Photoshop 2026 – GPU-Related Tone Banding and Shadow Rendering Issues

Title:
Photoshop 2026 (v27.11) – GPU-Related Tone Banding and Shadow Rendering Issues on Apple M4 Max (16-bit Adobe RGB)

BUG REPORT

Application: Adobe Photoshop 2026
Version: 27.11
Operating System: macOS
Processor / GPU: Apple M4 Max
Image Bit Depth: 16 bits/channel
Color Profile: Adobe RGB (1998)
Reference Application: Adobe Photoshop 2025

1. ISSUE SUMMARY

I have identified a significant difference in tonal rendering between Adobe Photoshop 2025 and Photoshop 2026 (v27.11) when opening the exact same image file.

While Photoshop 2025 displays smooth and continuous tonal gradations, Photoshop 2026 exhibits visible tone banding and inconsistent shadow rendering.

The main issues include:

- Visible tone banding in areas that should display smooth tonal transitions.
- Differences in shadow gradation and subtle tonal separation.
- Inconsistent visual rendering between Photoshop 2025 and Photoshop 2026 despite using identical image data.

Most importantly, disabling GPU acceleration in Photoshop 2026 significantly improves these issues.

This suggests a potential problem involving GPU-accelerated image rendering, compositing, or display color management in Photoshop 2026.

2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

2.1. Tone Banding

In Photoshop 2025, tonal transitions appear smooth and continuous.

However, when the same image is opened in Photoshop 2026 (v27.11), visible banding appears in areas that should display gradual tonal transitions.

This occurs even though the image is a 16-bit document using the Adobe RGB (1998) color profile.

Accurate gradation rendering is essential for professional photographic editing, making this issue particularly concerning.

2.2. Shadow Gradation and Rendering

In addition to tone banding, Photoshop 2026 displays noticeable differences in shadow rendering compared with Photoshop 2025.

Subtle tonal transitions in darker regions appear different between the two versions.

These inconsistencies make it difficult to accurately evaluate shadow detail, tonal separation, and overall image contrast during editing.

2.3. Relationship to GPU Acceleration

To investigate the issue, I disabled GPU acceleration in Photoshop 2026 through the following setting:

Photoshop > Settings > Performance > Use Graphics Processor > Disabled

After disabling GPU acceleration, the previously observed rendering issues improved significantly.

This behavior suggests that the problem may be associated with GPU-accelerated rendering or the interaction between GPU processing and color management.

However, the specific cause has not yet been identified.

3. STEPS TO REPRODUCE

1. Launch Adobe Photoshop 2025.

2. Open a 16-bit image using the Adobe RGB (1998) color profile.

3. Examine areas containing smooth tonal gradients and subtle shadow transitions.

4. Launch Adobe Photoshop 2026 (v27.11).

5. Open the exact same image file.

6. Compare the tonal transitions and shadow rendering between the two versions.

7. Observe the visible tone banding and differences in shadow gradation in Photoshop 2026.

8. In Photoshop 2026, navigate to Settings > Performance and disable "Use Graphics Processor."

9. Verify that the tonal rendering issues improve when GPU acceleration is disabled.

4. TEST RESULTS

Photoshop 2025:
Normal configuration
Result: Smooth tonal gradations and normal shadow rendering.

Photoshop 2026 (v27.11):
GPU acceleration enabled
Result: Visible tone banding and inconsistent shadow rendering.

Photoshop 2026 (v27.11):
GPU acceleration disabled
Result: Significant improvement in tonal rendering.

The most important finding is that disabling GPU acceleration in Photoshop 2026 improves the issue.

This strongly suggests a relationship between the observed rendering differences and the GPU-accelerated display pipeline.

Individual GPU advanced settings have not yet been independently tested.

5. EXPECTED BEHAVIOR

When displaying identical image data under equivalent color management conditions, Photoshop 2025 and Photoshop 2026 should produce consistent tonal rendering.

Specifically:

- Smooth gradients should remain continuous without introducing visible banding.
- Shadow details and subtle tonal transitions should be rendered consistently.
- Enabling GPU acceleration should not introduce visible tonal artifacts.
- Updating Photoshop should not significantly alter the visual interpretation of existing image files.

6. IMPACT ON PROFESSIONAL WORKFLOW

This issue directly affects the reliability of professional photographic editing.

Accurate tonal reproduction is essential when performing detailed adjustments to shadows, contrast, and tonal curves.

Because Photoshop 2026 produces different visual results depending on whether GPU acceleration is enabled, it becomes difficult to determine whether the displayed image accurately represents the underlying image data.

Although disabling GPU acceleration improves the problem, it may negatively affect performance and GPU-dependent features.

Therefore, disabling GPU acceleration is not an ideal permanent solution.

7. INVESTIGATION REQUESTED

I would appreciate clarification and investigation regarding the following points.

1. Changes to GPU Rendering in Photoshop 2026

Were there any changes to GPU-accelerated image rendering, compositing, tonal processing, or color management between Photoshop 2025 and Photoshop 2026, particularly on Apple Silicon systems?

2. 16-Bit Image Rendering Accuracy

Are there any known issues affecting GPU-accelerated rendering of 16-bit Adobe RGB (1998) images on Apple M4 Max systems?

3. Shadow Gradation Differences

What could cause the same image to display different shadow gradations in Photoshop 2025 and Photoshop 2026?

Could this behavior be associated with GPU compositing, display precision, or ICC color profile processing?

4. Resolution Without Disabling GPU Acceleration

Is there a known workaround, recommended GPU configuration, or planned update that would restore accurate tonal rendering while keeping GPU acceleration enabled?

8. CONCLUSION

Adobe Photoshop 2026 (v27.11) exhibits visible differences in tonal rendering compared with Photoshop 2025 when displaying the exact same 16-bit Adobe RGB (1998) image.

The primary symptoms are:

- Visible tone banding in otherwise smooth gradients.
- Inconsistent shadow gradation and rendering.
- Significant improvement when GPU acceleration is disabled.

Although the root cause has not been determined, the observed behavior indicates a possible issue with Photoshop 2026's GPU-accelerated rendering pipeline.

It has not yet been established whether the problem affects the underlying image data or is limited to on-screen rendering.

I respectfully request that Adobe investigate this issue, particularly the GPU rendering behavior in Photoshop 2026 (v27.11) on Apple M4 Max systems.

Accurate and consistent tonal reproduction is essential for professional photographic workflows, and I would appreciate a solution that maintains full GPU acceleration without compromising image display accuracy.

Thank you for your attention to this issue.


[Moved to Photoshop by a moderator］