Overall, PhotoLab 9 is a strong step forward, not a mere incremental update. The introduction of AI-assisted masks and local DeepPRIME/sharpening are compelling enhancements that substantially improve flexibility and ease of selective editing. For many users, these will be the “killer features” that make photo editing smoother and more powerful.
However, it’s not perfect:
- Stability will improve over time; early adopters may face bugs (especially around AI Mask presets).
- Performance may lag on older hardware.
- The gains in image-quality (beyond the control and flexibility) are likely incremental rather than revolutionary (especially on older sensor/lens combos).
- If your usage of PL8 is comfortable and doesn’t stress its limitations, the urgency to upgrade is lower.
So what to do, here’s when I’d look to upgrade:
- Yes, upgrade if you regularly do selective masking, use iPhone HEIC/ProRAW images, or want more control over denoising/sharpening at a fine level.
- Maybe hold off if PL8 works well for you, your hardware is on the lower side, or you don’t need the new features yet.
