The future of 1Password's Native Mac App?

fgrau
fgrau
Community Member

When I started using 1P one very important reason was the native experience in OSX. With storing more and more important things over the years, an almost instantaneous (and therefore native) experience became even more important to me. 1P mini was a great invention and I'm using it ever since many times a day.

However it feels that starting with the switch to cloud/subscriptions the native Mac app is not as much of a priority anymore as it used to be, mainly showing in 1P's performance: Both the main app and 1P mini seemed to start performing worse and worse with every update and nowadays both feel almost sluggish (2019 16" MBP here). When trying to unlock 1P with my fingerprint it takes 1-2 seconds after pressing the button until the fingerprint prompt appears. The buttery smooth unlock animation, which always seemed to be (at least to me) a testament to 1P's mission to provide the best possible user experience on a Mac, is now stuttery or sometimes skipped completely. Scrolling through items can be slow and editing items might result in a few milliseconds of wait time.

I always brushed off those looming thoughts of doom, but when I yesterday switched to another browser and therefore had to re-install the 1P extensions I noticed, that nowadays 1Password X is the default "extension" and the old extension ("app required") is now hidden behind a deliberately smaller and harder to notice link called "classic extension". That does not boost confidence at all.

So, how did we arrive at this situation and what are your plans for the native apps in general?


1Password Version: Not Provided
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: Not Provided
Sync Type: Not Provided

Comments

  • ag_ana
    ag_ana
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @fgrau!

    Our developers are investigating some performance issues with the latest 1Password for Mac app, so it is possible that you have encountered them too, so I would not read too much into it, since we have no plans to remove the native apps.

    The latest beta already contains some improvements, if you would like to give that a try and see if that improves the situation for you too:

    Use 1Password beta releases

  • Tea_Elem
    Tea_Elem
    Community Member

    I'm also on a 2019 16" MBP, 1P 7.7, Big Sur 11.2. I have a family subscription, 237 items stored over 7 years.

    1P's performance, especially around 1P mini and Touch ID unlock is so poor that I am literally researching alternatives right now. 1 to 2 seconds is a kind estimate in my experience. Sometimes lately I put my finger on the sensor and literally nothing happens. Then I realize that the program wasn't ready for my fingerprint yet, so I lift my finger and place it again. It's sad.

    Maybe somebody knows about a company statement to the effect of, our next update is 100% focused on performance . . . ?

  • @Tea_Elem

    As Ana, mentioned in the post above yours, the development team is investigating reports such as this. That said, I have the same Mac specs you do, and I do not experience the same problem. Though my total items are in the several thousands over 13 years with multiple vaults. I would recommend giving the beta a try. If needed you can always stop the beta and return to a stable release. Though any improvements would also go away until the beta is released.

    If after trying the beta you find the you still experience issues I would suggest the following steps.

    • Make sure all of your Macs are using the latest beta if you have more than one.
    1. Disable whichever unlock method(s) you're using there -- Touch ID and/or Apple Watch unlock -- completely from within 1Password Preferences > Security and in System Preferences

    2. Check for any apply any remaining macOS updates -- https://support.apple.com/HT201541

    3. If you have not done so already on any applicable Mac(s), do an SMC reset: https://support.apple.com/HT201295

    4. Restart your Mac(s) normally -- if you have more than one Mac, do not proceed to the next step until you've updated each one

    5. Setup your preferred unlock method(s) again: Touch ID https://support.1password.com/touch-id-mac/ or Apple Watch https://support.1password.com/apple-watch-mac/

  • Tea_Elem
    Tea_Elem
    Community Member

    Thank you! Actually I regret the "bleating into the empty wilderness" tone of my earlier post. I didn't realize that some kind of blocker was keeping me from seeing any comments, and I hadn't read Ana's reply.

    I've since installed the beta. It seems . . . a bit better? I'll use it a while longer to get a better sense of it, and then follow the steps you've outlined.

  • @Tea_Elem

    No worries. Sometimes it good just to let it out. :chuffed: Please do let us know how it goes. We are trying to work through this as diligently as possible and come out on the other side with a solution for all of us. Please feel free to write at any time.

  • Tea_Elem
    Tea_Elem
    Community Member

    The latest beta update has restored 1P mini / Touch ID performance to "pleasingly snappy." TY!

  • ag_ana
    ag_ana
    1Password Alumni

    Thank you for the update @Tea_Elem, I am happy to hear that :)

This discussion has been closed.