Microsoft Selfie vs Obscura
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Intelligent portrait enhancement
- Automatic noise reduction
- Auto exposure correction
- Photo clarifying
- One-click adjustments
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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.
Obscura
This camera app offers advanced manual controls for photography and videography. It provides a range of capture formats, live filters, and viewing aids to enhance your creative process. An optional subscription unlocks premium features.
- Manual exposure, focus, and white balance controls
- RAW, ProRAW, HEIC, and JPEG capture formats
- Live filters and custom preset creation
- Grid, histogram, and focus peaking view aids
- Video and Live Photo recording
- Integrated photo library browsing and editing
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Obscura V is a camera app packed full of features to help you take incredible photos. Obscura pairs a stunning design with intuitive controls that make taking photos a delight. — Over its 10+ years on the App Store, Obscura has been featured numerous times around the world, including as Editors’ Choice and App of the Day. — Design Obscura squeezes a bunch of powerful features into simple controls anyone can master. The interface balances aesthetics, ergonomics, and intuitiveness. You won’t want to use anything else. Controls can be reached with one thumb, and gestures and haptics combine to create a tactile experience that lets you stay focused on your subject. — Capture Modes & Formats Obscura captures photos, videos, Live Photos, and portraits. Photos can be captured in RAW, ProRAW, HEIC, and JPEG (on supported devices, see http://obscura.camera/compatibility). Capture images in multiple different aspect ratios, or apply filters live in camera for a wide variety of styles. — Camera Settings Obscura gives you control over exposure, focus, white balance, ISO, shutter speed, and flash, with intuitive controls that make you feel in control of your device’s camera. — Live Filters Obscura includes a bunch of great filters to give your photos instant style but you can also create your own and use them live in-camera. It’s very cool and very powerful. — View Options Obscura lets you display a grid, a spirit level, a histogram, focus peaking, a focus loupe, and exposure clipping highlights to help you understand every detail of what you’re shooting. — Photo Library Obscura has its own interface for browsing, rating, editing, and sharing images, but it’s fully integrated with your system photo library, so images captured with Obscura are available everywhere. — Obscura Ultra Obscura is free to use, with an annual subscription for premium features. See http://obscura.camera/ultra for full details. — I hope you love using Obscura as much as I’ve loved designing and building it. If you do, please consider subscribing to Ultra, leaving a review, or just sharing with a friend. All the best, Ben ———— Privacy Policy: http://obscura.camera/privacy Terms of use: http://obscura.camera/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Obscura at 4.1 against Microsoft Selfie's 3.2. Obscura also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). Microsoft Selfie's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 18). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Obscura sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per 7 days. Microsoft Selfie asks for nothing beyond the download.
Obscura holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 386 and 277 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 54% of Microsoft Selfie's written reviews are positive against 52% of Obscura's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Microsoft Selfie ships an update every 2 months, Obscura every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Microsoft Selfie | Obscura |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.2 (386 ratings) | 4.1 (277 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 53.9% of reviews — better | 52.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 386 — better | 277 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 18 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 76 MB | 174 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Microsoft Corporation | Ben McCarthy |
Customer experience
Microsoft Selfie
Obscura
User reviews
Microsoft Selfie
From 386 App Store ratingsWhat 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
Obscura
From 277 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Powerful manual controls
- 👍 Intuitive and clean interface
- 🎨 Customizable presets and filters
- 💡 Unique camera gestures and UI
- 🎥 Supports video recording
Room to improve
- 💰 Subscription-based model
- 🔒 Locked features behind paywall
- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 🤔 Unintuitive controls and settings
- 🤷♂️ Lack of support for newer iPhone lenses
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
Obscura
Reported bugs
5 issues- Crashes when trying to use Pro Raw mode
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between lenses
- Manual settings randomly resetting
- Photos not saving properly
- Freezing and black screen issues
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to save custom camera settings
- Variable zoom function in pro mode
- Separate manual control for exposure and ISO
- Dedicated selfie button
- Live audio capture for Live Photos
In-app purchases
Microsoft Selfie
No in-app purchases
Obscura
- Obscura Ultra - Weekly$1.497 Days
- Obscura Ultra - Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
- Obscura Ultra7 Days trial$24.991 Year
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- Obscura Ultra Upgrade1 Year trial$24.991 Year
- Obscura Ultra - One Time$74.99
Questions
Is Microsoft Selfie free?
Is Obscura free?
Which has better reviews, Microsoft Selfie or Obscura?
Do Microsoft Selfie or Obscura have ads?
Which is updated more often, Microsoft Selfie or Obscura?
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