Adobe Lightroom Lands on the New Mac App Store

Adobe Lightroom, the industry standard for pros and serious photography enthusiasts, is now available in the Mac App Store.

We tend to think of app stores in the context of smartphones, but they're also a part of today's desktop platforms, including macOS. Getting an app from the official store bestows several benefits on the software purchaser, including update handling, installation on multiple machines, and the knowledge that the app was vetted by your platform provider, in this case Apple. If you're an app developer, the store offers a way to get your work in the largest single source for Mac apps.

Lightroom now joins other heavy hitters like Microsoft Office 365, which landed in the Mac App Store in January.

Lightroom is available in two forms: Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic, the latter of which earned a rare 5-star Editors' Choice rating from PCMag. The version on the Mac App Store is the newer Lightroom CC, which is more suitable for enthusiasts than for professional photographers, as it doesn't offer printing or file conversion.

The software requires a $9.99 Creative Cloud Photography Plan subscription and syncs all your imported photos to the cloud for access from mobile devices or web browsers.

Recent Lightroom updates include new raw-file demosaicing option, Enhance Detail, new photo learning tools, sharing options, and a Texture slider that lets you "address details to either accentuate or smooth out details in the middle frequencies," according to Adobe. It's basically a sharpening tool that doesn't make your photos look unnaturally sharp.

Apple redesigned the Mac App Store for last year's Mojave release, updating the layout with details about the app, video previews, and detailed background information. It also added Discover, which highlights curated apps worthy of consideration, and added tabs for Create, Work, and Play.

Apple has since announced the next version of macOS, called Catalina. It doesn't arrive until the fall, but here's what's new.

About Our Expert

Michael Muchmore

Contributor

My Experience

I've been testing PC and mobile software for more than 20 years, focusing on photo and video editing, operating systems, and web browsers. Prior to my current role, I covered software and apps for ExtremeTech and headed up PCMag’s enterprise software team. I’ve attended trade shows for Microsoft, Google, and Apple and written about all of them and their products.

I still get a kick out of seeing what's new in video and photo editing software, and how operating systems change over time. I was privileged to byline the cover story of the last print issue of PC Magazine, the Windows 7 review, and I’ve witnessed every Microsoft misstep and win, up to the latest Windows 11.

I’m an avid bird photographer and traveler—I’ve been to 40 countries, many with great birds! Because I’m also a classical music fan and former performer, I’ve reviewed streaming services that emphasize classical music.

Technology I Use

For everyday work, I use a good-old Dell tower with 16GB of RAM, a 12th-gen Intel Core i7 processor, and an Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti GPU that runs on Windows 11. I pair it with a 4K Lenovo ThinkVision P27u-10 monitor and a Logitech MX Vertical mouse. For offsite work, I use a 2024 Microsoft Surface Laptop with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor. Camera-wise, I moved to mirrorless from a Canon EOS 80D with a Canon 70-300mm IS USM lens. I now have a Canon EOS R7 with a 100-400mm lens, but I miss my DSLR for several reasons.

In order of usage, the software I turn to most frequently is the Edge web browser, Slack, Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft 365, Firefox, Brave, and WhatsApp. I use the Windows Phone link app to see everything on my Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra phone, which has excellent telephoto capability.

For fitness monitoring, I have a Fitbit Charge 6 and use an Anker Smart Scale P1. I’m also a streaming fan, so I subscribe to both Amazon Music Unlimited (especially for its Dolby Atmos content) and Qobuz (for its high-res sound quality and classical catalog). I recently added a Vizio 5.1 Soundbar SE, which sounds surprisingly good given its low price. To holler commands instead of using a remote control, I have the Amazon Fire TV Cube in the living room, which lets me verbally tell the TV what I want to watch. It hooks up to an LG B4 OLED TV. I have a Sonos One speaker in my kitchen that also ties in with Alexa, as does the Echo Dot 2 With Clock in my bedroom. For serious listening, I have B&W 601 speakers plugged into a Conrad-Johnson Sonographe amp and preamp, with a Cambridge Audio AXN10 streamer as source. For reading, I also have a Nook GlowLight 3.

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