Luminar’s biggest update yet promises faster exports, leaner masking and an AI assistant

Luminar has begun rolling out what it calls one of its biggest upgrades to date, and the framing is as interesting as the features. Arriving at a moment when a good deal of the industry is anxious about AI overshadowing human craft, Skylum has pitched this release around the opposite idea: technology that stays out of the way. Details are on the Skylum website. The upgrade comes in two phases. Phase one landed on 5 August and covers interface, performance and reworked AI tools. Phase two follows this autumn with a set of new and improved features, and Skylum is taking pre-orders for it until 31 August with savings of up to 50%. What’s landed now The performance figures are the part we’d pay attention to, because they address the criticism most often levelled at Luminar: that it can feel sluggish next to Lightroom or Capture One. Skylum quotes exports...