Exciting news! two days ago, I was on a briefing with the management of Skylum, the company behind one of my favourite plug-ins: Luminar AI. And guess what: the Luminar family is expanding! Towards the end of the year, Skylum will release Luminar Neo.

Luminar Neo is not an upgrade to Luminar AI. It will be a different product that will have a lot of the features and tools of Luminar AI, but at the same time, it will also bring back some of the tools that Luminar 4 users loved, like more advanced layers! So, if anything, Luminar Neo is more like an upgrade of Luminar 4 than of Luminar AI.

Here’s a couple of things that you can expect from Luminar Neo:

AI-Driven Compositing

Smart, AI-based masking easily isolates elements in individual images.
Add numerous images as layers to create entirely new art.
Apply any tool and any mask ... to any layer, in any order, multiple times.
Use creative blending modes, guided by AI, to achieve clean, precise, composite images.

Improved Ease of Use

Users can save their photos as well as presets for easy reuse.
All editing steps remain editable for complete control over the final image.
With a minimalist user interface, the whole process is enjoyable and easy.

So, if you’re thinking: this looks like a more ‘pro’ version of Luminar AI, that’s also how I would describe it. If you’re happy with what Luminar AI currently offers, then Luminar Neo probably won’t be for you and you can happily continue to use Luminar AI. However, if the current features in Luminar AI have made you think ‘I wonder what more AI could bring to creative image editing’, then Luminar Neo will be certainly be right up your alley. I, for one, am constantly wishing that I could use the Sky AI masks and the Portrait Bokeh AI masks for other purposes. Well, Luminar Neo will let me!

I wish I could tell you more, but that’s about all I know myself. As soon as I can, I will share more news and as winter is coming (which reminds me I still have to watch Game of Thrones), hopefully I’ll be able to show some sneak previews of the interface. In the mean time, here’s a couple of FAQ’s

Luminar Neo and Luminar AI: FAQs

Q: Will Luminar Neo be subscription software?
A: No, it will be a traditional license, just like Luminar AI: buy it once and use the version you bought forever (or at least as long as your computer and operating system allow.

Q: Do I need both Luminar AI and Luminar Neo?
A: That will be up to you! Luminar Neo will offer more tools and more controls than Luminar AI.

Q: Will my Luminar AI templates work in Luminar Neo
A: There will be a translation tool to make sure that AI templates will work in Neo. Neo will have a preset system of its own, that will be even more powerful than Luminar AI’s.

Q: Does this mean that Luminar AI is ‘dead’?
A: Unlike Luminar 4, which is now officially discontinued and retired from the Skylum store, Luminar AI is still available for purchase, as it is aimed at a different type of user. Luminar AI already received 4 free updates, that brought (even more than) all the features that were promised when it was announced. So, unlike Luminar 4, Luminar AI is currently not ‘End of Life’, in software terms. I am even in the process of scripting and recording ‘The Ultimate Guide to Luminar AI’, an in-depth video course for it, that I’m hoping to have ready by mid-October. It is currently unclear whether, other than support for new cameras, Luminar AI will receive additional features. If you’re excited by the prospect of even more AI-driven features, then you should probably add Luminar Neo to your toolkit, in addition to Luminar AI.

Q: Why can’t Skylum simply do an upgrade of Luminar AI?
A: Luminar AI has been conceived as a tool that was both simple to use yet under the hood managed to do incredibly complex tasks, driven by AI. The latest update, Portrait Bokeh AI, is a great example of that. To do the same thing in Photoshop takes years of Photoshop experience and tens of minutes of work, often with inferior results. The vocation of Luminar Neo goes beyond that, and as such, it would be impossible to marry Luminar AI’s ease of use with Luminar Neo’s bigger toolset. Also, because of the complexity of some of the tools that Skylum is planning on incorporating in Luminar Neo, the underlying technological engine had to be rebuilt.

Q: I just bought Luminar AI, but from what I hear, it sounds like Luminar Neo might be more my cup of tea.
A: Good news: Skylum’s got your back! Although they’re different products aimed at different types of creatives, everybody who bought Luminar AI between July 27 and September 8, will receive a free license for Luminar Neo when it is released.

Q: I’m an existing user of Luminar AI and it looks like I might want to add Luminar Neo to my workflow. Is there an early bird or a loyalty bonus?
A: There certainly is. In fact there’s both of them: as an existing Luminar 4 or AI user, you’ll be able to pre-order Luminar Neo between now and September 19 at the lowest possible price. (Offer limited tot the first 30.000 customers)

1-seat license for Luminar Neo: 34 $/€
2-seats license for Luminar Neo: 49 $/€
1-seat license for Luminar AI+Neo: 63 $/€
2-seats license for Luminar AI+Neo: 88 $/€

And the best thing is: you’re backed by Skylum’s 30 day money back guarantee, that only starts when Luminar Neo actually ships! So, you can lock in the best rate, you will be among the first to receive Neo and you’ll still be able to get a refund in case it’s not what you hoped (although chances are small, I think!)

EXISTING LUMINAR 4/AI/AURORA USER? CLICK HERE TO PREORDER AT THE LOWEST PRICE

Q: I’m not currently using Luminar, but Luminar Neo sounds promising. How much will it cost?
A: the final pricing has yet to be determined, but it’s going to go up as we get nearer the launch date. As a new user, you can buy into luminar Neo for its lowest possible price right now, and be among the first who receive the software. And you’re still backed by the 30 day money back guarantee that only starts when the product is delivered. So… no risk and maximum savings.

1-seat license for Luminar Neo: 54 $/€
2-seats license for Luminar Neo: 59 $/€

If you can’t wait that long, you can buy a discounted bundle of Luminar AI + Luminar Neo and already start to play with AI right now!