Slow performance in Illustrator 2025 on Mac Studio M2 Max.

[mvheim]

Mac Studio M2 Max, 32 GB RAM, 2TB SSD, Sonoma 14.7
Adobe Illustrator 2025 29.1

I have many different performance problems in Creative Suite apps on this system. In fact, I find the performance and responsiveness of Illustrator and Photoshop on this new high-end configuration to be no better than on my former 2015-vintage 27in iMac (reluctantly retired after a motherboard failure). These problems affected the 2024 versions and were not improved by the 2025 versions.

The most prominent symptom is the extremely poor menu response. A mouse-click on a menubar item frequently results in a multi-second pause before the menu drops down, sometimes a count of 5 or 6.

Toolbar response is also extremely sluggish. It is often very difficult to get the mini-popup showing the tool options to appear at all, requiring multiple clicks and multi-second response times.

Dragging vector objects in the working window is also very jerky, and it is infuriating that the outlines and bezier points completely disappear from the display while dragging — you are often essentially dragging an invisible object, making it very difficult to place accurately.

The worst performance of all is seen when trying to reposition a palette, or invoke a new palette from the Window menu. The new palette appears in the middle of the working window, and dragging it is incredibly laggy and erratic. It doesn't redraw in real time, and frequently winds up snapping to some completely unintended location. And woe if you try to drag it to a second display — it flickers and jumps and often completely vanishes.

All of these complaints apply equally to Photoshop 2025 (with the exception of vector dragging).

Based on the lack of similar complaints on the boards, I would suspect that my problems are unusual. I would really appreciate some help in troubleshooting.

[Anubhav M]

Hello @mvheim,

I'm sorry to hear about the trouble you're having with Illustrator's performance. Would you mind confirming if Illustrator behaves this way with new files as well? Also, kindly try the suggestions shared in this help article (https://adobe.ly/3BEZLGq) to see if they help.

If the problem persists, kindly share a screen recording of your workflow and the problem, so I can check it with the team.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Anubhav

[mvheim]

The one thing that seems to help is tuirning off previews in the layers palette (which I keep open all the time).

The most maddening problem is dragging palettes across my screen and trying to position them and get them to snap to the adjoining palettes. It's like dragging windows on a Mac SE back in the 90s. It is SOOOOO slow and jerky, and the palettes frequently disappear altogether for seconds at a time.

[Larry G. Schneider]

Do you have any app which controls windows on your monitor? Such as Magnet or Rectangle? Try disabling those or set it to ignore AI and see if it helps.