SMO vs MacroShader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SMO
Capture detailed macro and microscopic photos and videos with enhanced magnification and illumination. Features digital zoom, adjustable autofocus, and a timer for stable shots.
- Capture photos and videos
- Digital zoom for magnification
- Adjustable flashlight for illumination
- Manual and autofocus control
- Full-screen observation
- In-app timer for stable shots
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Application with dedicated functions for easy use of the BLIPS lenses; for Macro photos or videos, or for observation at Microscopic scales. FEATURES: - Ability to take pictures and to shoot videos. - Digital Zoom to further increase the magnification and to observe microscopic details on the smartphone screen. - Flashlight can be activated whenever the user wants to increase the illumination on the observed subject, for enhancing the image definition. - Autofocus normally turned off; it can be easily activated and locked, if needed. - Full use of the screen to observe the tiniest details directly on your smartphone. - Timer: for keeping the camera still during the shot
MacroShader
Capture stunning close-up images with advanced manual camera controls and specialized processing. Features include focus peaking, RAW saving, and a unique focus shutter for precise macro shots.
- Focus shutter
- Focus peaking
- Manual camera controls
- Save in RAW
- Customized image processing
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A macro photography app for iPhone. Features include: - Focus shutter: Tap, hold, focus and release to shoot a photo. Also just tap to shoot - Focus peaking - Manual camera controls - Save in RAW - Customised image processing for macro photography to preserve details Future releases will add more camera controls, editing tools and more
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: MacroShader at 100% against SMO's 45%. MacroShader also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.2). SMO's advantage is ratings volume (16 vs 1) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
MacroShader holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SMO has 16 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 45% of SMO's written reviews are positive against 100% of MacroShader's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SMO | MacroShader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.2 (16 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 45.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 16 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | SmartMicroOptics | AstroShader Limited |
Customer experience
SMO
MacroShader
In-app purchases
SMO
No in-app purchases
MacroShader
No in-app purchases
