Macro Mode vs MacroShader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Macro Mode
Capture detailed close-up photos and videos with advanced manual controls for focus and exposure. This app automatically selects the best lens for macro shots and supports high-resolution video recording with HDR.
- Macro photography and videography
- Focus peaking and manual controls
- Adjustable LED flashlight brightness
- Automatic optimal lens selection
- 4K 60fps and 1080p 240fps slow-motion video
- HDR Dolby Vision support
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Shoot stunning macro photos and videos with your iPhone or iPad using Macro Mode. Focus Peaking & Manual Controls Precisely adjust focus and exposure using a simple slider. You can even control the brightness of the LED flashlight to get just the right amount of light on your subject. Always the Right Lens Macro Mode automatically uses the optimal lens for macro shots, avoiding switching between the ultra-wide and wide lenses. Macro Videos Record videos in up to 4K at 60 fps or 1080p slow motion at 240 fps, with full HDR Dolby Vision support.
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 price: MacroShader at Free against Macro Mode's $2.99. MacroShader also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.4) and review sentiment (100% vs 60%). Macro Mode's advantage is ratings volume (95 vs 1) and device support (3 vs 1). On 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
MacroShader is free to download; Macro Mode costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
MacroShader holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Macro Mode has 95 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of Macro Mode's written reviews are positive against 100% of MacroShader's.
Macro Mode ships an update every 7 months, MacroShader every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Macro Mode | MacroShader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.4 (95 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 59.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 95 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Kenneth Kao | AstroShader Limited |
Customer experience
Macro Mode
MacroShader
In-app purchases
Macro Mode
No in-app purchases
MacroShader
No in-app purchases
