I filed FB24725256 with a live macOS Bluetooth diagnostic, Sysdiagnose, and System Information Report.
Environment:
- MacBook Pro (Mac17,6), Apple M5 Max, 128 GB RAM
- macOS 26.5 (25F71)
- AirPods Pro 3, firmware 8B41
- AirPods selected for both input and output because microphone input is required for dictation and voice typing
Problem: Bluetooth playback repeatedly stutters and cuts out during sustained local development and AI-agent workloads. The AirPods signal is strong (roughly -46 to -52 RSSI), and the Mac remains otherwise usable.
Unified logs recorded repeated AudioSkywalkReadLoop overwait events in bluetoothd, commonly 50–69 ms and previously up to 795 ms. CoreAudio also reported HALS_OverloadMessage failures because a client exceeded its I/O-cycle budget and a safety violation occurred.
Steps to reproduce:
- Connect AirPods Pro and keep them selected for input and output.
- Stream audio.
- Run sustained CPU- and memory-intensive development work, such as multiple builds, browser workloads, simulators, or local AI agents.
- Observe repeated playback interruptions as CPU load and memory compression increase.
Expected: macOS should protect real-time CoreAudio and Bluetooth transport deadlines on this hardware without requiring productive work to be paused or throttled. The same AirPods stream reliably from much smaller Apple devices; Apple's highest-end Mac should maintain audio continuity too. This is a platform-quality failure on a high-end Mac.
This appears related to longstanding reports:
- Simulator/Xcode causing AirPods distortion: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/668170
- CoreAudio overloads and dropouts associated with memory pressure: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/677383
- Bluetooth headset interruptions on newer macOS releases: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/763848
If you can reproduce this, please boost this thread and file your own Feedback Assistant report with fresh Bluetooth logs and a Sysdiagnose. Include the exact occurrence time and reference FB24725256 so Apple can connect the reports.I filed FB24725256 with a live macOS Bluetooth diagnostic, Sysdiagnose, and System Information Report.
Environment:
- MacBook Pro (Mac17,6), Apple M5 Max, 128 GB RAM
- macOS 26.5 (25F71)
- AirPods Pro 3, firmware 8B41
- AirPods selected for both input and output because microphone input is required for dictation and voice typing
Problem: Bluetooth playback repeatedly stutters and cuts out during sustained local development and AI-agent workloads. The AirPods signal is strong (roughly -46 to -52 RSSI), and the Mac remains otherwise usable.
Unified logs recorded repeated AudioSkywalkReadLoop overwait events in bluetoothd, commonly 50–69 ms and previously up to 795 ms. CoreAudio also reported HALS_OverloadMessage failures because a client exceeded its I/O-cycle budget and a safety violation occurred.
Steps to reproduce:
- Connect AirPods Pro and keep them selected for input and output.
- Stream audio.
- Run sustained CPU- and memory-intensive development work, such as multiple builds, browser workloads, simulators, or local AI agents.
- Observe repeated playback interruptions as CPU load and memory compression increase.
Expected: macOS should protect real-time CoreAudio and Bluetooth transport deadlines on this hardware without requiring productive work to be paused or throttled. The same AirPods stream reliably from much smaller Apple devices; Apple's highest-end Mac should maintain audio continuity too. This is a platform-quality failure on a high-end Mac.
This appears related to longstanding reports:
- Simulator/Xcode causing AirPods distortion: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/668170
- CoreAudio overloads and dropouts associated with memory pressure: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/677383
- Bluetooth headset interruptions on newer macOS releases: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/763848
If you can reproduce this, please boost this thread and file your own Feedback Assistant report with fresh Bluetooth logs and a Sysdiagnose. Include the exact occurrence time and reference FB24725256 so Apple can connect the reports.