Adobe To Drop Support For Older OSes In Creative Cloud

In an effort to simplify its product development process while still taking advantage of new OS features, Adobe has announced that it will be chopping quite a few older OS versions from its next major update to Creative Cloud. On the Windows side, Windows 8.1 will no longer be supported, and Windows 10 users will need to update to at least version 1703 (aka the Creators Update). Mac users will need to get past El Capitan and be running at least MacOS Sierra (10.12). Requirements for Audio and Video applications will be even tighter, with Windows build 1709 (Fall Creators Update) being required.

What Does This Mean If You’re On An Older OS

Whether this new requirement is reasonable is certainly a matter of perspective. The required versions are 18 months old for Windows (although less than a year old in the case of audio and video apps) and 24 months old for Mac. So it is likely that most professional production houses will have updated to these versions already. However, for many upgrading the OS is a time sink and has its own perils, so there will be plenty of users who are going to find these requirements a burden.

Alternatives To Keeping Up With Creative Cloud

The good news for those who find the new requirements a show stopper is that there are more alternatives than ever to Creative Cloud for many of its major functions. For image editing, Affinity Photo and Skylum Luminar are now both available for both Mac and Windows and have lower prices and impressive functionality. Cyberlink’s PhotoDirector has been moving steadily upmarket in terms of features, and is definitely an option worth considering for Windows users. It’s companion product, PowerDirector, is also a solid video editing product. DaVinci Resolve is also a popular video editing option with an entry level price of free. For anyone not using all the features of their Creative Cloud apps, Adobe’s own Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements have become quite powerful and less expensive alternatives as well.

Read Now: Using Presets in Adobe Apps, Affinity Photo Comes To Windows, and Hands-on with Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements.