Comparison

Microsoft Selfie vs Hydra › Pro Camera (RAW + AI)

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Microsoft Selfie

Enhance your selfies and portraits with intelligent, one-click adjustments. This application uses computer vision to automatically optimize photos based on various factors like lighting and skin tone, transforming average shots into ideal portraits quickly.

Highlights
  • Intelligent portrait enhancement
  • Automatic noise reduction
  • Auto exposure correction
  • Photo clarifying
  • One-click adjustments
Read full description

Microsoft Selfie is a selfie and photo enhancement application available on iOS, web and WeChat. Backed by computer vision technology, Microsoft Selfie intelligently considers age, gender, skin tone, lighting, and many other variables all with one click. Users can transform average photos into enhanced, ideal portraits in seconds. [Key Features] - Intelligent Portrait Enhancement: The app intelligently considers age, gender, skin tone and lighting when enhancing the portraits, and it will make the result much more natural. - Noise reduction: In dim light condition, the app would automatically enable “Denoise” mode, and effectively reduce noise by using burst shots. When “Denoise” mode is enabled, you can see “Denoise” on the screen. - Auto exposure: It can do automatic exposure correction and photo clarifying, especially for backlit photos. This function can be achieved when user chooses the “Boost” filter mode.

About

Hydra › Pro Camera (RAW + AI)

This app enhances mobile photography with AI and computational imaging, offering extreme HDR, advanced denoising, and high-resolution capture. It provides manual controls, style presets, and a powerful editor for professional-level results in challenging lighting.

Highlights
  • AI-powered computational photography
  • Extreme HDR capture (> 20-stop)
  • Detail-enhancing denoising
  • Up to 110-megapixel resolution
  • Manual camera controls
  • High-fidelity photo editor
  • Multiple output file formats
Features
Read full description

Hydra is a camera app for iPhone & iPad with innovative capture technology that lets you take gorgeous and unique pictures even in challenging lighting conditions. Making use of the latest advances in artificial intelligence & image processing, Hydra’s independent computational core offers to overcome the physical limits of small sensors, with features such as over 20-stop extreme HDR, detail-enhancing denoising, macro shooting, crisp 6/8x zooming, and a whopping 110-megapixel resolution. But there's more. Hydra now features a new highly capable manual mode for photo enthusiasts, an improved faster shooting for reduced artifacts, and the addition of a new normal capture mode for everyday photos. It also comes with a number of presets to define your own style as well as a completely new high-fidelity photo editor. Last but not least, Hydra’s constantly evolving photo capabilities are your best asset to continue enjoying picture quality improvements after device purchase and to obtain state-of-the-art camera innovations all through its lifetime. “The Hydra app […] is one of the more interesting iOS camera apps we have seen in the recent past.” — Lars Rehm (DPReview) “Hydra is for people who enjoy iPhone photography at a higher and more rewarding level.” — David Robinson (iPhonographer) “The user interface is particularly well made […] If Apple were to purchase this app, they wouldn't have to change anything in its design.” — Florian Innocente (Mac Génération) “Hydra […] is a well thought out and terrific performing photo app with solid features that will improve your images in challenging lighting conditions.” — Mel Martin (Engadget) KEY FEATURES • Refined camera experience for iPhone & iPad. • Computational photography with artificial intelligence (AI). Neural processing & fusion of RAW sensor data. • Unique capabilities: extreme HDR (> 20-stop range) to accommodate lighting conditions, superior detail-enhancement and denoising for low-light & macro, up-to-6/8x zooming, and a whopping 110-megapixel resolution. New normal camera mode. • Versatile viewfinder: approachable ergonomics, tactile input & sensory feedback (1-stop vibrations). “Zebra” exposure previewing. • Manual mode for precise camera control: focus, ISO, shutter speed, white balance. • Rich capture options: Apple Watch remote, timer, flash & selfie, geotagging, grid overlay… • Photo style presets (tonal intent, color rendition…). • Powerful photo editor for 32-bit non-degrading edits, including tone mapping, detail boosting, precise colorimetry, and Apple ProRAW editing. • Side-by-side pixel-level comparison with unprocessed RAW input. • Exhaustive output options with varied file formats, including pro options (JPEG, HEIC, TIFF, TIFF-32, OpenEXR, Radiance, DNG, Apple ProRAW, and next-gen JPEG XL) & color spaces (sRGB, Display P3, ROMM ProPhoto). • Aftershot: saving to HyperRAW for deferred photo development, including Bracket and Fusion containers. • Improved saving to Files (iCloud & 3rd-party apps) including shared folders for professional use cases, and folder management. • Redesigned photo gallery. • Lock screen and home screen widgets. • Optimized for latest iOS, Metal, CoreML, and Apple Neural Engine (ANE) for high-speed AI computations on Apple Silicon. • Privacy first: full on-device processing, privacy filter for social sharing. PRICING The free app offers unrestricted shooting in normal mode (auto & manual), including RAW, HyperRAW & Apple ProRAW (compatible devices only). Other capture modes & restrictions can be unlocked either with the Pro Pack 3 one-time purchase, or with the Pro Plan subscription. Upgrade pricing is available within the app for previous version owners. MORE INFO Website: https://creaceed.com/ihydra Privacy Policy: https://creaceed.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://creaceed.com/terms Feedback: hydra@creaceed.com

