Skip to main content
N
Ninja Sefo
Participating Frequently
March 29, 2022
Question

Adobe slow and laggy on M1 Mac

  • March 29, 2022
  • 16 replies
  • 12045 views

Adobe photoshop is buggy and slow on my M1 Macbook Air. In fact, all of the adobe apps are slow and laggy, but specially Photoshop, Premiere and InDesign. I am using the most up to date versions of the programs. 

 

MacOS Monterey 12.3

M1, 2020

16GB

1Terabyte

    16 replies

    smashkirk
    smashkirk
    Inspiring
    October 6, 2023

    I'm a little late with this, but I'm experiencing slow, lagging Adobe software on my M1 Macbook Pro as well. For me the problem only started when I purchased a new high resolution monitor (4K). The lagging also appears in the mac system UI animations as well (launchpad, mission control). The issues goes away with a restart, but returns over time while using demanding apps such as Adobe CC and Chrome. I'm starting to think it's a RAM issue. I too have 16GB of ram and I've been reading that 16GB might not be enough. 

    (all my system and adobe software is up to date)

    It's surprising and disappointing that this "powerful" M1 mac pro can't handle the software.

    O
    octavum
    Participating Frequently
    October 7, 2023

    I don't think it is an issue of not enough ram, I have 96GB and an M2, and the same problem. Often files will not preview in column view or when you press the space bar. It is very annoying, never happened with my older machines on older iOS. 

      smashkirk
      smashkirk
      Inspiring
      October 7, 2023

      Oh, wow. Does the lag only occur during/after using Adobe applications? Also, are you using a 4K monitor? Have you contacted Apple support? I wonder what their response would be.

      EllgeH
      EllgeH
      Participating Frequently
      December 28, 2022

      When i first got my Macbook Air M1 it started Photoshop in 3 (three!) seconds and this was the intel version so it started with Rosetta in 3 seconds! Amazing. The M1 has 8GB ram. MyWindows PC has 32GB ram and starts Photoshop in 9 seconds. BUT now with the new version mad for M1 it takes 35!!! seconds just to start Photoshop. What is wrong??

        EllgeH
        EllgeH
        Participating Frequently
        December 28, 2022

        ...a strange thing is that LightRoomClassic starts in 3 seconds even now. So just Photoshop sucks!

        T
        taylorbenniefaull
        Participant
        August 12, 2022

        Would love some adobe person to SCREAM at. Such a shame there isn't some adobe shop nearby so I could SCREAM at someone 😞

         

        My anger has been penting up for the past couple of months.

         

        AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

        Derek Cross
        Community Expert
        Derek CrossCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        August 12, 2022

        If you could post deatails of your issue we might be able to make some suggestions. Ranting maybe be therapeutic but won't help sort your issue. 
        Which version (exactly) of Photoshop and OS?

        How much RAM and spare hard disk capacity?

        Have you tried trashing the presences?

        Describe the issue, what happens, any error messages etc.

        O
        octavum
        Participating Frequently
        May 23, 2023

        Did you ever get back to someone after you ask your standard "how much ram, HD" etc. Or are you just creating the illusion of offering help. 
        What are those questions anyway, I buy a computer, I buy the programs, they run slower on the new one then on the old one, and your suggestion is, let me know your RAM and version. 

         

          Murrzeak
          Murrzeak
          Participant
          August 8, 2022

          Gosh, I'm baffled (albeit absolutely unsurprised) how pooryl Adobe has handled the transition to M1 silicon. No other app is as slow, laggy, freezing, crashing like AE/PS/AI. Like...it's hard to do it on purpose, well done Adobe, you've outdone yourselves. Why am I paying for this..

          G
          Graziano25577671wv9p
          Participant
          August 9, 2022

          Because you pretty much have to murder the entire board of Adobe's families to be able to leave your contract/subscription. I'm using Lightroom & Photoshop and together they make my M1 run the exact same as my 2012 macbook pro. THE EXACT SAME. Slow as all *profanity*. Do they care? Why the hell would they? They are making serious coin from every user all over the world. Why would they care about their products anymore. Man I STILL get the "adobe camera raw needs to be updated" error when I open an image in PS from LR. STILL!! And I downloaded these programs fresh only a month ago! That error has been coming up for at least 8 years now. Lol they don't give two hoots about their programs anymore. 

          C
          C22260931jjw2
          Participant
          June 16, 2022

          Did we get a resolution on this problem? I'm experiencing the same issues and the steps suggested haven't solved the problem.

            friedemannh64056916
            friedemannh64056916
            Participant
            June 20, 2022

            I'm also very disappointed with the response of the app while doing my edits. Can somebody please troubleshoot this issue?

              N
              Ninja SefoAuthor
              Participating Frequently
              March 31, 2022

              Also, is this the same process for Adobe Premiere?

              N
              Ninja SefoAuthor
              Participating Frequently
              March 31, 2022

              Thank you Jeffrey, I did a clean install of Adobe. I will try your suggestion today and get back to you on performance. 

              J
              J453
              Legend
              March 30, 2022

              When you purchased your M1, did you do a clean install of your Adobe apps or did you use User Migration Assistent to move all the user data and apps over from a prior computer?

               

              The first thing I'd do is make sure we're in a default state and there are no stale setting somewhere:
              Restore your preferences using this manual method:
              https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/preferences.html#Manually
              Does it work correctly?
              If that doesn't solve it, you can quit Photoshop and put the Settings folder back.
              If it does solve the problem, I would like to get the folder of settings to try and figure out what is bad with them.

                mglush
                Community Expert
                mglushCommunity Expert
                Community Expert
                March 30, 2022

                Have you tried running in Rosetta before? If not, then it's worth a try to see if the issue clears up. Let us know if you try it and how it works.

                Michelle

                N
                Ninja SefoAuthor
                Participating Frequently
                March 30, 2022

                Hi both, yes I have looked at the articles you both shared. However, Photoshop, Premiere and InDesign (the three programs I use most) are ridiculously slow. 

                Like I mentioned before, Davinci Resolve and Afinity run fine. Is there something I am missing, a random setting, or do I just need to run the intel/rosetta version of these programs on my M1 mac?

                  Show more replies
                  Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
                  Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices