrected that confusion with Golden Gate, and as shown in the above screenshot, the available/free space is consistent across the different methods. For more details, see this User Tip.
Some steps to take to safely free up space:
Free up storage space on Mac - Apple Support
Optimize storage space on your Mac - Apple Support
How to free up ‘System Data’ and other st… - Apple Community
If nothing in the above reveals an obvious culprit, then appropriate troubleshooting steps are Safe Mode and creating a new user account to test.
See if the problem is present when you boot in safe mode. That process performs some system cleanup and clears caches, and also disables 3rd party extensions that may cause problems.
Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support
If that does not correct the issue, test in a new user account. A newly-created user account will have all settings at default, and if the issue does not occur in that new account then it provides guidance on what may need to be changed to correct the issue.
Add a user or group on Mac - Apple Support
Once the testing is complete, the new account can easily be deleted.
Delete a user or group on Mac – Apple Support
If you have 3rd party ‘protection’ software installed, that may be the problem. That includes:
Such 3rd party system ‘helpers’, ‘cleaners’ and ‘protectors’ do more harm than good. In fact, such products are completely unnecessary for macOS and the only ‘good’ (if you want to call it that) they do is to put money in the developers’ pockets. Cleaners and protectors cause compatibility issues, often after macOS updates. Commercial VPNs claim to hide your browsing activity from websites, and while that may be true those VPN providers just sell your browsing data to others. For the user, all of these types of software offer only harm…and if that is limited to harm to your bank account, then count yourself lucky. If you have installed such software, follow the developer’s instructions to completely uninstall it (note that some developers fail to provide instructions and their software installs can be pervasive, meaning the only way to truly remove it is to erase your Mac, reinstall macOS then restore your user files from a backup).
It might help to download and run EtreCheck, written by a long-time forum member. The free version is fine. Post the full report using the Additional Text button. No personal information is revealed.
User level: Level 10 (123,805 points)Oct 4, 2026 4:58 AM in response to Capn Pat
The information provided is largely observational and contains limited technical detail.
The comments below are therefore based on the symptoms described and on technical information documented by Apple Support and Apple Developer Documentation, which can be independently verified.
The MacBook Air is described as feeling generally slower or less responsive since the update, while Safari sometimes takes several attempts before an Apple webpage begins loading.
These may be related, but there is not enough information yet to know whether they have the same cause.
Apple documents both general Mac performance problems and Safari issues involving webpages that do not load correctly. Apple Support
For Safari, it would be useful to see whether the problem occurs only with Apple websites or with other websites as well.
Trying the same page in a Safari Private Window or another browser, and temporarily disabling Safari extensions, may help narrow this down.
If applicable, it is also worth checking available storage and temporarily disabling commercial VPNs or other third-party security software.
Apple also recommends considering iCloud Private Relay, proxy or DNS settings, and trying another network when investigating webpage-loading problems. Apple Support
Since the Mac itself is described as slow, Activity Monitor is another useful place to look. It can show whether CPU, memory, disk or network activity is unusually high.
If the problem continues, Safe Mode can help determine whether software that loads during startup is contributing to the slowdown.
If more information is needed, EtreCheck is an optional third-party diagnostic tool that can produce a report covering system configuration, installed software, extensions and background processes.
It can provide useful information for further investigation, but its report should not be treated as a diagnosis by itself.
It makes a coherent and readable inventory of both the Hardware and Software used on the computer
The application is free or paid for added features.
The Report will Not Reveal Any Personal Information.
Post back the Full Report - Share Report >> Copy , then paste >>>> using the Additional Text Icon <<<<
For more technical investigation of Safari, Apple's Web Inspector provides tools for examining webpage loading and performance. Apple Developer Documentation
User level: Level 10 (97,882 points)Oct 4, 2026 5:51 AM in response to Capn Pat
Welcome and thank you for reaching out. 🤗
If you have any antivirus software or Virtual Private Network (VPN) installed, then remove it A.S.A.P. as they interfere with the system operations and performance.
If you don’t have anything like that installed, then try the following:
First, let’s see if this issue happens in Safe Mode:
If the strange behaviors do not occur, then it may possibly be a software issue.
If the issue doesn't continue in safe mode:
Leave safe mode by restarting your Mac normally, then try to reproduce the issue.
If the issue doesn't return, it might have been resolved by the other things that safe mode did at startup, such as checking your disk and clearing caches.
If the problem persists, then let’s try this:
Need more help?
Good luck! 👋🏼😉
Smiliñ 😎 Brian | Community Volunteer
Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256369788