Adobe Creative Cloud apps now run faster than ever before on Apple Silicon devices

Adobe has introduced numerous updates for its Creative Cloud apps to better utilise the high performance of the new Apple M1 chips found in the latest iMacs and MacBooks as Apple continues to make huge advances in chip technology.

Statistics from Pfeiffer Report indicates a huge leap in performance for several statistics, with some achieving close to double speeds. For testing purposes, an Intel i5 MacBook Pro is compared to its direct successor with an Apple M1 chip, with identical RAM and SSD configurations.

Adobe Illustrator

Benchmark	Improvement (%)
Average	65
Scrolling Performance (complex vector drawing)	390
Open file with 31 complex artboards	119

Through the improvements, Illustrator took less than six seconds at best to complete the test, compared to thirty seconds on the Intel Mac. Adobe Illustrator on the iPad will also come with features such as Enhanced Illustration capabilities and Rotate Canvas to give users more control over their artwork and interface.

Adobe InDesign

Benchmark	Improvement (%)
Average	59
Open graphics-heavy file – CPU	185
Scrolling 100 page book project – GPU	78

On the M1 Mac running Photoshop, it took 36 seconds to complete a task that would require over a minute to be done on the Intel Mac.

Adobe Premiere Pro

Benchmark	Improvement from Intel to Apple M1(%)
Average	78
Scene Edit Detection – 4K	430
Import XAVC S 4K 100p	187

At the time of this writing, Premiere Pro for M1 Macs is currently in public beta and will be available soon. For now, the software runs on Rosetta 2, Apple’s solution to emulate x86 software.

Lightroom (Classic)

Benchmark	Improvement (%)
Average	116
Apply settings	347
Super Resolution	279

The classic version of Lightroom runs natively on Apple M1 devices, without the need for Rosetta 2 to emulate the processes. Lightroom will also receive collaborative editing functionalities and Premium Presets that makes it easier to achieve cinematic effects.

PhotoShop

Benchmark	Improvement (%)
Average	89
Content Aware Fill	200
Select Subject	156

On Photoshop Express which is mainly available on mobile devices, there are now tools specifically designed for face and selfie retouching, including skin smoothing, content aware healing, face aware liquify and caricature.