Slow Editing since Mac OS Update

Forum|Forum|3 months ago
November 6, 2025
2 replies
154 views

I have found the latest iterations of LR too buggy and sluggish to the worst extent i ever experienced. I particularly started noticing this when they inroduced their generative AI feature in the software. It immediately became sluggish. I use a Macbook Air M1 and have always had an almost seamless experience with LR cloud.
My machine is up to date as well as my LR but the experience is so bad that i am considering completely switching from Adobe LR. This would hurt since i just recently renewed my annual subscription but i don't feel like i have a choice.
I wonder if anyone else is experiencing the same and whether Adobe has any plans to improve this experience.
1. LR Version 9.0
2. Mac OS 26
3. Simply trying to upload & edit...both take forever
4. Simply sluggish experience....keeps "loading edit setings" for every image i tswitch to in Edit-mode

macOS

J

Jean Miele

Participating Frequently

Me, too. Unusably slow ever since AI assisted culling, etc. added. Not good.

Claire H.

Community Manager

Hi @Jean Miele, if we could get some more information, we could try to help pinpoint the issue. Could you please send your system information? You can find your system info by going to Help > System Info, copying and pasting it into a text file, and attaching it here. Thanks! ^CH

J

Jean Miele

Participating Frequently

Thank you! Interestingly, the problem goes away when I boot in safe mode, so I don't think it's Lightroom's fault. I haven't been able to figure out what app/extension might be causing the problem, but I ran Etrecheck. Can you look at the Etrecheck report as well as the info you asked for? I appreciate your help!

Etrecheck_report_V2.zip

System_Info.zip

A

Aleke

Community Manager

Hi @Colin jr, welcome to the community!
Could you share a bit more about the issue? When you say the app feels sluggish or takes forever, what exactly do you mean? How long is it taking?
Did these issues start after updating to macOS 26? If so, just a heads-up: the apps haven’t been fully optimized for the latest macOS yet, and the team is working on it.
Also, since you’re using a MacBook Air M1, keep in mind that it operates without a fan, so it can experience thermal throttling during tasks like import, export, preview building, or batch operations that run for several minutes.
If you’d like us to look into this further, could you share your System Info? You can find it in Lightroom under Help > System Info. Just copy the info into a text file and attach it to your response, or share it via Google Drive, WeTransfer, or any file-sharing platform you prefer.
Thanks so much!
Alek

*(If you mention me with an @, like @Aleke, I’ll get a notification and can respond faster.)*

C

Colin jrAuthor

Participant

Hi @Aleke

I have been using the same M1 Air & despite the lack of fans, it handles way better than my previous intel Air with fans.

By slow, i mean the whole process from merely loading the previews and selecting the image i am to work on...it basically has to "load edit settings" for each image. The edits themselves(the cursor shifts) are applied after some seconds so i can hardly view real time changes. I have been using LR for a good while now so kindly take the general picture i am painting, it is simply too slow.
I have had to downgrade to version 8.3 from 9.0 and while the earlier versions are slightly faster, i still have the same challenges.
If you say the app isn't yet well-optimized for MacOS 26, that makes alot of sense. The experience for now is disappointing at best.
I appreciate your feedback nonetheless & PFA the sys info requested..

Sys_info.pdf

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