Comparison

SmartBeam® Luminance Camera vs Light ARchitect

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

Head to head
About

SmartBeam® Luminance Camera

This app transforms your iOS device into a professional luminance camera, enabling quick assessments of surface brightness. It uses a calibrated false-color filter to visualize light variations, aiding lighting designers, architects, and engineers. The tool also allows for saving and sharing images for reports and collaboration.

Highlights
  • Surface and point luminance measurement
  • Live false color display
  • Luminance selfie mode
  • Multiple luminance scales (Cd/m2, cd/ft2, fl)
  • Auto and manual exposure control
  • Image sharing and saving
Features
Read full description

The SmartBeam® Luminance Camera app solves the problem of how to make quick and meaningful assessments of surface light levels. The app turns your iOS device into a professional luminance camera wherever you are. Luminance is a fundamental measure of the brightness of a given surface or the amount of light emitted or reflected off that surface. It also indicates how much luminous power can be perceived by the human eye. The SmartBeam® Luminance Camera app augments the human visual system and increases the dynamic range and ability of the eye to perceive variations in luminance by representing images from the smartphone camera through a calibrated false color filter in real-time. This accentuates the differences in luminance​ in an easy to read manner. The app is intended as a useful, quick and easy to use tool for lighting designers, architects and lighting engineers who are specifying, using, or planning to use, LED lighting fixtures. It is also designed to help the lighting product development process. For instance, the app can be used to quickly measure beam distributions produced by LED lighting products offering considerable time and cost savings over other techniques. A key feature of the app is the ability to share images directly from your smartphone to help collaboration on lighting installations or new lighting product development. Images can also be posted directly to social media. The app also includes the ability to save images for inclusion in reports. For fun, the app can be used to produced luminance photographic maps of your favorite places or people and even fun selfies! Features · Surface and point measurement of luminance · Live false color display of luminance variations · Luminance point measurement · Luminance selfie mode · Choice of Cd/m2, cd/ft2, and fl scales · Auto and manual exposure · Calibration options · Share of false color and normal images · Save of false color and normal images By using this app, you agree to Apple's Standard End User License Agreement (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Light ARchitect

Visualize lighting fixtures in any space using augmented reality. This app allows you to select popular products, customize their orientation, color, and shape, and view them in real-time with a 360-degree perspective. Get instant screenshots and product details.

Highlights
  • Augmented reality visualization
  • Select popular lighting products
  • Customize fixture orientation, color, shape
  • Real-time 360-degree view
  • Instant screenshots
  • Product information access
Read full description

Make lighting design as mobile as you are with Cooper Lighting Solutions augmented reality app. AR opens the door to design by enabling you to visualize lighting fixtures in any space or environment or setting. Select one or more of our most popular products to help you decide which luminaires are the perfect choice for your project. Customize your experience by adjusting orientations, colors, and shapes. Visualize real-time with a 360-degree view of the fixture from any angle or position. Receive an instant screenshot along with product information.

Screenshots

SmartBeam® Luminance Camera4 screens
Light ARchitect4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Light ARchitect at 100% against SmartBeam® Luminance Camera's 0%. Light ARchitect also leads on rating (4.9 vs 3.7) and in-app purchases (none vs 3). SmartBeam® Luminance Camera's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, ads and device support 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

Both are free to download. SmartBeam® Luminance Camera sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Light ARchitect asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Light ARchitect holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Light ARchitect has 32 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of SmartBeam® Luminance Camera's written reviews are positive against 100% of Light ARchitect's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SmartBeam® Luminance Camera ships an update every 3 weeks, Light ARchitect every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 13, 2026 and June 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
SmartBeam® Luminance Camera versus Light ARchitect: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSmartBeam® Luminance CameraLight ARchitect
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (6 ratings)4.9 (32 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings632 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB623 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTEYEO LLCCooper Lighting

Customer experience

SmartBeam® Luminance Camera

All ratings6 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Light ARchitect

All ratings32 ratings
Positive96.9%
Neutral3.1%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

SmartBeam® Luminance Camera

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Annual Subscription7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro Version$14.99
None

Light ARchitect

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SmartBeam® Luminance Camera free?
SmartBeam® Luminance Camera is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Light ARchitect free?
Light ARchitect is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SmartBeam® Luminance Camera or Light ARchitect?
Light ARchitect is rated higher. SmartBeam® Luminance Camera averages 3.7 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Light ARchitect averages 4.9 from 32 ratings.
Do SmartBeam® Luminance Camera or Light ARchitect have ads?
Neither SmartBeam® Luminance Camera nor Light ARchitect shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SmartBeam® Luminance Camera or Light ARchitect?
SmartBeam® Luminance Camera ships an update every 3 weeks, and Light ARchitect every 2 months. Most recently, SmartBeam® Luminance Camera was updated on September 13, 2026 and Light ARchitect on June 3, 2026.

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