Adobe released new updates for LR, PS etc.

[Reilly Diefenbach]

very informative videos by Julieanne Kost.

Just watched both videos, very impressive. This update feels like a hard blow to the competition.

 

[ishwanu]

I was surprised that Windows 10 was still supported on the system requirements page. That gives me another year before the new MacBook redesign next and then I will make the switch to Apple.

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/system-requirements.html

I don't find it surprising at all. Windows 10 still works just as it did before the Microsoft deadline. The only thing that changed is that if you have Windows 10, you won't get security updates, which is a risk you are taking.

Some of us who acted before the deadline earlier this month will continue to obtain security updates for another year.

 

[davinci953]

I don't find it surprising at all. Windows 10 still works just as it did before the Microsoft deadline. The only thing that changed is that if you have Windows 10, you won't get security updates, which is a risk you are taking. There is no risk that software that worked under Windows 10 will stop working.

Microsoft is offering extended support for Windows 10. The extended support gives users security updates through October 13, 2026. In many cases, it's free, but probably worth the $30 cost if that's the only option.

Windows 10 Extended Security Updates | Microsoft Windows

Use Windows 10 securely with the Extended Security Updates program. See how it helps protect your PC and find out how to get it.

www.microsoft.com

 

[ishwanu]

I don't find it surprising at all. Windows 10 still works just as it did before the Microsoft deadline. The only thing that changed is that if you have Windows 10, you won't get security updates, which is a risk you are taking. There is no risk that software that worked under Windows 10 will stop working.

Microsoft is was offering extended support for Windows 10. The extended support gives users security updates through October 13, 2026. In many cases, it's free, but probably worth the $30 cost if that's the only option.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/extended-security-updates?r=1

That opportunity ended on October 13, as described on that page.

 

[StephaneB]

very informative videos by Julieanne Kost.

Just watched both videos, very impressive. This update feels like a hard blow to the competition.

What competition?

• DXO
• Capture One
• ACDSee

 

[mfinley]

What competition?

• DXO
• Capture One
• ACDSee

When they start comparing Light Room to DXO or Capture One or ACDSee there will be something to talk about. Nothing to see when the comparison is always how does DXO, Capture One or ACDSee compare to Lightroom.

 

[ishwanu]

Just watched both videos, very impressive. This update feels like a hard blow to the competition.

Which parts in particular? It's interesting to learn which features others find compelling.

 

[Reilly Diefenbach]

very informative videos by Julieanne Kost.

Just watched both videos, very impressive. This update feels like a hard blow to the competition.

What competition?

• DXO
• Capture One
• ACDSee

 

[StephaneB]

Just watched both videos, very impressive. This update feels like a hard blow to the competition.

Which parts in particular? It's interesting to learn which features others find compelling.

The bad news for the competition is not this or that particular feature. It is how Adobe finds ways to improve areas where they were already well ahead of the competition, offering a moving target seemingly impossible to hit.

DXO has just released PhotoLab 9. Main improvement is their AI masking, that brought them closer to Lightroom. Then Adobe improves other areas of their Devolop module. DXO brings stacks to their abyssal library management, Adobe improves their own stacking, negating the small advance DXO just achieved. And then they bring more improvements to their own library management that was already the best in the industry.

It is a headache for the competition.

 

[davinci953]

I don't find it surprising at all. Windows 10 still works just as it did before the Microsoft deadline. The only thing that changed is that if you have Windows 10, you won't get security updates, which is a risk you are taking. There is no risk that software that worked under Windows 10 will stop working.

Microsoft is was offering extended support for Windows 10. The extended support gives users security updates through October 13, 2026. In many cases, it's free, but probably worth the $30 cost if that's the only option.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/extended-security-updates?r=1

That opportunity ended on October 13, as described on that page.

That's not correct. From the FAQ on that page.

"When can I enroll in ESU?

You can enroll in ESU any time until the program ends on October 13, 2026, however devices will be more vulnerable and susceptible to viruses and malware before enrollment. If you enroll after the ESU program launches, you will receive any previous updates as well as any future updates."

 

[StephaneB]

very informative videos by Julieanne Kost.

Just watched both videos, very impressive. This update feels like a hard blow to the competition.

What competition?

• DXO
• Capture One
• ACDSee

Allow me to clarify, Stephane. None of those three are any competition for Adobe, especially @ $120 per year.

I am not you clarify anything for me. Do you mean Lightroom is cheaper or more expensive that the competitors? Or just that the others being available with unexpiring licenses makes them a better deal?

Either way, Adobe wins in my opinion.

If someone perceives the Adobe subscription as advantageous, it is obviously bad for the competition. And the relentless improvements to the product only compound the difficulty.

If someone, like me, prefers to pay once and for all, well, even then Adobe wins by superior differentiation. They are ahead of all those products in enough areas to justify a perceived premium.

I have tried very hard to replace Lightroom. It is not just difficult, it is impossible to find an alternative that is objectively competitive. I bought Capture One a bit after Adobe went subscription, that was a disappointment, mainly on the library and printing sides.

