Adobe launches M1 Mac-native versions of more Creative Cloud apps including Lightroom Classic and Illustrator, claims 80%+ faster performance than Intel Macs
Performance should be about twice as fast as an equivalent Intel Mac — Adobe is now shipping new versions of more Creative Cloud apps …
Context & Ripple Effects
Adobe’s M1 support has progressed from a beta release of Arm-native Photoshop for Windows and macOS to a production Photoshop optimization for Apple Silicon. Adding Lightroom Classic and Illustrator extends that work from a single flagship app to more of the Creative Cloud workflow.
The move follows other M1-native creative and browser software, including Pixelmator Pro and Firefox, making native application performance an increasingly visible part of the M1 Mac proposition.
First-order effects
- Lightroom Classic and Illustrator users on M1 Macs gain native versions that Adobe says deliver more than 80% faster performance than comparable Intel Macs.
- Adobe broadens Apple Silicon support across Creative Cloud, reducing the number of core apps that depend on Intel-oriented versions or translation.
Second-order effects
- Pixelmator and other creative-software rivals face a higher performance bar after Adobe extends native support beyond Photoshop, where Adobe had already claimed a 1.5x gain on most tasks.
- Apple benefits as Adobe’s M1-native app coverage makes its hardware performance case more relevant to customers whose workflows span photo editing and illustration.
Third-order effects
- Native Arm optimization is becoming a baseline requirement for major desktop applications rather than an early-adopter feature, as Adobe, Mozilla, and Pixelmator each ship M1-native software.
- If major creative suites continue to move their most-used apps to native Apple Silicon, processor architecture will become more tightly coupled to application performance expectations for Mac buyers.
The trend: Desktop software vendors are moving from initial Apple Silicon compatibility toward portfolio-wide native optimization, turning chip-specific performance into a competitive product feature.