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Carlos De Carvalho
Known Participant
Aug 1, 2026 5:02 PM UTC
Answered

When will version 16.0 of LRC be released?

I’ve already tried every option to improve or fix the slowness in Lightroom’s Develop module. Nothing worked—nothing at all—except downgrading to an earlier version (but that’s absurd; I pay to have the best).

JohanElzenga
JohanElzengaCorrect answer
Community Expert
Aug 1, 2026 5:21 PM UTC

Adobe never comments on future developments, but the new yearly version is usually launched around Adobe MAX, which is Nov 10-12, 2026.

-- Johan W. Elzenga

13 replies

Known Participant
Nov 9, 2026 9:49 AM UTC

There is this thread indicating that too many presets may be a problem.   https://www.reddit.com/r/Lightroom/comments/1xqu07t/finally_found_the_reason_why_lrc_15_was_slow_af/

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Thor Egil Leirtrø Freelance concert photographer - thoregilphoto.com
SdeGat
Inspiring
Nov 7, 2026 10:14 PM UTC

I’m with you ​@Carlos De Carvalho. I even replaced/upgraded my computer to improve LrC’s performance.

Not.

Despite the many advices received here and elsewhere, hitting D for develop still takes many seconds for the slider to respond (becoming not grayed out). And so on.

I can’ t wait to get something better...

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Carlos De Carvalho
Known Participant
Aug 3, 2026 3:35 PM UTC

I'm on the verge of cancelling the subscription. Unfortunately.

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dj_paige
Legend
Aug 3, 2026 4:49 PM UTC

I'm on the verge of cancelling the subscription. Unfortunately.

Of course, Adobe will release the next version whenever it feels it is ready, and not sooner. I doubt anything said in this forum will cause them to speed up. If a few people will cancel their subscription before the next version comes out, that probably isn’t even relevant to Adobe’s decision making.

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Carlos De Carvalho
Known Participant
Aug 3, 2026 6:15 PM UTC

And you're right! They hold the monopoly. They don't care.

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Carlos De Carvalho
Known Participant
Aug 3, 2026 3:33 PM UTC

The problem is extremely serious—the slowness is absurd. It is impossible to work with LRc. Impossible! I’ve tried every single one—I repeat: *every single one*—of the solutions proposed by Adobe... the only one that works is downgrading. But downgrading is absurd to me! I pay to have the best. I haven't used LRc for my wedding photos in six months. It’s impossible to edit 2,000 photos with that 3-to-5-second lag between shots! I’ve been using Capture One for six months; it’s what’s "saving" me. I wonder how a company like Adobe has been struggling for over six or seven months to find a solution.
My system: Windows 11, Ryzen 7 5700X, 48GB RAM, RTX 5060 GPU (8GB VRAM), updated driver (Studio version).

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JohanElzenga
Community Expert
Community Expert
Aug 1, 2026 9:36 PM UTC

I agree. I only answered the direct question, but it is of course pure speculation that the next version of Lightroom Classic 15 will not address this issue, but Lightroom Classic 16 will. 

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-- Johan W. Elzenga
Conrad_C
Community Expert
Community Expert
Aug 1, 2026 8:00 PM UTC

Although the next major version is usually released around the time of the Adobe MAX, if the question is about performance, those problems are sometimes addressed between major releases. Sometimes performance bugs are fixed in a minor update, and many times they have introduced significant performance enhancements between major releases.

For example:

  • GPU acceleration for export was added in Lightroom Classic 11.4 (not 12).
  • GPU acceleration for previews was added in Lightroom Classic 14.5 (not 15).
  • Apple Neural Engine acceleration for AI Denoise was enabled in Lightroom Classic 13.4 (not 14), disabled due to bugs, then re-enabled in Lightroom Classic 15.4 (not 16).

 

So, you could see an improvement before Lightroom Classic 16…but only if they work on the exact problem affecting your configuration. Because other configurations (like my MacBook Pro) run smoothly as it is.

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crikeyrao
Participating Frequently
Aug 1, 2026 6:34 PM UTC

I get why thats frustrating especially if an older version is the only one that feels smooth Hopefully the next major release brings some performance improvements because going backwards really shouldnt be the best fix

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johnrellis
Legend
Aug 1, 2026 6:15 PM UTC

Building on Johan’s reply, Adobe releases a new version (*) of LR about every eight weeks. LR 15.4 was released June 18, so we might see LR 15.5 around August 13.

 

Eight weeks from August 13 is October 8, but as Johan stated, Adobe usually delays releasing the next major version (LR 16) until Adobe Max, which starts November 10 this year.

 

(*) Adobe often releases “patches”, e.g 15.4.1, in the middle of the eight-week cycle to fix urgent bugs.

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JohanElzenga
Community Expert
JohanElzengaCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
Aug 1, 2026 5:21 PM UTC

Adobe never comments on future developments, but the new yearly version is usually launched around Adobe MAX, which is Nov 10-12, 2026.

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-- Johan W. Elzenga