DxO PhotoLab 9.6 Brings Smarter AI Noise Reduction and Smaller DNG Files

DxO announced PhotoLab 9.6 on March 17, 2026, with three headline changes that together represent the most substantial update to the software's core processing pipeline in recent memory: DeepPRIME XD3 denoising extended to Bayer sensors, a new Diffusion slider for AI Masks, and a High-Fidelity Compression option for DNG export that DxO claims produces files up to four times smaller without compromising RAW quality.

The Bayer sensor support is the biggest technical shift. DeepPRIME XD3 had previously been exclusive to Fujifilm's X-Trans cameras, leaving the vast majority of mirrorless and DSLR shooters on the older DeepPRIME XD and XD2 engines. Those two options have now been removed entirely; the release notes state that "DeepPRIME XD3 supersedes both with superior quality and performance." Because the engine handles noise reduction and demosaicing simultaneously, the extension to Bayer opens that combined pipeline to essentially the full range of mainstream camera bodies. Thomas Fitzgerald, who had already examined XD3 in his PureRAW 6 first-look, described the engine as designed "specifically for the most demanding files captured under challenging conditions," producing "cleaner, sharper images than ever before, extracting phenomenal detail while maintaining natural textures and accurate colour reproduction."

High-Fidelity Compression arrives in PhotoLab 9.6 having already debuted in PureRAW 6 a few weeks earlier. The option creates compressed DNGs that DxO says are up to four times smaller than conventional DNG output. The previous DNG export option has been removed, though existing DNG files from earlier PhotoLab versions remain fully compatible. One early adopter on the DxO forum flagged a practical compatibility wrinkle: the compressed files trigger a "not supported file format" error in the Windows Photos app, though they open without issue in Fast RAW Viewer.

The AI Masks feature gains a Diffusion slider that softens mask edges and creates smoother transitions for local adjustments. DxO frames the addition as useful across portraits, landscapes, and complex tonal transitions, and forum users confirmed the masks "snap in fine" on initial testing.

On Windows, AI-based processing including DeepPRIME XD3 and AI Mask now leverages the Windows Machine Learning runtime for improved speed, efficiency, and stability. The mode is automatically enabled and can be toggled in Preferences. Supported hardware includes NVIDIA RTX 30XX series and above, Intel ARC, and Intel AI Boost on Core Ultra processors. AMD GPUs and NVIDIA RTX 20XX cards are explicitly not supported and will fall back to the standard processing pipeline. On the Mac side, one forum user measured DeepPRIME XD3 as 22 percent slower with ANE and 42 percent slower with GPU on a Mac Studio M2 Ultra compared to XD2 processing times; that figure is a community benchmark, not an official DxO claim.

Digital Camera World has called PhotoLab "one of the best raw processing and photo editing tools you can buy." A fully functioning 30-day trial is available now, requiring only an email address to receive the download link. According to CanonRumors, upgrade pricing sits at $119 and a new license at $239.