Skip to main content
Participant
September 11, 2025
Answered

MacOs Tahoe, MacOS 26

  • September 11, 2025
  • 19 replies
  • 38238 views

Has anyone tried Mac OS 26 RC? Are Lightroom, Photoshop, and the Creative Cloud app now compatible with Mac OS 26? I've never updated a Mac major version since I switched to MAC, so I don't know if it's worth waiting for it to work reliably and stably, or if I can just go straight to the new system on September 15th. Thank you in advance for your answers.

Correct answer Conrad_C

A good thing to do is bookmark the Adobe compatibility article link below, and check on it until it’s updated to cover macOS 26 Tahoe. It lists the last few versions of macOS, indicates which versions of Creative Cloud apps are claimed to be compatible, and any known issues. The Known Issues column is pretty quiet now, but when macOS 15 was first released there were a lot more items in there.

Adobe apps compatibility with macOS

 

In addition, Adobe may post an article specifically about macOS 26 alone, similar to the one below that they posted for macOS 15 Sequoia:

https://helpx.adobe.com/ie/download-install/kb/macos-sequoia-compatibility-common-issues.html

 

Those articles may or may not be updated on the day macOS 26 is released. Realistically it may take a few days or even weeks. This is because Adobe is like a lot of software companies in that they tend not to declare compatibility until they have had time to test with the final .0 release of a major new macOS upgrade. They often won’t declare compatibility based on beta OS test versions because even though all major software companies test their software on those, in the past some did claim compatibility early but ended up burned by new OS bugs that turned up in the .0 release that were not in the last test version and broke the software.

 

Every time there is a major OS upgrade, if you have workflows that you can’t afford to have new software break, the best thing to do is not upgrade until you have seen compatibility statements from all of the companies making all of the software you use. That includes the companies who made your accessories, like printers or other special hardware that depend on device drivers that must be compatible with macOS 26 too. If you need absolute certainty for your specific combination of software and hardware, create a test macOS 26 system to boot from (such as on an external SSD) and test out everything that needs to work, before installing macOS 26 on your production Mac.

 

I usually wait several months before upgrading, and that means everything keeps working. By the time I get around to upgrading, all the software and drivers I use have had time to iron out any bugs related to the new OS.

 

[I edited this reply a few days after originally posting it, to add a better link about macOS compatibility]

19 replies

OBender
Participating Frequently
September 21, 2025

Can confirm that Lightroom Classic is unusably slow in my M1/64GB after updating to MacOS 26

Participant
September 21, 2025

As soon as I updated to MAC OS 26 Tahoe, my Acrobat is "RIDICULOUSLY SLOW"! I can be editing a PDF and add a text annotation to a PDF and it will literally take between 1 and 3 seconds for each letter to register after I have already typed in the annotation paragraph. UGG> HELP!!!

Ian Lyons
Community Expert
Community Expert
September 21, 2025

@bobc999 

 

You've posted in the Lightroom Classic forum. I suggest that you raise your issue in the Adobe Acrobat forum.

Legend
September 16, 2025

One caveat if you have a Wacom tablet. The latest tablet driver 6.4.10-3 is having issues, Wacom recommends installing the previous 6.4.9-2 driver version. I ran into this on my Intel MacBook Pro but I didn't see the issue on M1 and M3 Macs in very limited testing.

Known Participant
September 16, 2025

Thank you ExUSA. 
Today I upgraded to MacOS 26.0, Lightroom and Photoshop worked fine, until I saw your suggestion : indeed, Wacom tablet not working properly.  Removed old driver and software, installed 6.4.9-2 and everything is fine now. 

Upgrading the OS is always a risk ..... 

kevinz91
Participant
September 16, 2025

I would not recommend updating to macOS 26 right now. Since the update, Lightroom has become extremely slow.
I’m on a MacBook Pro M3 Pro with 32 GB RAM, and I can rule out other causes — everything was running fast and smooth before the update.

Legend
September 16, 2025

I updated my M1 mini last night and Lightroom Classic/Photoshop seem to be working normally, no problems.

Participant
September 16, 2025

is after effects 24 also compatible with macos 26? 

