[Known Bug] Pixelmator Pro performance issues on certain 2016, 2017, and 2018 Mac models running macOS 10.14.3

[Andrius]

Hey everyone, in one of the final beta versions of 10.14.3, we started noticing Pixelmator Pro was experiencing performance issues on certain Mac models, namely certain 2016, 2017, 2018 Mac computers with integrated Intel GPUs (listed below). Unfortunately, this issue is also present in the full public release of 10.14.3 — we've reported this to the folks at Apple and they're working on a fix. In the meantime, we're also looking for workarounds.

If you're using one of these computers and also use Pixelmator Pro, it would be best to hold off on updating to 10.14.3.

We'll update this thread once we have any news about potential improvements or fixes, either from our side or in macOS.

If you have any other questions, feel free to post them here or you can also always reach us at support@pixelmator.com.

Affected models:

2016, 2017, and 2018 MacBook Pro (with integrated GPUs only)
2018 Mac mini
2018 MacBook Air
2017 MacBook

Update (02/05): We're hearing that a potential fix is on the way, possibly in time for the next beta of 10.14.4.
Update (02/06): We've now found a workaround of our own and released it in our public beta of Pixelmator Pro 1.3.1. You can join that beta program here. This version should go live on the Mac App Store at some point next week.

[Alexandros Raikos]

Just sent a message to your support, unaware there was an active thread. The performance issues are also present on my 2017 MacBook 12". Patiently awaiting for a fix.

[Andrius]

Yes, you're quite right, the issue is basically with a specific GPU and both the 2018 Air and the 2017 MacBook also have it. I've updated the post accordingly.

Sorry for the trouble, these kinds of issues are the worst!

[rr_mator]

Does this bug manifest in this way (among others, probably) -- where, launching the app is fine, but as soon as you open an image, any image, or start from a new blank template, the app and your entire desktop UI freezes (more detail below), no beachball, for about 10s? Once the canvas has been set up, image loaded, the app is otherwise fine.

- 2018 13" MacBook Pro (2.7GHz Core i7, 16GB, integrated Intel Iris Plus 655 GPU)
- macOS 10.14.3
- Pixelmator Pro 1.3

And as for "freezes" I cannot tab or focus another app, or interact with the menu or dock for a solid 5-10s. The only thing still responding is the mouse pointer during that time.

Also, with the CPU history graph going (which pauses during the freeze) there's no unusual spike during this time.

[Andrius]

Does this bug manifest in this way (among others, probably) -- where, launching the app is fine, but as soon as you open an image, any image, or start from a new blank template, the app and your entire desktop UI freezes (more detail below), no beachball, for about 10s? Once the canvas has been set up, image loaded, the app is otherwise fine.

- 2018 13" MacBook Pro (2.7GHz Core i7, 16GB, integrated Intel Iris Plus 655 GPU)
- macOS 10.14.3
- Pixelmator Pro 1.3

And as for "freezes" I cannot tab or focus another app, or interact with the menu or dock for a solid 5-10s. The only thing still responding is the mouse pointer during that time.

Also, with the CPU history graph going (which pauses during the freeze) there's no unusual spike during this time.

Yep, that's pretty much the most common manifestation of this bug!

[Aaron Bielert]

My 2018 Mac mini i3 comes to a complete stop when I open Pixelmator Pro. I just get the beach ball for about 3-4 minutes and then it goes back to normal, but any thing I do inside of Pixelmator Pro the same thing happens again over and over. Using Pixelmator Pro 1.3 with Mojave 10.14.3

[Andrius]

That sounds like the same issue, yes — would you be able to email us about this at support@pixelmator.com, sharing spindump / sysdiagnose files? If you like, we can explain how to obtain them via email.

[Andrius]

Quick update: We're hearing that a potential fix is on the way, possibly in time for the next beta version of 10.14.4. We'll let you know more once we have any concrete news!

[Andrius]

Hey gang, we've now found our own workaround for this issue and released it in our public beta of Pixelmator Pro 1.3.1. You can join that beta program here. This version should go live on the Mac App Store at some point next week.