July 28, 2023

AI-powered Denoise gets a major update

We’ve been extra busy here at the Pixelmator Team this summer, and we’re excited to bring you another update, this time introducing some major improvements to the Denoise tool in Photomator and Pixelmator Pro. With a handy new intensity slider and significantly improved noise analysis and removal algorithms, Denoise is now smarter and more capable than ever and we’re here to tell you all about it.

Denoise Algorithm Improvements

The Denoise tool in Photomator and Pixelmator Pro has been redesigned from the ground up with smart under-the-hood enhancements that significantly improve how it recognizes and removes noise from images. In particular, Denoise can now tackle noise of any scale. This means that you’re no longer limited to removing fine digital noise, but can just as easily get rid of analog film grain and even synthetic noise added using image editing apps.

Original

Denoise
(Old algorithm)

Denoise
(New algorithm)

Before

After

200%

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What’s more, by leveraging a UNet-like architecture — a specialized type of neural network — we’ve doubled the size of the AI model which, in turn, makes Denoise twice as smart at filtering out noise compared to the previous version. This helped us fix issues from previous versions where noise would be removed unevenly, or image areas would become too blurry, so you can now enjoy much cleaner images, without unwanted artifacts.

Denoise algorithm improvements

2xbigger AI model
4xsmarter noise analysis
2xbetter noise reduction

Color and Contrast Recovery

From now on, Denoise doesn’t just simply remove noise — it can help recover image colors and contrast, too! Images heavily affected by noise, especially those shot in low light with high ISO settings, can often look faded and flat, or have undesirable color tints. Using Denoise, you can revert some of the noise damage by bringing back the contrast and original colors to photos, giving them more vibrancy and depth.

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Improved Artifact Removal

Denoise can now remove a new type of image artifact known as RAW decoder artifacts. From unwanted color shifts to color banding, these artifacts are not present in the original RAW images but can get introduced in the process of converting the read-only sensor data of a RAW file into a viewable image. By removing RAW decoder artifacts, Denoise offers a great way to ensure your RAW images always maintain the highest possible quality.

Original

Denoise
(Old algorithm)

Denoise
(New algorithm)

Before

After

Download Image

New Denoise Intensity Slider

With the new Denoise Intensity slider, you can now have more control over just how much noise you want to remove from your images. Lowering the Denoise intensity will preserve more of the original image details but also keep a bit of noise while increasing intensity will make the image smoother overall. If you’re looking to remove noise from multiple images at a time, we’ve also updated Pixelmator Pro’s Denoise action in AppleScript and the Shortcuts app to offer the option for adjusting noise intensity.

We’re incredibly happy with how much Denoise has improved with this update and we can’t wait for you to try it out with your own images! If you’ve already got Pixelmator Pro or Photomator on your Mac, iPhone, or iPad, all you need to do is download the latest update from the App Store — it’s free to all existing users.

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