I tested how long it took Photoshop (both in Intel and M1 beta versions) to align 19 full-resolution raw images and then to merge them into a focus-stacked image. The improvements are noticeable when using M1-optimized versions. Even Lightroom Classic (the Intel version) still ran well when used via Rosetta 2.

Lightroom ran lightning fast, and allowed for extremely swift editing and exporting. In my hands-on testing, I found the M1 versions of Adobe's apps to run extremely swiftly. That means any app you'd normally want to use on your MacBook will still be able to run on the new model without any difference in how it operates, and you likely won't see much in the way of performance degradation, although that can vary app by app. While these apps aren't optimized, they will still run, thanks to Apple's Rosetta 2 software, which allows Intel versions of software to run as normal. The industry-standard Photoshop only supports M1 when you download the beta version, and Adobe hasn't officially given any kind of timeline for when all its Creative Cloud suite of apps will fully support Apple M1.

At the time of writing, Adobe has released an M1 version of Lightroom, but not Lightroom Classic (the version that I, along with most photography pros, still use). That's potentially a problem, as it requires software developers to support two versions of their products an Intel version and an Apple M1 version. To get the best performance, the programs you use will need to be rewritten to properly take advantage of the new hardware. Is it a safe upgrade for photographers or other creative professionals? Or should you wait for promised software updates?Īpple using its own chips might seem like a small change that you'll never need to think about, but it has a big impact on how software will run. I've spent some time now with the 13-inch M1-based MacBook Pro (with 16GB RAM) and have run it through a variety of tests to see how well I can work on it.

The performance boosts Apple promised were appealing - as was the supposed battery life improvement - but I was nervous about having to run my professional software on a platform that wasn't yet properly supported by some of the tools I use every day. As a professional photographer, I was intrigued when Apple ditched Intel's chips and instead started using its own M1 silicon in the MacBook lineup.

Apple macbook air m1 lightroom