Comparison

Simply HDR vs AuraHDR Camera

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

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.

Highlights
  • RAW HDR bracketing
  • 100-shot Focus Bracketing
  • 48MP ProRAW shooting
  • Moon Shooting Mode
  • Long exposure capabilities
  • Built-in HDR editing sliders
  • Low Light preset
Features
Read full description

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.

Screenshots

Simply HDR4 screens
AuraHDR Camera4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Simply HDR at 74% against AuraHDR Camera's 18%. Simply HDR also leads on rating (4.8 vs 2.1) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). AuraHDR Camera's advantage is price (Free vs $2.99). On update cadence and ads 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

AuraHDR Camera is free to download; Simply HDR costs $2.99 up front. AuraHDR Camera sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Simply HDR asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Simply HDR holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Simply HDR has 1.5K ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Simply HDR's written reviews are positive against 18% of AuraHDR Camera's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Simply HDR versus AuraHDR Camera: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimply HDRAuraHDR Camera
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (1.5K ratings) — better2.1 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews73.7% of reviews — better17.6% of reviews
Number of ratings1.5K — better8
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS14.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size51 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJixiPix, LLCAppJud

Customer experience

Simply HDR

All ratings1,464 ratings
Positive94.7%
Neutral1.8%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews338 reviews
Positive73.7%
Neutral3.8%
Negative22.5%

AuraHDR Camera

All ratings8 ratings
Positive12.5%
Neutral37.5%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive17.6%
Neutral29.4%
Negative52.9%

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

AuraHDR Camera

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Simply HDR

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

AuraHDR Camera

One-time1
  • Unlock Features$24.99

Questions

Is Simply HDR free?
Simply HDR costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is AuraHDR Camera free?
AuraHDR Camera is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Simply HDR or AuraHDR Camera?
Simply HDR is rated higher. Simply HDR averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while AuraHDR Camera averages 2.1 from 8 ratings.
Do Simply HDR or AuraHDR Camera have ads?
Neither Simply HDR nor AuraHDR Camera shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Simply HDR or AuraHDR Camera?
Simply HDR ships an update every 2 months, and AuraHDR Camera every 2 months. Most recently, Simply HDR was updated on September 24, 2026 and AuraHDR Camera on September 8, 2026.

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