Comparison

Simply HDR vs Trace illustration

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

Head to head
About

Simply HDR

Transform ordinary photos into vibrant HDR images with exceptional light and detail. This app offers a powerful HDR engine, presets, and adjustable controls to create stunning, artistic, or realistic HDR effects easily.

Highlights
  • Powerful HDR engine
  • Adjustable controls for HDR, color, vignette, and grain
  • HDR presets for one-click results
  • Save custom presets for consistent workflow
  • Six HDR styles (Realistic, B&W, Contrasted, etc.)
  • Library of artistic color gradients
Features
Read full description

Turn your photo in a vibrant HDR with unparalleled ranges of light and detail --- Top Selling App in All Countries --- Simply HDR is a powerful HDR tool that instantly creates stunning and mesmerizing imagery from otherwise bland subjects or compositions. Have you ever looked at a well-executed HDR photo with a dramatic sky and wish you could take a shot like that? Now you can! With Simply HDR this stunning art form is now accessible to everyone. Simply HDR comes with a powerful HDR engine, an easy-to-use interface, options to choose HDR presets for quick one-click results and the ability to experiment with the controls to evolve your own photographic style. Once you’ve found the settings that work best for you ‘save preset’ for future projects. This cool features allows you to maintain a consistent HDR workflow. With six HDR Styles and a library of artistic content you can create both realistic HDR photos or stylized ones—the result will be outstanding work that is captivating, mesmerizing, revealing and beautifully detailed. HDR STYLES • High Dynamic Range (HDR) • Black and White HDR • Contrasted HDR • Shadows and Lights • Contrasted Light FEATURES Fully adjustable control on all aspects of the process: HDR, Color Gradients, Vignette, and Grain. INCLUDES A library of HDArt Color Gradients UNIVERSAL FEATURES All JixiPix Apps come with: Superior Customer Service, Support for High-Resolution Images & Output, Undo, Randomize Button, Quick Presets and the ability to create Custom Presets, Cropping with the ability to specify aspect ratio, Quick Preview, Email, Print, and the ability to post directly to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr. We also have an online art gallery and invite our user’s to display their artistic creations on it: http://www.flickr.com/groups/jixipixcreations/ *************** “JixiPix turns any photo into a masterpiece. All that is required of you is the appreciation — we’ll take care of the rest!” JixiPix.com “Creative Tools for Creative People” Photography | Artistic | Graphic Apps ***If you are missing presets then please uninstall and re-install the app

About

Trace illustration

Transform your iPad into a digital tracing table for drawing or practicing characters. This app offers a simplified interface with options to disable image manipulation and maximize screen brightness for clear tracing. It's suitable for both children and adults looking to create art or learn writing.

Highlights
  • Digital tracing table functionality
  • Disable image manipulation
  • Maximum screen brightness option
  • Outline images
  • Practice hiragana and kanji writing
  • Child-optimized interface
Read full description

This is an application that allows you to use your iPad like a tracing table. - You can disable image manipulation (zoom in, zoom out, move, rotate) while the image is being displayed. - You can outline the image. - The brightness of the screen can be set to the maximum (it will be automatically restored after the application is closed). In addition to drawing illustrations, you can also display images of hiragana and kanji characters to practice writing them. The menus and other features have been optimized for children, but adults can also use the app without any problems. Please note Please do not use oil-based pens or any other pens that may smear on the back of the iPad screen.

Screenshots

Simply HDR4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Simply HDR at every 2 months against Trace illustration's every 38 months. Simply HDR also leads on chart position (#87 vs unranked) and device support (3 vs 1). Trace illustration's advantage is price ($1.99 vs $2.99). On review sentiment, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Simply HDR costs $2.99 and Trace illustration $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simply HDR ships an update every 2 months, Trace illustration every 38 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Simply HDR versus Trace illustration: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimply HDRTrace illustration
Price$2.99$1.99 — better
Rating4.8 (1.5K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews81.2% of reviews — better80.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1.5K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 38 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#87 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size51 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJixiPix, LLCKouichi INAFUKU

Customer experience

Simply HDR

All ratings1,464 ratings
Positive94.7%
Neutral1.8%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews762 reviews
Positive81.2%
Neutral4.1%
Negative14.7%

Trace illustration

Written reviews5 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Simply HDR

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes on iOS 15 update
  • Buttons/controls not working properly
  • Compatibility issues with newer devices
  • Slow save times
  • Screen controls get corrupted

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to merge multiple exposures
  • More filters and editing options
  • Improved performance and stability
  • Rotate image before saving
  • Higher export resolution

Trace illustration

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Simply HDR

No in-app purchases

None

Trace illustration

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Simply HDR free?
Simply HDR costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Trace illustration free?
Trace illustration costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Simply HDR or Trace illustration have ads?
Neither Simply HDR nor Trace illustration shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Simply HDR or Trace illustration?
Simply HDR ships an update every 2 months, and Trace illustration every 38 months. Most recently, Simply HDR was updated on October 29, 2026 and Trace illustration on October 24, 2026.

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