Zoner has overhauled its photo program Zoner Studio with the Autumn Update 2026: presets now work as building blocks, and a new area called AI Lab bundles 19 AI functions, from removing objects to noise removal.
Zoner Studio runs only on Windows and is sold as an annual license. Zoner offers a seven-day trial without requiring a payment card.
How do the new presets work?
Zoner sorts the presets into six groups: color styles for the basic mood, look adjustments such as micro-contrast or matte look, quick adjustments such as cropping or vignetting, corrections for light and contrast, finishing with sharpening, noise reduction and grain, and creative effects such as a rim light around the subject.
According to Zoner's update page, presets from different groups complement each other instead of overwriting each other. You adjust the intensity, see which parameters a preset changes, and sort your own presets into folders. Our assessment: with an album that uses the same recipe, you will in future only swap out the color style and leave the look and finishing as they are.
The catch: the new set replaces most of the previous presets. Only Automatic Enhancement and Portrait Masking remain in the program; Zoner keeps the old Color and Black-and-White groups available for download on a separate page.
In addition, Zoner has revised three tools. The brightness range selects highlights or shadows for masks with softer transitions, the saturation correction keeps color saturation stable when adjusting contrast in the tone curve, and the color toning now also covers the midtones.
What can the AI Lab do?
The AI Lab is a separate area for finished photos. Zoner counts 19 functions, including object removal, Generative Expand beyond the image edges, Generative Rotate with generatively filled corners, and noise removal for shots taken in low light.
AI Lab: What works, what doesn't
The conditions according to Zoner in the Autumn Update 2026
- Works on a fully edited photo
- Delivers a new JPEG in up to 4K
- Runs without an internet connection
- Processes multiple photos at once
- Works non-destructively
Zoner provides no information on credits and upper limits for the AI Lab.
Source: Zoner Studio
Zoner recommends developing RAW files in Zoner Studio first and only then experimenting in the AI Lab. The program always processes a single photo there, and the result is a new JPEG with a resolution of up to 4K. Zoner describes the editing as not non-destructive and therefore places the AI Lab at the end of the workflow.
The AI Lab works only online. Where and how the photos are processed is not explained by Zoner on the update page. There is no information at all there on credits or upper limits.
What does Zoner Studio require, and what else does the update bring?
In addition, the search now filters by groups, such as by series for focus stacking, and the AI assistant Zoni answers directly in the program at the press of the F1 key.
Zoner Studio runs on 64-bit Windows 11 or Windows 10 from version 1903 and, according to the system requirements page, requires at least 8 GB of RAM, with 16 GB recommended. Zoner says nothing there about macOS.
Besides the single license, according to the purchase page Zoner offers a family license and lists the current prices there. The license renews automatically until you switch that off in your account. If the license expires, the full range of functions remains available for 30 days; after that you can only view, export and edit to a limited extent. Zoner does not mention any surcharge for the Autumn Update.
What this means for you
It's best to test the new presets on a series of your own. One album is enough to save the sequence of color style, look and finishing as your own preset.
If you have so far worked with the old Color and Black-and-White presets, download these groups as a precaution before you update. How a photo workflow is structured from development to export is shown by the course on efficient photo workflow, and the sequence also suits Zoner Studio.
It's best to use the AI Lab only after development, and for the first test rather not use any client photos. Feel free to check Zoner's privacy policy beforehand to find out where the processing takes place.
Zoner described the Autumn 2026 update on its update page, which was available on November 11, 2026.
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