AuraHDR Camera vs Astrosimo
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
AuraHDR Camera
This app enhances mobile photography with advanced HDR and focus stacking capabilities. It allows users to capture detailed images in challenging lighting, achieve edge-to-edge sharpness for close-ups, and shoot in high resolutions like 48MP ProRAW. Tutorials are available to help master its professional-grade features.
- RAW HDR bracketing
- 100-shot Focus Bracketing
- 48MP ProRAW shooting
- Moon Shooting Mode
- Long exposure capabilities
- Built-in HDR editing sliders
- Low Light preset
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AuraHDR Camera gives iPhone photographers advanced tools for capturing scenes that ordinary camera apps struggle with. Create detailed HDR images with up to 16-stop RAW exposure bracketing, achieve edge-to-edge sharpness with focus bracketing and automatic focus stacking, and shoot in Bayer RAW or Apple ProRAW—all from one powerful camera app. WHAT MAKES AURAHDR DIFFERENT? ADVANCED HDR CAMERA AuraHDR’s proprietary AuraEngine tone mapping recovers detail in challenging lighting conditions. Each scene is analyzed automatically, while built-in tone controls let you fine-tune the result. For darker scenes, the Low Light preset helps produce cleaner photographs with improved detail. 1. 16-STOP EXPOSURE BRACKETING Capture RAW or JPEG exposure brackets across a range of up to 16 stops for merging in your preferred HDR software. • Capture up to seven bracketed exposures. • Customize the number of exposures and interval between them. • High Quality Low Light mode uses a lower ISO for cleaner brackets. • Supports Bayer RAW and Apple ProRAW on compatible iPhones. 2. RAW FOCUS BRACKETING Capture tack-sharp close-ups and landscapes with greater depth of field. • Choose automatic or manual focus bracketing. • Capture up to 100 bracketed images. • Adjust the focus interval for different subjects. • Capture in RAW or JPEG. • Use the draggable magnifier and real-time focus peaking to identify areas of sharp focus. In Auto mode, select the nearest focus point and let AuraHDR capture the sequence. In Manual mode, tap different areas of the frame to choose each focus position. Import the frames into apps such as Affinity Photo or Luminar Neo to create images with edge-to-edge sharpness. 3. AUTOMATIC FOCUS STACKING CAMERA Automatic Focus Stacking combines bracketed images inside AuraHDR and saves the completed result—no external stacking software required. • Ideal for macro, product, and food photography. • Select the nearest focus point and press the shutter. • Both the bracketed sequence and focus-stacked image are saved. • Designed for use with the iPhone’s main camera. 4. BAYER RAW AND APPLE PRORAW CAPTURE Choose the RAW format that best suits your workflow. • Capture minimally processed Bayer RAW files for maximum editing flexibility. • Use Apple ProRAW for RAW flexibility with Apple’s computational processing. • Capture Apple ProRAW at up to 48MP on supported Pro iPhones. • Available formats and resolution depend on your iPhone model. 5. LONG EXPOSURE AND FRAME STACKING Create smooth long exposures of flowing water, moving lights, and other moving subjects directly inside AuraHDR. Frame Stacking captures a sequence of individual images for processing in compatible software. Blend them to simulate longer exposures or average them to reduce noise in static low-light scenes. 6. ADDITIONAL CAPABILITIES Moon Mode captures four exposures to help photograph visible lunar detail. A tripod is recommended for focus stacking, long exposures, frame stacking, and High Quality Low Light capture. Visit the AuraHDR YouTube channel for tutorials covering HDR merging, focus stacking, frame stacking, and other features.
Astrosimo
Plan, align, and capture stunning night sky photos with recommended settings and automatic processing. Explore celestial objects and enhance your astrophotography with advanced features.
- Night sky planning and alignment
- Recommended capture settings
- Automatic star focus
- Live view target alignment
- Automatic stacking and processing
- Celestial object catalog
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Astrosimo helps you plan, align, and capture the night sky on iPhone. Choose the Moon, star fields, clusters, nebulae, or galaxies. Capture prepares recommended settings and displays live target alignment over the viewfinder. The catalog includes Messier objects, showpiece deep-sky targets, the Moon, and planets. Planet guidance is for locating and composition; detailed planet images require added optics. Tonight ranks phone-suitable targets using the selected night, location, weather, and moonlight. It does not recommend planets for automatic phone capture. Free includes three successful automatic captures total, recommended settings, automatic star focus, target alignment, automatic stacking with a live view, automatic gradient removal and stretch, and photos saved to Photos at up to 2200 px on the long side. Trails and Time-lapse sessions run for 5 or 10 minutes. Tonight, the Library, capture settings and an exposure histogram on every photo are included. Pro includes unlimited astrophotography and keeps capture automatic, with linear RAW stacking on supported cameras and output up to 4096 px on the long side. Manual controls are optional. Pro also adds exposure, ISO, focus with a loupe, white balance, frame count and stacking choices, optional dark frames, adjustable finishing, 16-bit TIFF export, Trails and Time-lapse sessions up to 30 minutes, and photo verification. Annual and monthly plans unlock the same features. No trial or introductory offer. Free captures use a dedicated private iCloud allowance, independent of Library or Photos deletion. Precise location is used only for live planning and alignment. Saved records use approximate location. All image processing happens on the iPhone. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Astrosimo at 100% against AuraHDR Camera's 18%. Astrosimo also leads on rating (5.0 vs 2.1) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 months). AuraHDR Camera's advantage is ratings volume (8 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. AuraHDR Camera sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Astrosimo sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Astrosimo holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AuraHDR Camera has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 18% of AuraHDR Camera's written reviews are positive against 100% of Astrosimo's.
AuraHDR Camera ships an update every 2 months, Astrosimo every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | AuraHDR Camera | Astrosimo |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.1 (8 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 17.6% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 — better | 27.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 45 MB | 26 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | AppJud | Joseph Simo |
Customer experience
AuraHDR Camera
Astrosimo
In-app purchases
AuraHDR Camera
- Unlock Features$24.99
Astrosimo
- Astrosimo Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
- Astrosimo Pro Annual$49.991 Year









