Free Transform issue in Photoshop 26.10 – aspect ratio not maintained by default

Hello,

After updating to Photoshop version 26.10, I noticed an unexpected change in the behavior of the Free Transform tool.

In previous versions, Free Transform would maintain the aspect ratio by default when dragging from the corners, which is the workflow I’m used to. But in version 26.10, the object now transforms without keeping the aspect ratio unless I manually hold Shift — and sometimes the behavior feels reversed (Shift toggles the opposite). This has made the workflow confusing and less practical.

- I already checked that “Use Legacy Free Transform” is unchecked.
- I also made sure the link/lock icon (Maintain Aspect Ratio) is active in the options bar.
- Despite these checks, the issue persists in version 26.10.

Could someone confirm if this is an intended change in Photoshop 26.10, or if it’s a bug that needs fixing?

I really hope Adobe restores the previous default behavior where aspect ratio is preserved automatically, as this change is very disruptive for design work.

Thank you.