| Task | Intel i9-10910 (iMac 2020) | Intel Xeon W-3275M (Mac Pro) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Large document fill (4GB PSD) | 12.4 sec | 8.1 sec | | Neural Filter (Smart Portrait) | 9.2 sec | 5.4 sec | | Export as JPEG (50 layers) | 1.8 sec | 0.9 sec | | Startup time (cold) | 11 sec | 9 sec |
For years, the Apple silicon transition (M1, M2, M3 chips) has dominated headlines. However, a massive install base of Intel-based Macs—including the Mac Pro 2019, iMac 2020, and MacBook Pro 2018–2020—remains in daily professional use. Adobe has acknowledged this by releasing , a native Intel binary ensuring that creative professionals on older hardware do not get left behind. Adobe-Photoshop-v26.0-macOS-for-INTEL.dmg
If you downloaded from a non-corporate source, use Terminal to check: shasum -a 256 /path/to/Adobe-Photoshop-v26.0-macOS-for-INTEL.dmg Q: Can I install this on an external Thunderbolt drive to save space on my Intel Mac? Yes. Drag the Photoshop app to the external drive’s Applications folder, but note that plugins and settings will remain in ~/Library/ on the internal drive. | Task | Intel i9-10910 (iMac 2020) |
Use the Universal Installer. This Intel-specific DMG will only frustrate you with unnecessary translation. Have you installed v26.0 on an Intel Hackintosh? Share your experience in the comments below. But remember: Only genuine hardware is supported for Adobe licensing. If you downloaded from a non-corporate source, use
Yes, full T2 support for encrypted scratch disks is included. However, Touch ID authentication for saving to cloud is disabled in v26.0 (Apple changed the API).
Download only from Adobe Creative Cloud. Install cleanly. Optimize your scratch disk. And enjoy the last great version of Photoshop built with your processor at its heart.