Windows Arm update to Lightroom Classic.

[geoffbillett]

I love the new masking solutions for Lightroom Classic.  I am though wanting to use Lightroom Classic on my macbook using Parallels.  The Arm version of Lightroom Mobile was implemented in December 2020.  When can we see an Arm version of Lightroom Classic?  Thanks.

[john beardsworth]

As always with similar questions, anyone who knows would be under an NDA and be unable to tell you.

The last update to LR Classic was in October, and updates are generally on a 3 month cycle. In any case I doubt Adobe will be putting resources into an Arm version of Classic Lightroom.

[geoffbillett]

Thanks very much John for your views.  I know I described an Arm version of Lightroom Classic as an 'upgrade' but I guess it really is a new app.  Why would Adobe though apply product differentiation when it has already released Arm versions of both Lightroom Mobile and Photoshop?  What specifically is it about Lightroom Classic which precludes it also becoming available in a similar fashion?  Of course I do understand NDA restrictions;  I was curious if there was a roadmap or any rumours which may shed a little light.  Thanks again.   

[john beardsworth]

To be frank, I'd be amazed if they did it, Geoff. There's no roadmap, just speculation like this, and I'll put aside the size of the potential market - I don't think it's big but who knows?

I think it's important to note that Classic is built around a specific code platform (Lua) which is an oddity in Adobeworld, plus C+ binaries, and it hasn't fundamentally changed in 15+ years. It may be portable to other platforms, but each time Adobe have felt demand for different environments they didn't reconfigure Classic. So they responded to the growth of mobile with Lightroom Mobile, and then to the growth of cloud services with Cloudy Lightroom. Mobile was of course  less capable than the real Lightroom (now Classic), and Cloudy Lightroom was its desktop sibling.

So my guess is that Adobe's attitude to Windows under Arm might be similar to theirs to Linux - if Classic works on it, fine, but we're not allocating resources in that direction. And if they have any interest in Arm, I'd speculate that their focus would be on Cloudy Lightroom, which wouldn't leave you much better off.

[geoffbillett]

Thanks John.  Maybe you are correct and there will be no specific Arm version of Classic.  But are you suggesting that the Window's version of Classic might work under Arm?  If so,  how do I get my Macbook to recognise and download the Windows version from my Creative Cloud subscription account.  The Account,  under the Arm processor,  defaults to Arm enabled apps on Creative Cloud.

My desktop PC is my primary editing machine and I am very happy using Windows Classic there.  I have just downloaded Parallels for a trial on my M1 macbook pro which I use to travel,  and wanting see if I could standardise a Windows approach across both Windows and Mac.  A dual boot Macbook would be a generally attractive option,  but becomes less attractive if there is no native Lightroom Classic for my travelling,  although I realise adding catalogs from my Mac to my PC is not a problem. 

Any further thoughts would be appreciated.  I am grateful.

[johnrellis]

A side note: LR releases about every 8 weeks:

https://www.lightroomqueen.com/community/threads/when-do-we-see-lr-10-4.43422/#post-1287682

[john beardsworth]

Thanks John.  Maybe you are correct and there will be no specific Arm version of Classic.  But are you suggesting that the Window's version of Classic might work under Arm?  If so,  how do I get my Macbook to recognise and download the Windows version from my Creative Cloud subscription account.  The Account,  under the Arm processor,  defaults to Arm enabled apps on Creative Cloud.

So the Creative Cloud Desktop app won't install under Arm? You might have to contact Adobe support for that.

I do wonder if you might be going down a rabbit hole here. Like you, my main editing computer is a desktop PC and I have a Mac laptop for travel (what's that?) or working somewhere else around the house. I've got some software that is OS-limited by licence or by availability, but my key apps from Adobe and Microsoft run on both, and I don't find it difficult to switch my mind between the two OS's. I know people who use Parallels, but generally it's because of one Windows app that they can't do without. Maybe the Parallels route means you're always going to be more likely to waste your time on oddities - so here your ideal solution might already work on non-M1 Macs but not yet on the M1, for instance, or maybe in 3 months time that wrinkle will be gone but some other variable will be shaky. Are you making work for yourself?

[geoffbillett]

Yes a rabbit hole indeed.  Windows on my macbook was the draw but as described below it's a little more complicated than it seems,  especially with Windows 11.  Thanks for your help.

[Conrad C]

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@geoffbillett wrote:

I love the new masking solutions for Lightroom Classic.  I am though wanting to use Lightroom Classic on my macbook using Parallels.

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Just be aware that at this time there seem to be some legal issues with using the ARM version of Windows in virtualization on Apple Silicon, even though it has been working with Insider builds. There is speculation that if those legal issues are related to a Qualcomm exclusivity deal, when that deal expires it might become possible for Microsoft to officially sanction running ARM Windows in virtualization. Until then, it might be risky to rely on virtualizing ARM Windows on unsupported processors; for one thing, at any time Microsoft might decide to put in a check that prevents it.

More info:

Microsoft releases new Windows 11 builds, confirms running on an Apple M1 'is not a supported scenar... – The Register

Qualcomm exclusivity deal might be keeping Windows from running on other ARM chips – Ars Technica
End of exclusivity deal could allow Windows to run on Apple Silicon, other SoCs.

The ARM versions of Windows can run on things like the Raspberry Pi or in virtualization apps running on Apple Silicon Macs, but Microsoft doesn't officially support doing it, and the company has never elaborated as to why.

ZD Net:

Just be prepared for it to stop working at any time. Keep an eye out here. If Parallels, Microsoft, ...

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[geoffbillett]

Conrad and John,  thanks for your replies. 

So there are multiple issues then.  My version of Windows is an Insider Build.  There is no guarantee that Adobe will ever make a native version of Lightroom Classic for Arm versions of Windows,  and no guarantee that Windows will continue to allow its Arm version to run unsupported through the virtual environment offered by Parallels.  Though,  conversely,  it might be that Windows,  at some point,  permits its Arm version to run across a wide range of Arm processors given relevant contractual changes.

I think I am currently ill advised to continue with my plan to consider Parallels beyond the trial period,  especially if my goal is primarily to run a version of Lightroom Classic which will never be made.  I should reconsider when Windows 11 is better assimilated generally and the above factors are clearer.

Does it beg the question as to why Parallels are developing the software at all given the uncertainties?

Thanks again.

[Conrad C]

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@geoffbillett wrote:

Does it beg the question as to why Parallels are developing the software at all given the uncertainties?

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One weak explanation is that Windows is not the only OS that Parallels can run in virtualization. It can also run Linux and other versions of macOS. But of course the number of people who do that is relatively small compared to those of us who use Parallels to run Windows. I've also got a copy of Parallels that I have no reason to upgrade until it can run Windows productively over the long term on my M1 Pro.

Another explanation is that Parallels is crossing their fingers that Microsoft will eventually have to bless running ARM Windows in virtualization, and they want to be ready for when that happens. Apple Silicon has been putting pressure on the whole industry to look at ARM as maybe a better path to better desktop performance, and if ARM for Windows gets traction in enterprise then they are going to want to be able to virtualize that as they do with x86 Windows now.

[geoffbillett]

I was initially looking to use Windows 10,  but that appears to have been withdrawn under the Insider Build options.  Windows 11,  with its own unique hardware requirements,  makes virtualisation necessary to overcome those requirements.  Windows 10 would have been far simpler,  though would not have addressed the Lightroom Classic issue.  Still I have lost nothing.  Thanks.