2026 includes the very helpful ‘autosoft edges’ parameter.
It would be great if it could be applied by material/texture instead of by geometry. Seems more efficient for upholstery and worn materials.
I initially had a similar thought as this is how Lumion applies this setting. After using it, I think I prefer it by geometry. I may want the same material applied to different geometry that needs varying edge radii based on the scale of the object. For example, I would need a steel 1/8"R, steel 1/2"R, etc. That could quickly complicate the total amount of materials in the project. I also like that I can target only the geometry than needs that effect applied to it. I don’t know how expensive autosoft edges are at render time.
I can see how autosoft edges by material can be useful if you are collapsing the mesh on import but I do not use that option since it would affect my workflow importing from Revit. I prefer the flexibility of retaining the geometry hierarchy.
Depending on how your scene objects are named, you could include the material in the object names, filter by that, select all those objects, and apply the edge radius on your entire selection.