# Albedo: A Reflectance App

> Measures surface reflectance (albedo) using device camera and gray card reference. (iPhone/iPad app by Thomas Leeuw.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/albedo-a-reflectance-app/id989649641 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Thomas Leeuw](https://appshunter.io/developer/816427172)
- Category: Utilities, Education
- Price: Free
- Rating: 2.20/5 from 41 App Store ratings · 16 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 7.0 · 1 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2015-05-11
- Data updated: 2026-06-10
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/albedo-a-reflectance-app/id989649641/reviews.md

## What is Albedo?

Albedo is an app designed to measure the albedo (or reflectance) of a surface. Albedo is simply defined as the ratio of light reflected from a surface to the light incident upon the surface. The albedo of a surface can be easily interpreted as the percent of incident light reflected by the surface (e.g. Albedo of fresh snow ~ 90%; Albedo of asphalt ~ 10%). The Albedo app is able to measure both the broadband albedo (across the entire visible spectrum) and the spectral albedo in the red, green, and blue color channels of camera.

IMPORTANT: Albedo requires the use of an 18% photographers gray card as a reference. Gray cards are widely available at photography shops and online. Visit the supporting website for more information on gray cards.

Albedo has an easy to use interface that guides users through the collection of two images: a gray card image and an image of any surface. After the images are collected they can be analyzed immediately. In the analysis of the images, the Albedo app calculates the albedo of the surface in the RGB color channels of the camera. The data is instantly saved and can be accessed again via the Albedo app or downloaded onto a computer from Albedo's data folder (accessible through iTunes). 

How it works:

Albedo uses the camera as simple light sensor (photometer). Relative light intensity can be measured by normalizing the camera pixel values by the exposure. Therefore, the three color channels of the camera (RGB: Red, Green, Blue) provide a measure of light intensity in three regions of the visible spectrum. 

The light intensity reflected from the surface is measured when the user captures an image of the surface. This is normalized by the ambient illumination using the gray card image. The final product is a nearly illumination independent measure of the surface albedo. Surface albedo is an important parameter used by environmental scientist to understand how different surfaces and substances interact with light. Albedo is commonly used in climatology, astronomy, and geoengineering.

## Key features

- Measures broadband albedo
- Measures spectral albedo (RGB)
- Requires 18% gray card reference
- Easy-to-use interface
- Saves data instantly
- Data accessible via app or computer

## Recent user reviews (10 of 16)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/albedo-a-reflectance-app/id989649641/reviews.md

### 5/5 — it asked for my location 😏

*2024-08-28*

at least buy me dinner first….

### 5/5 — Great app!

*2024-05-29*

Addicting!! My replacement for TikTok. Really the only app you need!

### 1/5 — Made Me end my Wife

*2024-05-08*

The camera drove me mad.. Job is finished. Thanks. don’t tell the kids.

### 5/5 — This app reminds me of my dead grandpa 😢

*2024-02-27*

as soon as i opened this app my brain was immediately filled with thoughts of my gay dead grandpa. his name was daquavywavydickol bingleton the 15th and.

### 1/5 — Trash

*2023-09-11*

Was terrible, used for class then deleted immediately

### 4/5 — Works as intended

*2023-08-29*

Nothing fancy as advertised

### 1/5 — Just crashes

*2023-05-28*

Unusable. App just crashes when trying to analyze photos.

### 1/5 — Too many ads + app kept asking for my address

*2023-02-15*

Asked for inappropriate pics

Started playing random videos of Fortnite emotes.😡

### 5/5 — Good stuff

*2023-02-06, version 1.1*

downloaded the app and accepted all the permissions now please give me a extra point mr kravitz

### 4/5 — App closes when I hit the analyze button

*2023-01-19, version 1.1*

Great app but recently the app has been closing and not analyzing my photos.

## Frequently asked questions about Albedo

### What is Albedo used for?

Albedo is used to measure the reflectance of surfaces, which is an important parameter for environmental scientists in fields like climatology, astronomy, and geoengineering.

### Does Albedo require any special equipment?

Yes, Albedo requires the use of an 18% photographer's gray card as a reference for accurate measurements. These are widely available at photography shops and online.

### How does Albedo measure reflectance?

Albedo uses your device's camera as a light sensor. It captures images of a gray card and the surface, then normalizes the pixel values by exposure to calculate the albedo in RGB color channels.

### Where is the data from Albedo saved?

The data is instantly saved within the Albedo app and can be accessed again later. You can also download the data onto a computer from Albedo's data folder, accessible through iTunes.

### What devices does Albedo support?

Albedo is supported on iPhone and iPod devices. It is rated for ages 4 and up.

### How often is Albedo updated?

The latest version of Albedo is 1.1, which was last updated on March 29, 2016. It was initially released on May 11, 2015.

### What is the user rating for Albedo?

Albedo has an average rating of 2.2 stars based on 41 ratings. This suggests some users have encountered issues or have specific expectations not fully met by the app.

### Does Albedo have ads?

No, Albedo does not contain advertisements. It is a free application without any in-app purchases or ads.

## Version history (last 2 releases)

### 1.1 — 2016-03-29

This app has been updated by Apple to display the Apple Watch app icon.

Fixes Camera Permission Bug

### 1.0 — 2015-05-06

No release notes.

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## More apps by Thomas Leeuw

- [HydroColor: Water Quality App](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hydrocolor-water-quality-app/id816427169)

All apps by Thomas Leeuw: https://appshunter.io/developer/816427172

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*