Skylum continues to refine the photo editing landscape with Luminar Neo, an AI-driven editor designed to solve complex post-processing problems through intelligent automation. As of late 2025, the software has evolved beyond a standalone application into a connected creative ecosystem, allowing photographers to synchronize edits across devices while utilizing advanced generative technologies. Version 1.26.0 enables users to manipulate reality—from replacing skies to reconstructing missing image data—without the steep learning curve associated with traditional layer-based editors.
Key Features
- Generative Tools (GenErase, GenSwap, GenExpand): Utilizes generative AI to remove unwanted objects, swap elements based on text prompts, or expand the canvas boundaries by synthesizing realistic new pixels that match the original scene.
- Light Depth: A 2025 evolution of the previous Relight AI, this tool creates a precise 3D depth map of 2D images, allowing you to adjust lighting for the foreground and background independently to correct exposure or add dramatic atmosphere.
- Photo Restoration: automatically repairs scanned physical prints by detecting and removing scratches, rips, stains, and fading, reviving vintage family archives in seconds.
- Sky AI: Analyzes the horizon and lighting to replace dull skies with high-quality custom alternatives, automatically relighting the entire scene and adding water reflections to match the new mood.
- Luminar Ecosystem Sync: Facilitates a fluid workflow where you can begin editing on a mobile device and finish high-resolution retouching on your Windows desktop without exporting intermediate files.
- Face & Skin AI: Detects facial features to smooth skin, remove blemishes, and enhance eyes or lips without manual masking or brushing.
Use Cases
Landscape photographers can salvage shots with poor weather by swapping skies or expanding compositions to improve framing, while portrait retouchers can process dozens of headshots quickly using automated skin tools. Digital archivists and families benefit significantly from the Restoration tool, which digitizes and cleans up damaged historical photos that would otherwise require hours of manual cloning.
Luminar Neo offers a practical balance for creators who want professional-grade results through intelligent shortcuts rather than manual pixel manipulation.
Version 1.26.0 — December 2025
- New AI Assistant: introduced a smart editing companion in both the Edit and Presets tabs that uses text prompts to offer tailored suggestions, including "Action prompts" for immediate enhancements and "How-to prompts" for step-by-step tool guidance.
- Expanded Camera Support: added compatibility for new camera models, including the Canon EOS R6 Mark III, Canon EOS C50, Fujifilm X-T30 III, Leica M EV1, Leica Q3 Monochrom, and Sony DSC-RX100 VIIA.
- Improved Performance: boosted export speeds for images with multiple edits, achieving up to 20% faster processing on Windows and 15% on macOS.
- Enhanced Stability: resolved memory leaks during DNG batch exports and fixed crashes associated with opening damaged images in the Color Transfer tool.
- Bug Fixes: corrected issues with photo positioning and export behavior in Spaces, ensured proper synchronization of deleted photos from the mobile app, and fixed alignment errors in Light Depth map previews.
