Users of design apps like adobe often depend mainly on the performance that the app offers. Performance can be measured in terms of rendering speed, workflow, and ease of use. An app like adobe needs to respond to the actions of users quickly. The rate with which pixels are displayed is also pertinent to your work on After Effects.

Every time adobe announces the release of a new version of its After Effects, the first question customers ask is, what’s new?

Well, After Effects version 2020 offers significant improvements like sharper and quicker review playback, and its new GPU accelerated display system. These are just some of the fantastic features that users of the 2020 version of After Effects have.

In this article, we will examine these features and why they are relevant to the average adobe user.

Why should I upgrade to the latest version?

Speed and efficiency are the keywords that best describe the 2020 upgrade of After Effects. The update is designed to improve performance and reduce memory usage. Performance has been said to grow by 10-25% while memory usage has decreased by almost 70%.

This update also makes it easy to remove objects from scenes.

Below are the highlights of the 2020 After Effects upgrade;

Improved responsiveness

One major highlight of the new release is its improved responsiveness. The latest version notably increases performance for projects that contain shape layers. The upgrade of the shape layers means that you can expect a significant boost if you work with vector-based illustrations. Also, you can now select multiple shapes in the timeline panel and group and ungroup them (this can be done by only right-clicking).

Improved Graphics and Texts

There are several improvements in this regard. A good example is the drop-down menu Control effect. With the previous version, you had to hook up properties of each layer to sliders and checkboxes drive animations within projects. However, with this upgrade, you can hook these properties up to a drop-down list.

Another significant improvement is the improvement in the control of your text. You can now edit text properties with an expression, giving you the ultimate power to decide how your text looks.

Further improvements with expressions

The new update offers specific improvements in terms of expressions. Apart from using them to style your texts, expressions can be used for a vast array of purposes. The new version has specific impressive expression editor improvements. Firstly, you can prevent the numbers from matching in an autocomplete list whose first variable starts with a number.

You can also use the graph editor to effect changes in all open graph editors. Apart from choosing your preferences in this regard, you can also scale font size for Hi –DPI displays.

Enhanced EXR workflow 

If you work with large files, then you will love this update better. The 2020 edition of After Effects allow you to import layered EXR files into After Effects, therefore making the process faster. With this option, you can apply multiple effects and make your renders look more natural without going through a complicated process. 

Access to new Cinema 4D Lite R21

When you upgrade to the new version of adobe After Effects, you also get a copy of Maxon Cinema 4D R21 installed. This software is saved on a specific folder where your applications are stored.

On the first launch, you have to create a Maxon user account. This process is seamless and requires you to follow simple onscreen instructions.

System compatibility report

To improve user experience with the use of After Effects, the software detects issues and gives you regular alerts. The systems compatibility report checks for hardware issues and correctly affirms or denies your system’s compatibility with After Effects.

You can also submit a bug if you need the adobe team to review the compatibility issue directly.  

Final thoughts

The new release combines new features with improvements of older ones. There have been significant improvements in the software’s general performance.  With this update, you can select a label group (from the 'Edit' menu) without selecting the shy layers. It also has an updated Photoshop import library.

Expressions are a necessary weapon in every designer’s arsenal. When deployed correctly, they can be used to automate tasks and improve flexibility — the new update of After Effects is bound to enhance your motion graphics workflow. Users can discover how to create reference frames, remove logos on a smooth surface, and several other things. With practical tips properly espoused by professionals, you will learn how to make the most of this update.

Remember that warning dialogue that comes up when you use the aware content fill for the first time? This update fixes that and other issues that affect reference frames. 2020 After Effects updates also supports new formats, and it also offers better playback support. You will experience better playback when you work with 10-bit H265 HD/UHD files. The Canon XF-HEVC format is supported in this update, and it also helps ProRes decoding performance.  

Change is a constant, especially in the world of digital technology. This is why users are required to update continually.

Adobe recommends that users back up all projects and media before upgrading the app. A great way to avoid compatibility issues is by installing existing effects installations with the new version. Also, if you use a Mac, then you may need to use metal or software rendering as opposed to the OpenGL support.