Home › Forums › Nitro for Mac › 2026.5 is out!
- This topic has 4 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 3 hours, 37 minutes ago by
Nik Bhatt.
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June 2, 2026 at 5:45 pm #147819
Nik BhattKeymasterI don’t know if people on the forum also get the emails, so I’m going to post the email here. However, I would rather not get into the habit of doing that, as I have enough admin stuff to do.
There is a new update to Nitro available now; you can get the update by clicking the download further down this email. This version focuses on bug fixes, usability and performance, rather than new features. Here are a few:
Improved performance when arrowing through images especially outside of Edit.
Improved performance of metadata display and Exif display.
Arrowing through images now scrolls to keep the next image visible to provide better context.
Right-click (Mac) or tap and hold (iPad) on the Info or ExifTool panel to change the font size.
You can now drag multiple items from the grid to the Photo Library sidebar.
iPhone/iPad: the file name and date are now shown at the top of the screen.
Curves on the iPhone has been improved – bigger pop-out curve, and less overall screen use.
Keyword filtering is now significantly faster.
Reduce memory use.The road ahead:
The next significant update to Nitro will target masking UI and feature improvements – I’m pretty far along with it. This will definitely need beta user feedback, so if you aren’t a beta tester and want to have input into the new design, sign up at the bottom of this page: https://www.gentlemencoders.com/nitro-roadmap/index.html
In addition, there is a new version of the RawBridge technology under development that will benefit those running OS versions older than macOS Tahoe and iOS 26. That’s because Apple has been adding cameras (finally) to the OS 26 versions, including compressed Fujifilm and Nikon, but not to older OS versions, like Sequoia or iOS 18. That’s where RawBridge steps in. The new RawBridge will improve decoding quality and lens correction for a host of cameras not supported by Apple on pre-26 OS Versions. The new RawBridge will also add new camera support before Apple typically does. Both Nitro and RAW Power are scheduled to get the new RawBridge.
Speaking of “OS 26”, Apple’s developer conference starts next week, so we will hear about their updates to macOS, iOS, and iPadOS. That may throw a wrench into my plans for the Nitro and RAW Power, but hopefully not.
The road further ahead:
After masking, I will probably work on file system management + XMP. If you have specific file system management feature requests, please email me at info@gentlemencoders.com. I don’t want to overbuild this feature, as I have many other tasks on my plate, so careful feature selection is key. In addition, improvements in imaging features, and extended dynamic range are on tap.June 10, 2026 at 5:50 pm #148174TN Args
ParticipantThanks Nick, much appreciated.
Since you mentioned the developer conference, will Nitro (all platforms) be able to take advantage of new image engine announced at the conference, Core Image RAW 9? Especially the machine-learning new sharpening and denoising capabilities. They look quite advantageous to me!
https://youtu.be/DaFkjE2EO6A?si=4f19tu1nvKEm_sT5
thank you
June 10, 2026 at 5:54 pm #148177
Nik BhattKeymasterFirst, RAW 9 only runs on OS 27, so Intel Macs are out of luck.
Overall, RAW 9 looks great and I will definitely enable it. But, it has higher resource requirements, including memory. That means that some iOS / iPadOS devices may not be good candidates to use RAW 9. Since RAW 9 changes the appearance of images, that complicates matters further, especially when using iCloud or other synching between devices that can run RAW 9, and those that cannot (e.g., Intel Macs). You don’t want to be in a position where you edit an image on one device and it looks different when you open it on another device.
June 10, 2026 at 11:52 pm #148178TN Args
ParticipantThanks, a few interesting caveats there. I am assuming that everyone who (can and does) update to OS27 will automatically be seeing images ‘through RAW 9’. And if only some of their apple devices take OS27, they will be “seeing images differently” on different devices, and that’s that. Their only option would be to stay on an old Apple OS.
Looking forward to seeing RAW 9 on my Nitro apps. cheers
June 12, 2026 at 8:30 pm #148182
Nik BhattKeymasterNo. That’s not what will happen. Apple has made RAW 9 an “opt-in” feature. That’s because it is much slower than the existing decoder, and because images can change appearance. They know what they are doing!
I haven’t decided on the details of how RAW 9 will work with Nitro (or RAW Power – I hope both apps will get that feature), but I will not change the decode of existing images without people agreeing to it.
I suppose it’s possible that other apps would just switch their customers to RAW 9, but I won’t.
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Nik Bhatt.
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