New Features In the June 2025 (14.4) Lightroom Classic Update

Adobe has just released the 14.4 (June 2025) Lightroom Classic update, adding some interesting new features and updating the way AI based features like Denoise work.

Let’s take a look at the detail.

New feature #1: There’s a new AI Edit Status icon

The red dots in the Toolstrip have gone, replaced by the AI Edit Status icon. This new tool lets you see at a glance what AI based tools you have applied to a photo and whether any of the AI generated masks they are based on need updating. 

You can see the new AI Edit Status icon in the screenshots below. The color of the icon changes to let you know the status of any AI based edits.

Grayed out icon (top): You haven’t applied any AI based tools to the photo. Nothing happens when you click the icon.

White icon (middle): You’ve applied at least one AI based tool to the photo. Nothing needs updating. Click the icon to see a list of applied AI based tools.

Yellow icon (bottom): You’ve applied at least one AI based tool to the photo, and there’s at least one AI generated mask that needs updating.

Click the icon to see a list of applied AI based tools. You’re unlikely to see as many as I applied to this particular photo – but you never know.

Any tools with AI generated masks that need updating have a yellow border. Click the blue Update All button to update them.

Why AI generated masks need updating

AI generated masks are based on the pixels in the image. If those pixels change (for example, if you use the Remove tool) then Lightroom needs recalculate those masks to ensure their accuracy.

Take this photo as an example.

I used a Select Background mask to darken the background. The mask overlay shows the selected area.

But what happens if I use Generative AI Remove to remove the dandelion on the left? It leaves a dandelion shaped hole in the background mask.

That disappears after updating the mask.

Why Generative Remove needs updating

Here’s another example. Let’s say you use Generative Remove with a noisy photo. The new part of the image (created using AI) also has noise. So what happens if you apply Denoise? The AI powered Generative Remove pixels have to be updated to give you a new version without noise.

Let’s see how it works with this photo.

For this demo I’m going to remove the poster on the right. This is the photo zoomed in at 200%. I made the image at dusk using ISO 6400.

This is what it looks like after using Remove with Generative AI.

Then I applied Denoise. You may have to look hard to see it, but the noise is gone – except for the where the poster used to be, as these are new pixels created by Generative AI with the same noise level as the surrounding area.

Clicking the AI Edit Status icon shows that the Remove tool needs updating.

This is the result after the update. Now the noise in the AI generated pixels matches that of the surrounding area after Denoise.

New feature #2: Denoise is now truly non-destructive

Lightroom’s AI powered Denoise tool is very effective. But the workflow wasn’t great. Up until this update, Lightroom created a new DNG file when you used Denoise. You also had to set the strength before the process started, and couldn’t change it afterwards. 

Now, Denoise works differently and is easier to use. Lightroom doesn’t create a new DNG file, and you can adjust the strength after applying it. 

This is the updated layout in the Detail panel.

Another benefit is that you can now copy and paste Denoise settings.

You can also sync Denoise settings between images.

Making it much easier to apply the same Denoise settings to a sequence of photos.

Denoise also appears in the options when you create a Develop Preset.

Denoise and pixel data

Denoise creates new pixels and it has to save that information somewhere. It can’t save it in the DNG file, as it did before. So where is it saved? 

The answer is that it’s saved in the .lrcat-data file, one of the files that’s part of your Catalog. This file contains AI related information like masks you’ve created for your photos.

So this file gets bigger, but you don’t need a new DNG file. Overall it’s a net space saving and nothing to be concerned about.

Important note: Lightroom includes the .lrcat-data file in its Catalog backups, so you don’t have to worry about losing the file due to a hard drive failure.

There is one thing to be aware of. If in Catalog Settings > Metadata the Automatically write changes into XMP box is checked, then Lightroom writes this data into either the header of the file (Raw or DNG) or into an .xmp sidecar file (PSD, TIFF, PNG and JPEG). 

This has the potential to make Lightroom Classic run slower and increase the size of your Raw/DNG/.xmp files. 

Raw Details and Super Resolution (see below) work in the same way, but generate more pixels and therefore more data that needs to be saved. 

The bottom line – if you use Denoise, Raw Details or Super Resolution on more than a handful of photos it’s a great idea to uncheck the Automatically write changes into XMP box. 

New feature #3: Raw Details and Super Resolution have moved

It’s not a new  feature, but Adobe moved Raw Details and Super Resolution to the Detail panel.

The Photo > Enhance menu option (the old way of getting to Raw Details and Super Resolution) is still there. But now it generates a pop up window explaining where to find these tools.

New feature #4: Distraction Removal – Reflections

The Remove tool has gained two new Distraction Removal options – Reflections and People. They appear on the right when you click the Remove icon in the Toolstrip.

The first of these, Reflections, uses AI to remove reflections created by photographing through glass. Its effectiveness depends on the photo. 

Here’s an example. You can see the reflections of the trees and sky in the car window.

To apply Reflection removal check the Apply box and wait for the AI to make its calculations. Set Quality to Best to maximize quality. This is the result with the above photo.

It’s not perfect, but overall it’s done a great job with a challenging photo containing lots of bright reflections.

I improved the result by moving the slider to the left to reduce the intensity and make it look more realistic.

New feature #5: Distraction Removal – People

The second Distraction Removal tool is for removing people from the background of your photos. 

To activate it, click the white triangle (marked below). 

Lightroom uses AI to mask distracting people and shows them with a red overlay. In the example below, it found two people.

Each person is marked by a pin. If you don’t want to remove a person, click the pin and press the Delete key. When you’re ready, press the Remove button. Lightroom uses Generative AI to remove the selected people and recreate the background. Here’s the result with the above photo.

What a great result.

Lightroom Classic workflow

All these new tools have implications for workflow, and the best order to use Lightroom Classic’s tools in. 

In the example above, you saw how applying AI Generative Remove, then Denoise, meant I had to update AI Generative Remove. It’s not a big deal, especially with the new AI Edit Status icon. 

But Adobe does have a recommended workflow, that helps Lightroom Classic run smoothly and means you’ll be updating masks less.

• Detail panel: Denoise, Raw Details, Super Resolution
• Distraction Removal – Reflections 
• Distraction Removal – People 
• Generative Remove, Content-Aware Remove, Heal, and Clone
• Lens Blur
• Lens Profile 
• Crop and Transform
• Adaptive Profiles
• Global Adjustments
• Masking

Final thoughts

Adobe has done a great job with these latest Lightroom Classic updates, adding some useful new tools and making AI powered tools like masking and Remove easier to use. 

The AI Edit Status icon is a great addition to the Toolstrip. It makes it easy to see what AI powered tools you’ve used on a photo and if any masks need updating. 

Thanks for reading and let me know in the comments in you have any questions about it.

Mastering Lightroom Classic: Book Two – The Develop Module

These new features are all covered in my ebook Mastering Lightroom Classic: Book Two – The Develop Module.

Click here to learn more and grab your copy today 🙂