Newer apps incompatible with MBP 2012

Keep using the last compatible version as long as you still use this computer

Since you bought the 2012 Retina MacBook Pro, things have changed, and the most important one is something you have to plan for in the future. The short answer is that you should keep using the versions of Adobe software you use now until you can afford to get a new Mac. The long answer is:

Since 2012,  both Apple and Adobe have moved to a policy where they support only the last three major versions of macOS. So currently, with few exceptions, Apple and Adobe provides updates only for macOS 11, 12, and 13.

How does this affect your Mac? Well, Apple stops supporting macOS upgrades for a Mac model after it’s roughly 7 or 8 years old.

Your Mac model was released 10 years ago.

Now, combine all those facts: Your Mac is 10 years old, a 2012 Retina MacBook Pro. The newest version of macOS that Apple lets you install on it is macOS 10.15. So neither Apple nor Adobe provide any more updates for your 10-year-old Mac, and macOS 10.15 won’t run the latest Adobe software.

How does this affect your future? By now, losing support is no surprise. There is now a regular pattern where, every year in the fall, Apple releases a new macOS upgrade, and Adobe releases new Creative Cloud upgrades. And because both companies support only the last three major versions of macOS, every year both companies drop support for the oldest of the previous three supported versions.

That is what happened to you this year. With the fall 2022 upgrades to both macOS and Creative Cloud, macOS 10.15 — the last version your Mac can run — got pushed off the end of the supported list because it became the fourth most recent version.

This does mean you get plenty of warning if you know what to watch for: When the last version of macOS that your Mac can use becomes the oldest of the three most recent versions supported by Apple and Adobe, you know you have one year left before that Mac can’t install the next year’s Creative Cloud upgrades.

If you are a working photographer, that now well-established pattern is what you must build into your business plan for the future. When you buy a new Mac, you can relax for a while, but you must build into your budget the ability to save or finance so that when that Mac reaches 7 or 8 years old and starts to lose support for the latest macOS upgrade, you have the money to get a new Mac. Then you can continue to use the latest applications.

If for some reason it is not possible for your business to budget for a new Mac every 7 or 8 years, then you can simply continue using the version you are using, and just hold off on the upgrades. But if you do this, you must not uninstall the version you are using, because Adobe provides only the last two major upgrades in the Creative Cloud installer — versions older than that are not available in the Creative Cloud desktop app for installation. So if you continue running unsupported versions that can no longer be reinstalled, keep your Mac system running smoothly, and maintain robust backups that can be restored if you have to recover from a hardware failure or disaster.

@Joshua27223515hze5 

Here are the system requirements for Photoshop 2023:

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/system-requirements.html

I see that you also asked in this thread:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/creative-cloud-services-discussions/not-compatible/m-p/13316422

In that user's case, the error message was to update the OS to Windows 10 1809 or later. When the OP did so, they were able to install the CC apps.

You didn't show us your error message. Did it say your 2012 MacBook Pro was too old? Or your macOS? (you didn't tell us your macOS). Big Sur macOS11 or later is required for Photoshop 2023 (v. 24), and your 10-year-old computer may not support the OS upgrade.

Jane

Your options are simple:

Do not update your software because newer versions are not supported (disable auto updates). Work with the older software as long as you can understand, as you update perhaps your OS, that old version may break! 

Do update your hardware so you can run newer software. Adobe's and others. 

As a photographer, your camera from last year is not useless, just because there is a new model. So, why do you care about Adobe's updates if your system works?

Unfortunately there is really nothing you can do other than keep using your current versions for as long as they will work.

Mylenium