Since it seems like 80-90% of all posts here concern problems with Windows (which I can totally understand), I would be interested in hearing more opinions about performance, bugs and experiences on macOS.
Personally, I would like to know, for example, whether the bug reported by @Joanna here has been fixed in the meantime? PL9: Auto-brush opacity problem
All comments and tips are welcome!
I would like to mention that I am still working with PL8.
PhotoLab 9 is a new product. It will take DxO time to sift through all the issue reports here and in the support tickets, find the causes and prepare the fixes/updates.
PL9 (tested with macOS 14, 15 and 26) features work in many areas, other areas need a bunch of effort to make them reliable and working to expectations.
Considering the current situation, I propose to stick to PL8 or earlier for pro level use. I suppose that PL9 will be reliable enough in a few months, maybe even good enough by black Friday. Until then, I DO recommend to keep installers (Mac installers contain the full app) and back-ups…but that should be common practice anyways.
Thanks for your reply and comments, @platypus.
From what you say, I gather that the macOS version also has some more or less serious problems. Would you mind briefly listing the three or four most noticeable weaknesses of PL9 for Mac?
As you suggest, I will definitely stick with version 8.9 for the time being. I’m not sure if we’ll have a problem-free version 9 by Black Friday.
Even with new macOS versions, such as “Tahoe” now, I don’t update until .3 is released.
The idea with the DMGs is basically a very good one. I kept them for Photolab up to version 6.
Thanks again!
THE number one issue is that my 2019 iMac seems to be below-spec for AI masks and some denoising …as can be read in the release notes.
I have reported other issues to support.dxo.com and got answers saying things from “will be fixed in the next update” to "…low priority because support for Intel Macs is being phased out step by step.
For the time being, I plan to keep my iMac on macOS Sonoma while I test macOS Sequoia on the 2020 M1 MacBook Air, which is also a bit old for modern PhotoLab.
I tested macOS Tahoe on the MBA, but I detest the new user interface design. It is more difficult to use and if I add a few accessibility tweaks to make it usable, the UI gets far from what I’d call elegant. Tahoe just increased the number of people with disabilities in the Mac world. I’ll stick to my hardware for now.
Maybe that macOS 27 will have a decent interface design again.
Thank you for your detailed response!
I also noticed this jump in hardware requirements. It’s quite significant. DxO should at least support all MacBooks with M processors without complaint. Not everyone buys a new device every 3 or 4 years.
In terms of software, however, Sequoia should definitely be more than sufficient. For the reasons you mention, which are also discussed in various reports on Tahoe on the internet, it is certainly worth considering waiting for macOS 27. Tahoe’s user interface is one of the most criticized aspects.
I am curious to see what the next update for PL9 will bring and what “will be fixed in the next update” will actually deliver.
Thanks to your help, I tried Tahoe on an external SSD attached to my MBP (M4) yesterday. What a horrendous UI 
Also, after some research, I found posts saying that the now OSs on both Macs and iPhones are significantly slower and consume battery much faster.
Well, I can put up with iOS26 on my phone but the sun never set yesterday before I reverted my MBP to Sequoia. Which, BTW, for me, so far, seems extremely stable and highly usable.
You’re right, I’ve had the same experience.
I’d like to ask you if there’s any news about the bug you mentioned here:
I’ve just checked that in PL9.1.1 on macOS and it seems to be resolved.
Thanks for the info!