Phocus vs Kortex Captions
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- DSLR-style portrait creation
- Realistic background blur simulation
- Advanced 3D relighting
- AI-powered subject detection
- DSLR lens emulation
- Portrait video blur
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# 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
Kortex Captions
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Kortex Captions helps you create social media captions that fit your photos and writing voice. Start with a photo, choose a mood and length, and generate multiple caption directions. Analyze recent captions to build a personal style, or write manually when you prefer. Preview drafts, copy a caption, and open the platform where you want to share it. Kortex Captions supports photo selection, camera capture, secure Instagram login, multiple languages, and persistent language preferences. Premium options provide additional caption credits and remove ads. Feature availability may vary by account, platform, and region.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Phocus at none against Kortex Captions's shown. Phocus also leads on device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Phocus sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days and Kortex Captions sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Phocus ships an update fortnightly, Kortex Captions every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 17, 2026.
| Parameter | Phocus | Kortex Captions |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (6.8K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 49.6% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 6.8K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 349 MB | 63 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | RAY INFORMATICS YAZILIM TEKNOLOJI MEDYA DANISMANLIK VE EGITIM TICARET LIMITED SIRKETI | Gary Mizrachi |
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
Kortex Captions
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Phocus
- Phocus AI Weekly2 variants$3.997 Days
- Phocus AI Monthly2 variants$7.991 Month
- Phocus AI Yearly3 Days trial$19.991 Year
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- Phocus AI Yearly$39.991 Year
- Phocus AI Unlimited Access$49.99
Kortex Captions
- Kortex Captions Pro$2.99