Last year, I went with Photolab 8. Its customise module is great, I think the DXO Control Points are the best masking tool on the market, but then the library module is so bad it is hard to believe. Besides, they charge extra for basic features like being able to flip a picture and another extra to get a vignette tool and luminosity masks. You can't help thinking only the French could come up with such ridiculous ideas.

And then you have Lightroom where it seems Adobe has actually understood the complete workflow and has thoroughly covered it.

 

[ishwanu]

I don't find it surprising at all. Windows 10 still works just as it did before the Microsoft deadline. The only thing that changed is that if you have Windows 10, you won't get security updates, which is a risk you are taking. There is no risk that software that worked under Windows 10 will stop working.

Microsoft is was offering extended support for Windows 10. The extended support gives users security updates through October 13, 2026. In many cases, it's free, but probably worth the $30 cost if that's the only option.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/extended-security-updates?r=1

That opportunity ended on October 13, as described on that page.

That's not correct. From the FAQ on that page.

"When can I enroll in ESU?

You can enroll in ESU any time until the program ends on October 13, 2026, however devices will be more vulnerable and susceptible to viruses and malware before enrollment. If you enroll after the ESU program launches, you will receive any previous updates as well as any future updates."

My apologies! You're right and I misread it.

It does seem strange, though, that anyone would go for up to a year without those updates and then take the offer.

 

[ishwanu]

Just watched both videos, very impressive. This update feels like a hard blow to the competition.

Which parts in particular? It's interesting to learn which features others find compelling.

The bad news for the competition is not this or that particular feature. It is how Adobe finds ways to improve areas where they were already well ahead of the competition, offering a moving target seemingly impossible to hit.

DXO has just released PhotoLab 9. Main improvement is their AI masking, that brought them closer to Lightroom. Then Adobe improves other areas of their Devolop module. DXO brings stacks to their abyssal library management, Adobe improves their own stacking, negating the small advance DXO just achieved. And then they bring more improvements to their own library management that was already the best in the industry.

It is a headache for the competition.

The idea that all image converters/editors/file managers must compete directly with everything Adobe builds into those apps is strange to me. Adobe is king of the hill, certainly, but other tools obviously serve the needs of what must be hundreds of thousands (or millions? I have no idea) of users. We choose tools based on what we personally want to do with them, not what Adobe decides is important.

Taking your comments as examples, the AI masking in PhotoRaw 2025 - and even the non-AI masking in PhotoLab 7 - satisfy the real-world needs of the things I do photographically. Improvements there aren't important to me. It really doesn't matter if a one-click solution could potentially save many minutes of time because my results rarely ever depend on that kind of thing. Same with file management. I don't use the file management aspects of PhotoLab or Photo RAW. I use a purpose-built DAM that surpasses what any all-in-one app can offer, and I think many people don't use any file management tools at all.

I'm attracted to the smaller companies that so far continue to provide perpetual licenses at affordable prices so I don't have to pay for improvements that don't matter to me, and I can keep using the apps for as long as they remain compatible with my hardware and OS. But I guess they can try to woo others by trying to be replacements or alternatives to Adobe if they think that works for marketing purposes.

 

[LarryRC]

Just watched both videos, very impressive. This update feels like a hard blow to the competition.

Which parts in particular? It's interesting to learn which features others find compelling.

The bad news for the competition is not this or that particular feature. It is how Adobe finds ways to improve areas where they were already well ahead of the competition, offering a moving target seemingly impossible to hit.

DXO has just released PhotoLab 9. Main improvement is their AI masking, that brought them closer to Lightroom. Then Adobe improves other areas of their Devolop module. DXO brings stacks to their abyssal library management, Adobe improves their own stacking, negating the small advance DXO just achieved. And then they bring more improvements to their own library management that was already the best in the industry.

It is a headache for the competition.

The idea that all image converters/editors/file managers must compete directly with everything Adobe builds into those apps is strange to me. Adobe is king of the hill, certainly, but other tools obviously serve the needs of what must be hundreds of thousands (or millions? I have no idea) of users. We choose tools based on what we personally want to do with them, not what Adobe decides is important.

Taking your comments as examples, the AI masking in PhotoRaw 2025 - and even the non-AI masking in PhotoLab 7 - satisfy the real-world needs of the things I do photographically. Improvements there aren't important to me. It really doesn't matter if a one-click solution could potentially save many minutes of time because my results rarely ever depend on that kind of thing. Same with file management. I don't use the file management aspects of PhotoLab or Photo RAW. I use a purpose-built DAM that surpasses what any all-in-one app can offer, and I think many people don't use any file management tools at all.

I'm attracted to the smaller companies that so far continue to provide perpetual licenses at affordable prices so I don't have to pay for improvements that don't matter to me, and I can keep using the apps for as long as they remain compatible with my hardware and OS. But I guess they can try to woo others by trying to be replacements or alternatives to Adobe if they think that works for marketing purposes.

I find it interesting that Adobe now offers uprezing using Topaz Labs. Not a Topaz plugin but rather accessing Topaz technology directly in PS as an Adobe premium option.