Slow Photoshop Elements 2026

I’m so sorry you’re still having this issue. I’m looking at my computer right now as I have the same as yours. I have the same update, mine also is M1. My memory is 8 GB. I have 245.11GB of storage left so that’s plenty. Reloading the software did the trick for me. Sometimes there is a two second lag here and there but not enough to toss the computer across the room like before. 🤪. I’ve often wanted to try another program so I check out the trials offered. Canva is supposed to be pretty good. I’m in the middle of a big project so I don’t have the time to be frustrated with the whole learning process. There is still plenty in Photoshop that I don’t even use or know how to use. Really hoping you figure something out because These computers can really frustrate you and ruin your whole day. 
Bonnie

I'm having the same problem with Photoshop Elements 2026 since having to upgrade from a much earlier version. Cropping anything is agonisingly sluggish. Have tried all the suggestions on this page. The only thing that worked - temporarily - was uninstalling and reinstalling the program. It wasn’t long before it became very slow again.

I’m on an Apple M1 Pro with 32 GB of RAM. Tahoe 26.6.2. Might have to look at something other than Adobe, after all these years.

I had that problem. It kept getting slower and slower. I tried all the fixes that were posted and was about to give up using it.  Then I decided to reinstall the latest app. I used Adobe’s uninstall then downloaded the latest version.  It worked.  The crop is now instant.  No delay at all.

Try reinstalling it. 

I have stopped using 2026 PS ELEMENTS and gone back to 2025 version  it was a total waste of money I think it’s the AI installed. I won’t be upgrading again. 

Having the exact same problem. When I try to resize something it can sometimes take up to 20 seconds. It’s almost unusable!

I am having performance issues as well. I was running the 2021 version of PSE on my MacBook Air M2 8g ram with few issues. (it would randomly crash all the time but work flow was pretty decent). I upgraded my MacBook to Tahoe and was forced to get the 2026 version of PSE since 2021 version was not supported. I noticed a significant change in how fast PSE ran. Almost every single time I tried to resize something its was a good 5-6 seconds or longer before I could perform any other action. The square paint brushes are no longer are square, they fade out to nothing on the bottom right corner. Resizing things, the constrain perportion button automatically unchecks it self every single time I make an adjustment. It's just a nightmare to use and its riddled with bugs. So I bought a brand new MacBook Air M4 with 24g of ram, thinking this would fix the issues. There was no improvement in the performance. I completely uninstalled PSE and reinstalled. Made sure everything is up to date. Tweaked settings. Nothing helps. Im stuck with this trash software that take 10x as long to do what I need to do. Im so frustrated. 

Yes. It also goes crazy when cropping an image. 

Got the same problem on a Window 11 Laptop, only started slowing down this week...so painfully slow on organiser, editor, loading photos and there is a lag on any edits

yes. Extremely slow (like 30 seconds) after doing a cut and past and moving and the same after trying to crop.  Big issue. Needs sorting ASAP Adobe / Apple

I hate this new elements 26. everytime I make a move it freezes up. Im ready to delete the whole program and reinstall. Would that help? This is really unacceptable.