[astrange]

There is probably something wrong with the machine. If it's M1 it really shouldn't be slow unless it's under serious memory pressure. If it's Intel, it's more possible, but could still be dust in the fans or low disk space or such things.

[dannyw]

Since recent versions, macOS now phones home and gets apple's permission over the internet before allowing you to open a binary. This is a synchronous blocking operation.

If your ping is 30ms, you don't notice it.

If your ping is 300ms due to say weak wifi, you do notice a 300ms wait when you open an app.

[astrange]

Above post didn't say anything about app launches. There was a popular blog post about that, but it doesn't mean it applies to every issue.

[kbenson]

It doesn't need to apply to above post, it can apply just as well to your statement that it means there's something wrong with the machine if it's an M1. If a slow or laggy connection affects responsiveness in launching desktop apps, that's definitely a reason it could feel slower that doesn't mean there's something wrong, as it would be completely by design.

[threeseed]

I don't know how a 300ms delay for a first-time app launch would render a machine unusable and requiring regular restarts.