Comparison

Phocus vs Depth Cam

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

Head to head
About

Phocus

This AI-powered app creates DSLR-style portraits by simulating realistic background blur and offering advanced 3D relighting capabilities. It allows for precise control over depth, lighting, and scene atmosphere, transforming any photo into a cinematic masterpiece.

Highlights
  • DSLR-style portrait creation
  • Realistic background blur simulation
  • Advanced 3D relighting
  • AI-powered subject detection
  • DSLR lens emulation
  • Portrait video blur
Features
Read full description

# Selected by App Store Editors Featured in “Best New Apps and Updates” in the United States and Canada. Phocus is a portrait camera and depth editor for iPhone and iPad, built for realistic bokeh, lens character, focus control, and cinematic color. Capture DSLR-style portraits, preview lens and depth effects live, refine background blur with precision, and create polished images with more control over focus, tone, and mood. With Phocus, you can go beyond simple portrait blur. Shoot with real-time lens and bokeh previews, import your own LUTs, shape aperture and focus depth, edit depth-aware masks, and fine-tune subject separation after capture. Whether you are creating cinematic portraits, polished social content, or expressive camera looks, Phocus gives you powerful tools in a fast and intuitive workflow. Inspired by real optical systems, Phocus lets you simulate lens behavior without external gear. Control aperture feel, blur falloff, bokeh character, focal response, and depth transitions with tools designed for creators who want more than one-tap filters. Phocus Camera keeps the shooting experience closer to the final capture, with live lens previews, natural bokeh rendering, custom LUT import, curated color looks, manual controls, and responsive launch performance. "Looking for an app that not only adds the Portrait mode effect to your photos but does a bit more? Then Phocus is the one you're looking for." — iMore "An Outstanding AI Portrait and Macro Camera for the iPhone. It has clearly established itself as the front runner in this iOS camera apps." — John DeNicola "The app is a fine example of technical and artistic craftsmanship." — iGeeksBlog "Phocus is an excellent photo and video editing app for your iPhone that lets you edit both portrait photos and videos with great attention to detail." — The Useful Tech Phocus enhances your creativity with smart tools: • Live lens and bokeh preview for portrait capture • Natural depth-of-field with adjustable aperture, focus depth, and blur falloff • Lens character controls inspired by classic optical systems • Custom .cube LUT import with personal LUT organization • Curated LUT library for Daily, Film Looks, Vintage, Signature, and Mono styles • Look controls for intensity, tone, grain amount, and grain texture • Manual camera controls for ISO, shutter speed, white balance, exposure, and focus • RAW and ProRAW support for high-quality capture workflows • Intelligent depth separation for natural portrait blur and refined bokeh • Real bokeh simulation with aperture shapes and light behavior • Precision brush and eraser tools for edge refinement • Dual-layer editing for foreground and background tone • Portrait video blur with realistic depth-of-field • 3D LUT color styles for cinematic previews and edits • 3D Relight and 3D Scene Preview for depth-aware lighting control • Depth Visualizer, Tap-to-Focus, portrait matte, and depth map export • Lock Screen and Control Center shortcuts for quick camera launch and editing • Built-in tutorials to learn the app step by step Phocus AI Subscription Unlock full creative control with a Phocus AI subscription, available monthly or annually. Terms of use: https://rayinformatics.com/terms Privacy policy: https://rayinformatics.com/privacy Contact: https://rayinformatics.com/contact

About

Depth Cam

Capture photos with real-time depth previews on compatible devices. Edit depth maps with professional tools, including cropping, rotation, and face detection. Visualize depth data in 3D.

Highlights
  • Capture photos with Depth API
  • Real-time depth preview
  • Edit raw depth data
  • Import/Export depth data
  • Face Detection
  • 3D depth viewer
Features
Read full description

DepthCam is the ultimate camera for capturing depth. See the real-time preview of depth as you capture photos (for compatible devices). DepthCam includes a suite of professional tools for editing depth maps. Load any Portrait Mode photo and view/edit the depth data. You can crop and rotate your photos while keeping the depth data perfectly aligned. With the new Face Detection, you can create a depth map for any photo. Includes 3D viewer of depth data. Features - Capture photos with the Depth API - Real-time preview of depth - Edit raw depth data - Import/Export depth data - Face Detection Even if you don't have a two camera device, you can still load and edit photos with depth data.

Screenshots

Phocus4 screens
Depth Cam4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Phocus at Free against Depth Cam's $4.99. Phocus also leads on rating (4.6 vs 2.9) and ratings volume (6.8K vs 55). Depth Cam's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 7). On update cadence, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Phocus is free to download; Depth Cam costs $4.99 up front. Phocus sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. Depth Cam asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Phocus holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Phocus has 6.8K ratings behind it against 55, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Phocus's written reviews are positive against 29% of Depth Cam's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Phocus ships an update fortnightly, Depth Cam every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Phocus versus Depth Cam: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhocusDepth Cam
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating4.6 (6.8K ratings) — better2.9 (55 ratings)
Positive reviews49.7% of reviews — better28.6% of reviews
Number of ratings6.8K — better55
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better17.2
Further details — not scored
Size349 MB93 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRAY INFORMATICS YAZILIM TEKNOLOJI MEDYA DANISMANLIK VE EGITIM TICARET LIMITED SIRKETIJames Grote

Customer experience

Phocus

All ratings6,838 ratings
Positive88.8%
Neutral4.8%
Negative6.3%
Written reviews499 reviews
Positive49.7%
Neutral5.2%
Negative45.1%

Depth Cam

All ratings55 ratings
Positive38.2%
Neutral12.7%
Negative49.1%
Written reviews63 reviews
Positive28.6%
Neutral11.1%
Negative60.3%

Bugs and requests

Phocus

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Can't save pictures
  • Photos don't download
  • Unable to save picture
  • Camera crashes when clicking portrait
  • App dies if you don't upgrade

Requested features

4 requests
  • Change bokeh shapes/effects
  • Add manual brush to control bokeh
  • Make it a photo extension in Photos app
  • Add more shadows and directional lighting

Depth Cam

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Phocus

Subscriptions4
  • Phocus AI Weekly2 variants$3.997 Days
  • Phocus AI Monthly2 variants$7.991 Month
  • Phocus AI Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Phocus AI Yearly7 Days trial$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Phocus AI Unlimited Access$59.99
None

Depth Cam

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Phocus free?
Phocus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Depth Cam free?
Depth Cam costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Phocus or Depth Cam?
Phocus is rated higher. Phocus averages 4.6 out of 5 from 6.8K ratings, while Depth Cam averages 2.9 from 55 ratings.
Do Phocus or Depth Cam have ads?
Neither Phocus nor Depth Cam shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Phocus or Depth Cam?
Phocus ships an update fortnightly, and Depth Cam every 2 weeks. Most recently, Phocus was updated on September 26, 2026 and Depth Cam on September 24, 2026.

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