Technical Report: Underutilization of Premiere Pro on MacBook Pro M4 Pro

[Carlos28699229h2l3]

1. System Configuration

• Model: MacBook Pro 14" (2024)

• Chip: Apple M4 Pro

• CPU: 14 cores

• GPU: 20 cores

• RAM: 48 GB unified memory

• Storage:

  • 1 TB internal SSD

  • External SSD: Oyen Digital 4TB U34 Bolt USB4 / Thunderbolt 4 External SSD

• Operating System: macOS Sequoia 15.4

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2. Premiere Pro Environment

• Version: Premiere Pro 2025 (both Stable and Beta tested)

• GPU Acceleration: Enabled

• Media Cache: Stored on internal SSD

• Media Files: Stored entirely on external USB4/Thunderbolt 4 SSD

• System Performance Mode: High performance mode activated via macOS

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3. Problem Description

Premiere Pro does not take full advantage of the Apple M4 Pro chip in demanding editing workflows. Despite running on a high-end machine, the following issues are consistently observed:

• CPU usage remains low (typically 35–40%) during heavy exports

• GPU usage is minimal, even with GPU-accelerated effects

• Export times are significantly longer compared to Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve

• Playback stutters or freezes during complex sequences involving:

  • Interpreted clips with varying frame rates

  • Stabilized clips (Warp Stabilizer)

  • Clips using Optical Flow

  • Manual color correction with Lumetri

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4. Test Cases Observed

• Sequences mixing footage at 23.976 fps, 30 fps, and 60 fps

• Source footage includes:

  • DJI drone files (HEVC 10-bit, D-Log, 5K resolution)

  • Canon R5 (4K IPB)

  • Osmo Action 4 (4K HEVC 10-bit, D-Log)

• Use of both ProRes and H.264 proxies

• Export formats tested: ProRes HQ, ProRes LT, H.264, and HEVC

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5. Comparison with Other Software

The same projects, when exported using Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve, fully utilize all CPU and GPU resources.

• Export times are cut by more than half

• Timeline playback is fluid and responsive

• Background rendering and effects performance are significantly better

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6. Conclusion

Premiere Pro running on macOS Sequoia with the M4 Pro chip is not fully optimized to leverage the capabilities of modern Apple Silicon hardware. The software does not handle hardware acceleration effectively for rendering, real-time playback, and complex effect pipelines.

Adobe should consider:

• Improving multithreaded CPU and GPU utilization specifically for M3 and M4 Pro/Max chips

• Reviewing how proxies and HEVC 10-bit clips are processed

• Providing better diagnostics and visibility to the user regarding when hardware acceleration is actually active

• Enhancing performance on timelines with mixed resolutions, frame rates, and codecs

This issue directly impacts the productivity and professional experience of advanced users

[Warren Heaton]

It is curious why you saw such a difference in usage of resources.

The M4 Pro isn't high end, but we definitely want whatever resources are needed to be used.

I sometimes mix frame sizes in the same Timeframe, and maybe CODECs (which I typically avoid), but I would make every effort to avoid mixed frame rates unless higher frame rates are in use for slow motion or speed ramps.

Did you happen to do some render time comparisons?  That would be interesting to see added to your information.