With various Fixed issues and Known issues, the September 2026 release (version 26.5) included:
- New guides functionality in After Effects
- Disk Caching for Object Matte
- Color labels for effects
- Effect Controls panel modernization
- Frame.io V4 panel
- ACES 2.0 Support in After Effects
The beta app was last updated on Sep 30, 2026. Top features in beta include:
- After Effects AI Assistant
- Stylize footage with Contour Paint effect
- Use layers as material sources
- Apply materials to 3D text and shapes
- Duplicate layers using Alt/Option-drag
- Change anchor point in a more efficient way
- Editable text from Illustrator layers
- Reduce sibilance with De-esser effect
- After Effects Guides Update: A Practical Guide to Responsive Layouts
Last month there was an Important Notice: End of Support for Intel-Based Macs in Upcoming v27 Releases.
SternFX discussed how to Turn ANY Layer into a 3D Material in After Effects. flomotion also looked at NEW After Effects 3D Features You Need to Try!
Plainly looks at Expressions, Scripts, Generative AI, and After Effects MCP in 4 Ways to Use AI in Adobe After Effects. See also the follow-up, Control Adobe After Effects with AI (After Effects MCP).
Jake In Motion is exploring all manner of things in the AE-AI axis. In Higgsfield AI Motion Designer: I Tested the Claims, Jake asks “Is this the end of the road for motion designers? Are we cooked? @HiggsfieldAI claims to have ‘solved’ motion design by combining their own After Effects plug-in with the power of GPT 6 Astra to fully automate the process of creating professional motion graphics. Jake clarifies how Higgsfield’s “AI Motion Designer” actually works and shares his unfiltered results.
Jake In Motion discussed a new plug-in with its creators in X-Ray Plugin Talk, with Motion by Nick & PluginPlay. Also, After Effects Tutorials w/ Mikey discussed his own plug-in development work in Prometheus and a new free plugin, Modal Contrast.
After Effects Tutorials w/ Mikey shares his New Free Plugin – Quick Cover Pro – for After Effects, for quick replacements and blending in layers.
There’s a ton of AE tools being released, and yes tool extension is probably the key to AE’s survival. School of Motion showed Three NEW After Effects Plug-ins a few weeks ago: Putty (a better mesh warp), Sumi Ink, and Entropy particles.
Caddis 1.1.0 is was released, extending the power of the fledgling AE competitor. Caddis 1.1.0 — Particles, Layouts, Loops & More is a quick look at the new tools for building motion graphics with a timeline and node graph. The update includes:
- a full particle system with forces, trails, flocking, and GPU-rendered sprites
- Animated grid layouts with the new Layout node;
- Loop, For Each, Switch, and Solver for repetition and frame-to-frame feedback;
- Cryptomatte support for mattes from your 3D renders;
- a rewritten Lens Blur, plus Measure, Twist, and Field Gradient
- New AI models, per-model settings, and live generation costs
- Layer locking, responsive toolbars, and timeline zoom that follows the playhead
In How I Make Viral Map Animations with No Editing, aiTrends says that “you don’t need years of After Effects experience. Claude AI can help automate the entire production process and turn a simple geography topic into a polished animated video.” But you still will need After Effects.
Kyler Holland looked at main features in What’s NEW in Premiere Pro 26.5? — Generative Media, Paper Edit, new creative effects, and more.