Screenshots

Microsoft Selfie3 screens
Hydra › Pro Camera (RAW + AI)4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Microsoft Selfie at none against Hydra › Pro Camera (RAW + AI)'s 6. Microsoft Selfie also leads on review sentiment (54% vs 29%) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 18.0). Hydra › Pro Camera (RAW + AI)'s advantage is rating (3.4 vs 3.2). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Hydra › Pro Camera (RAW + AI) sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Microsoft Selfie asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Hydra › Pro Camera (RAW + AI) holds the better App Store score, 3.4 against 3.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 386 and 252 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 54% of Microsoft Selfie's written reviews are positive against 29% of Hydra › Pro Camera (RAW + AI)'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Microsoft Selfie versus Hydra › Pro Camera (RAW + AI): the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMicrosoft SelfieHydra › Pro Camera (RAW + AI)
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.2 (386 ratings)3.4 (252 ratings) — better
Positive reviews53.9% of reviews — better29.3% of reviews
Number of ratings386 — better252
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS8.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size76 MB101 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMicrosoft CorporationCreaceed SRL

Customer experience

Microsoft Selfie

All ratings381 ratings
Positive50.4%
Neutral10.5%
Negative39.1%
Written reviews191 reviews
Positive53.9%
Neutral8.9%
Negative37.2%

Hydra › Pro Camera (RAW + AI)

All ratings251 ratings
Positive55.4%
Neutral13.5%
Negative31.1%
Written reviews280 reviews
Positive29.3%
Neutral14.6%
Negative56.1%

User reviews

Microsoft Selfie

From 386 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💫 Impressive automatic photo enhancement
  • 🤩 Surprisingly effective and free
  • 👍 Simple and easy to use
  • 🌟 Fantastic for selfies

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🤖 Doesn't work with recent iOS updates
  • 🔒 Unable to access photo library
  • 🤷‍♀️ Inconsistent performance

Hydra › Pro Camera (RAW + AI)

From 252 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Powerful features
  • 👍 Great photo quality
  • 💡 Innovative AI-powered processing
  • 🚀 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 👍 Excellent HDR and low-light performance

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
  • 🔋 Slow processing times
  • 👎 Watermark on free version photos
  • 👎 Worse quality than native camera app in some cases
  • 👎 Forced subscription model

Bugs and requests

Microsoft Selfie

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes when selecting photos
  • Unable to save edited photos
  • Permissions issues with iOS 11 and later
  • Incompatibility with newer iPhone models

Requested features

4 requests
  • Update app for latest iOS versions
  • Add option to edit existing photos
  • Improve photo saving and sharing functionality
  • Introduce more advanced editing tools

Hydra › Pro Camera (RAW + AI)

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes when taking 110MP photos
  • Unable to save RAW/HEIC files
  • Inconsistent behavior in different lighting conditions
  • Zoom and macro features not working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ultra-wide lens support
  • Allow editing of photos after capture
  • Improve low-light and macro performance
  • Optimize for latest iPhone hardware
  • Provide better value for paid version

In-app purchases

None

Microsoft Selfie

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

Hydra › Pro Camera (RAW + AI)

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Plan (Monthly)7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Pro Plan (Yearly)7 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time4
  • Pro Pack 3 (Upgrade)$7.99
  • Pro Pack (Upgrade)$15.99
  • Pro Pack 3$23.99
Show 1 more
  • Pro Pack$23.99

Questions

Is Microsoft Selfie free?
Microsoft Selfie is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Hydra › Pro Camera (RAW + AI) free?
Hydra › Pro Camera (RAW + AI) is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Microsoft Selfie or Hydra › Pro Camera (RAW + AI)?
Hydra › Pro Camera (RAW + AI) is rated higher. Microsoft Selfie averages 3.2 out of 5 from 386 ratings, while Hydra › Pro Camera (RAW + AI) averages 3.4 from 252 ratings.
Do Microsoft Selfie or Hydra › Pro Camera (RAW + AI) have ads?
Neither Microsoft Selfie nor Hydra › Pro Camera (RAW + AI) shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Microsoft Selfie or Hydra › Pro Camera (RAW + AI)?
Microsoft Selfie ships an update every 2 months, and Hydra › Pro Camera (RAW + AI) every 2 months. Most recently, Microsoft Selfie was updated on October 24, 2026 and Hydra › Pro Camera (RAW + AI) on October 22, 2026.

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