Develop Module Performance Regression (Mac)

Hi Adobe Team,

I’m posting this as a clear performance regression report for Lightroom Classic v15.x — specifically the Develop module image-to-image switching latency on Mac. REALLY SLOW.

Please do not merge this thread into a generic “performance” megathread and then mark it as “Solved” as if nothing happened. Multiple users are reporting the same behaviour, and it deserves a proper investigation and acknowledgement (instead of being dismissed as an “NVIDIA driver” issue — this is Apple Silicon).

What’s happening

On Lightroom Classic v15.2, switching between photos in Develop is several times slower than in previous versions. This is not a minor “feels slower” issue — it’s a real, repeatable regression that drastically impacts professional workflows.

My setup

• MacBook Pro (M3 Max)

• macOS v26.2

• Lightroom Classic v15.2

• Preferences → Performance → Graphics Processor: ALL acceleration options manually enabled (not Auto)

Proof / Reproduction

To remove any subjectivity, I recorded screen videos before and after upgrading, using:

• The same photo set

• The same workflow

• Repeatedly switching images in Develop

The difference is obvious: v15.2 is multiple times slower in Develop switching.

Screen recordings (Dropbox):

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/1q7c9a040lj6ksa5idcus/AJceeDNsuROpXI0cQWcPTao?rlkey=e85n29470d6wlaf9wfm7ale7e&dl=0

Additional reference (possible lead)

Another user has done some investigation and found a potentially related issue involving extra background processes being triggered when switching tools / panels (e.g., collapsing/opening panels). This may be connected to the Develop module slowdown we’re seeing in v15.x.

Reference thread:

https://community.adobe.com/questions-675/extra-processes-called-in-tools-switching-panels-collapsing-opening-1553359

It would be great if the engineering team could review this as a potential lead while investigating the Develop performance regression.

Impact

I’ve had to roll back to v14.5.1, because the speed difference is simply too big. Editing and color grading a set of photos takes me around 3x longer, which is completely inefficient — and when you’re working through hundreds of images, it becomes a total disaster.

Request

Can Adobe please:

1. Acknowledge the Develop module regression in v15.x (Mac)

2. Provide a status update / tracking ID

3. Share any known workarounds (if any) while it’s being fixed

Thanks — I really hope this gets treated as an actual bug/performance regression instead of being merged away.