The previously announced speed boost of Lightroom Classic is here. Today, Adobe has released the latest update of Lightroom Classic, version 7.2. It mainly focuses on performance, but also makes it easier to organize your files. The latest update makes Lightroom Classic faster, which was one of the main concerns of its users. However, it seems not everyone will experience the speed boost, at least not yet. It all depends on your computer’s hardware.
As Adobe writes, Lightroom Classic’s performance “will scale better across multiple cores on computers with at least 12 GB of RAM.” These are the changes they’ve implemented in the latest update:
Faster import grid loadingFaster import and preview generationFaster walking through images in the Loupe ViewFaster rendering of adjustments in DevelopFaster merge operations of HDR/PanosFaster export
Adobe says that the latest improvements “impact a wide range of hardware.” According to them, they cover both Mac and Windows, as well as old and new computers. But they add that the enhancements will “scale appropriately with a customer’s investment in hardware.” According to the tests performed by Digital Trends, this means you won’t see too much of a difference if your computer doesn’t meet the 12 GB of RAM requirement. But, Adobe announces that the company will address this issue in future updates. There have been a few more speed issues resolved with the latest Lightroom Classic update. Previously, users would complain that a large investment in a new system did not provide sufficient improvements in Lightroom speed. Also, Lightroom Classic would slow down over time for some users. According to Adobe, they have fixed both of these issues. In addition to the speed boost, Adobe has added a few more enhancements to the 7.2 version:
Folder search: you can now find a specific Folder via text searchFilter favorites within folders: you can tag the folder as a favoriteInstantly creating collections from folders: you can replicate your folders as collections and sync them more easily with Lightroom mobileCreating collections from a pin in the map module: you can add all of the photos from a specific location to a CollectionNew library filter for finding edited or unedited imagesCreating a smart collection with edited or unedited images: you can create smart collections based on images with edits in them
In addition to improving Lightroom Classic, Adobe has also updated Lightroom CC and Lightroom Mobile. Lightroom CC now allows photographers to set up the copyright information more easily. As for the Lightroom Mobile, it now allows you to add a text-based watermark on export. Another improvement is the Geometry tab for correcting distortions, which is available for Android and coming to iOS soon. Lightroom Mobile users can now also use Google Assistant for Lightroom to search for images, and they can add photos to Lightroom from other apps. If you’d like to learn more about Adobe’s latest updates, check out their blog here and here. [via Digital Trends]