The core question every creative asks is: Better than what? In 2023, "better" refers to three specific improvements over the 2021–2022 versions: latency, stability, and output resolution.
To understand why 2023 feels different, you have to look at what’s happening under the hood. Adobe has unified their AI engine under the Adobe Firefly family.
In previous years, Neural Filters felt like a separate island—slow to download, slow to process, and disconnected from the rest of the app. In 2023, the integration is smoother. The processing is faster (especially if you have a decent GPU), and the algorithms feel less like a Photoshop action and more like an intelligent assistant. adobe photoshop neural filters 2023 better
Here is where you will see the most significant improvements.
Super Zoom has always been a favorite for rescuing low-res images. In 2023, the algorithm has been tweaked to reduce the "over-painting" look. Earlier versions sometimes turned a blurry face into a slightly different face (often changing the person's ethnicity or age inadvertently). The current version respects the original identity better and focuses on edge contrast rather than hallucinating new details that weren't there. The core question every creative asks is: Better than what
Verdict: Better and more accurate.
The original Smart Portrait was famous for changing head angles and generating creepy smiles. In 2023, the algorithm has been retrained on a massive dataset of editorial photography. Adobe has unified their AI engine under the
Date: October 2023
Author: Digital Imaging Analysis Unit
Subject: Evaluation of Performance, Usability, and Innovation in Adobe Photoshop’s Neural Filters (2023 Update)
This filter was painfully slow in 2022. In 2023, it is nearly real-time. The specific improvement lies in "Scratch Reduction" and "Color Contamination."
Adobe Photoshop’s 2023 release (version 24.0 and subsequent updates through 24.6) marked a significant maturation of the Neural Filters workspace. Moving beyond the beta/gimmick phase of 2020–2022, the 2023 iteration integrated more robust cloud processing, introduced three major new filters (Landscape Mixer, Color Transfer, and Depth Blur), and significantly improved the stability and output quality of legacy filters such as Smart Portrait and Skin Smoothing.
Key findings indicate that Neural Filters in 2023 have transitioned from “creative toys” to essential production tools, particularly for portrait retouching, color grading, and environmental background generation. However, reliance on cloud processing for high-resolution outputs remains a limiting factor for offline workflows.