Participant
September 13, 2025

I dear you not to update to that macOS Tahoe 26. It is not compatible with adobe applications and takes so much time just to zoom or select a tool. It slows down everything including the adobe applications and the fan turn so loud that it can even wake your neighbours from sleep. 

Participant
September 15, 2025

Hey,

which Macbook model you use? 

Participant
September 15, 2025
M4max 64g ram 4T ssd 16’

>From my iphone
System: MacBook Pro M4 Max(64gRam/4T SSD), Adobe CC, Lightroom Classic, Ps, Ps BETA
Bertd
Inspiring
September 12, 2025

No not tried yet but according to the experience with Sequia it will take several months that they wave the green flag. Although 2 months is acceptable so hopefully Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign will run smoothly very soon.

Legend
September 11, 2025

Most showstopper bugs are found and addressed in the beta period. Having said that, I'll probably wait a short time before updating my production machines at home and work. I've been running the Tahoe beta on my M3 MacBook Air without problems and haven't seen reports of major issues online. 

Conrad_C
Community Expert
Conrad_CCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
September 11, 2025

A good thing to do is bookmark the Adobe compatibility article link below, and check on it until it’s updated to cover macOS 26 Tahoe. It lists the last few versions of macOS, indicates which versions of Creative Cloud apps are claimed to be compatible, and any known issues. The Known Issues column is pretty quiet now, but when macOS 15 was first released there were a lot more items in there.

Adobe apps compatibility with macOS

 

In addition, Adobe may post an article specifically about macOS 26 alone, similar to the one below that they posted for macOS 15 Sequoia:

https://helpx.adobe.com/ie/download-install/kb/macos-sequoia-compatibility-common-issues.html

 

Those articles may or may not be updated on the day macOS 26 is released. Realistically it may take a few days or even weeks. This is because Adobe is like a lot of software companies in that they tend not to declare compatibility until they have had time to test with the final .0 release of a major new macOS upgrade. They often won’t declare compatibility based on beta OS test versions because even though all major software companies test their software on those, in the past some did claim compatibility early but ended up burned by new OS bugs that turned up in the .0 release that were not in the last test version and broke the software.

 

Every time there is a major OS upgrade, if you have workflows that you can’t afford to have new software break, the best thing to do is not upgrade until you have seen compatibility statements from all of the companies making all of the software you use. That includes the companies who made your accessories, like printers or other special hardware that depend on device drivers that must be compatible with macOS 26 too. If you need absolute certainty for your specific combination of software and hardware, create a test macOS 26 system to boot from (such as on an external SSD) and test out everything that needs to work, before installing macOS 26 on your production Mac.

 

I usually wait several months before upgrading, and that means everything keeps working. By the time I get around to upgrading, all the software and drivers I use have had time to iron out any bugs related to the new OS.

 

[I edited this reply a few days after originally posting it, to add a better link about macOS compatibility]

Participant
September 11, 2025

Thanks for the useful advice and the link, I'll wait and watch for reactions.

System: MacBook Pro M4 Max(64gRam/4T SSD), Adobe CC, Lightroom Classic, Ps, Ps BETA
AxelMatt
Community Expert
Community Expert
September 11, 2025
quote

Has anyone tried Mac OS 26 RC? Are Lightroom, Photoshop, and the Creative Cloud app now compatible with Mac OS 26? ...


By @moordavidphoto

 

I think Adobe applications are running on MacOS 26, but I doubt if it's running without any issues. 

 

quote

..., so I don't know if it's worth waiting for it to work reliably and stably, or if I can just go straight to the new system on September 15th. Thank you in advance for your answers.


By @moordavidphoto

 

I would never update immediately after a new operating system version is released. It usually takes one or two updates until it runs reasonably smoothly. Especially you're using your system for your business.

 

My System: Intel i7-8700K - 64GB RAM - NVidia Geforce RTX 3060 - Windows 11 Pro 25H2 -- LR-Classic 15 - Photoshop 27 - Nik Collection 8 - PureRAW 5 - Topaz Photo
Legend
September 11, 2025

I used to work for Apple and IS&T usually updated everything on release day. FWIW.