If Lightroom is still slow for you, Adobe promises help is on the way

By Trevor Mogg Published August 13, 2021

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If you’re still having issues with a slow Lightroom Classic, an update is coming in February that should address the problem.

Adobe launched the latest version of its popular photo editing and management software last fall, and for the first time split it between Lightroom Classic (essentially Lightroom 7 for desktops) and Lightroom CC, a lighter, mobile-oriented version of the software that has fewer features than Classic.

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Having listened to complaints from photographers about the sometimes sluggish performance of Lightroom 6, Adobe had promised speed improvements with Lightroom Classic. But soon after its launch, it quickly became apparent that some users were still experiencing issues regarding the software’s ability to handle certain tasks in an efficient manner.

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An update released in December 2017 addressed many of the bugs that troubled the launch version of Classic, but the speed of the software continued to bother a number of photographers.

The good news is that version 7.2 is imminent and looks set to properly enhance the operation of the Adobe-made software. The bad news? Your machine will need at least 12GB of RAM to benefit fully from the update. Adobe, however, says that “the majority” of Lightroom Classic users have machines with at least 12GB of RAM, “so this release will deliver a significant performance impact for most users.”

Adobe addresses key performance issues

“We were able to make significant strides with our partners at Intel on addressing key performance issues,” Adobe told DPreview this week, adding that it has “optimized CPU and memory usage so that performance will scale better across multiple cores on computers with at least 12GB of RAM.”

Specifically, Adobe claims the software tweaks will improve speed performance for:

import and preview generation
moving between images in Loupe View
rendering of adjustments in Develop mode
batch merge operations of HDR images and panoramas
export

Adobe told PetaPixel that it’s “really pleased” with the latest performance improvements, but said it was “far from done” and has “more performance optimizations and improvements planned” for future releases. We’re certainly hoping version 7.2 finally puts the Classic issues to bed as for many photographers the software is impressive when it’s firing on all cylinders.

If you’re new to Lightroom but want to find out more about it, check out DT’s brief but informative guide for beginners, and then consider the free trial.

Adobe offers various pricing options depending on the package, though a popular deal for $10 a month gets you Lightroom CC, Lightroom Classic, Lightroom apps for mobile and web, Photoshop CC, Adobe Spark, and 20GB of cloud storage.

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Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

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