Comparison

SphereLens vs Obscura

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

Head to head
About

SphereLens

Transform your photos into unique spherical lens effects. Emphasize specific parts of your image by aligning them within a guiding circle. Adjust the sphere size and save your creations in high resolution.

Highlights
  • Spherical lens photo processing
  • On-screen camera guide
  • Adjustable sphere size
  • High-resolution saving
  • Direct Twitter sharing
  • Customizable settings
Read full description

Let's collect favorite pictures into the sphere! A sphere lens is processed into a style which looks at a photograph with a spherical lens. It makes the photograph that the glass ball has floated in the air, please try! The guide of a circle is displayed on the camera of a sphere lens. Let's take a photograph so that a part to emphasize may be settled into a circle! After photography or selection of a photograph becomes a preview screen which can change the size of sphere. Because it is a preview, a picture is displayed roughly a little, but a beautiful picture is saved at the time of preservation. Make a sphere into a favorite size with the button of + (Plus) and - (minus), and it is preservation with the button of a lower arrow. After preservation is made also as for contribution to a twitter as it is. (A twitter is restricted to iOS5 or more.) Wanna make more beautiful pictures ? If so, you should change the setting of "SphereLens" in a "setup" of iOS. Although saved in the size of a maximum of 1024x768 pixels, by high resolution, preservation can come to be performed and the photograph processed with the sphere lens can be saved more finely than usual, if a setup is changed. However, even when a setup is changed, size change is not performed in the picture below 1024x768 pixels. In order that processing of high resolution may consume a memory so much, it recommends ending the application which is operating in the background. Processing time is also borrowed in many from usual.

About

Obscura

This camera app offers advanced manual controls for photography and videography. It provides a range of capture formats, live filters, and viewing aids to enhance your creative process. An optional subscription unlocks premium features.

Highlights
  • Manual exposure, focus, and white balance controls
  • RAW, ProRAW, HEIC, and JPEG capture formats
  • Live filters and custom preset creation
  • Grid, histogram, and focus peaking view aids
  • Video and Live Photo recording
  • Integrated photo library browsing and editing
Features
Read full description

Obscura V is a camera app packed full of features to help you take incredible photos. Obscura pairs a stunning design with intuitive controls that make taking photos a delight. — Over its 10+ years on the App Store, Obscura has been featured numerous times around the world, including as Editors’ Choice and App of the Day. — Design Obscura squeezes a bunch of powerful features into simple controls anyone can master. The interface balances aesthetics, ergonomics, and intuitiveness. You won’t want to use anything else. Controls can be reached with one thumb, and gestures and haptics combine to create a tactile experience that lets you stay focused on your subject. — Capture Modes & Formats Obscura captures photos, videos, Live Photos, and portraits. Photos can be captured in RAW, ProRAW, HEIC, and JPEG (on supported devices, see http://obscura.camera/compatibility). Capture images in multiple different aspect ratios, or apply filters live in camera for a wide variety of styles. — Camera Settings Obscura gives you control over exposure, focus, white balance, ISO, shutter speed, and flash, with intuitive controls that make you feel in control of your device’s camera. — Live Filters Obscura includes a bunch of great filters to give your photos instant style but you can also create your own and use them live in-camera. It’s very cool and very powerful. — View Options Obscura lets you display a grid, a spirit level, a histogram, focus peaking, a focus loupe, and exposure clipping highlights to help you understand every detail of what you’re shooting. — Photo Library Obscura has its own interface for browsing, rating, editing, and sharing images, but it’s fully integrated with your system photo library, so images captured with Obscura are available everywhere. — Obscura Ultra Obscura is free to use, with an annual subscription for premium features. See http://obscura.camera/ultra for full details. — I hope you love using Obscura as much as I’ve loved designing and building it. If you do, please consider subscribing to Ultra, leaving a review, or just sharing with a friend. All the best, Ben ———— Privacy Policy: http://obscura.camera/privacy Terms of use: http://obscura.camera/terms

Screenshots

SphereLens4 screens
Obscura4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Obscura at 4.1 against SphereLens's 3.5. Obscura also leads on ratings volume (277 vs 2). SphereLens's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and review sentiment (75% vs 52%). On price, update cadence, 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. Obscura sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per 7 days. SphereLens asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Obscura holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Obscura has 277 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 75% of SphereLens's written reviews are positive against 52% of Obscura's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SphereLens ships an update every 3 weeks, Obscura every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
SphereLens versus Obscura: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSphereLensObscura
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.5 (2 ratings)4.1 (277 ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews — better52.4% of reviews
Number of ratings2277 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS7.1 — better18
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB174 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSalamander Factory Co.,Ltd.Ben McCarthy

Customer experience

SphereLens

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative12.5%

Obscura

All ratings277 ratings
Positive72.6%
Neutral8.7%
Negative18.8%
Written reviews206 reviews
Positive52.4%
Neutral15.0%
Negative32.5%

Bugs and requests

SphereLens

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Obscura

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes when trying to use Pro Raw mode
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between lenses
  • Manual settings randomly resetting
  • Photos not saving properly
  • Freezing and black screen issues

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to save custom camera settings
  • Variable zoom function in pro mode
  • Separate manual control for exposure and ISO
  • Dedicated selfie button
  • Live audio capture for Live Photos

In-app purchases

None

SphereLens

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

Obscura

Subscriptions4
  • Obscura Ultra - Weekly$1.497 Days
  • Obscura Ultra - Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Obscura Ultra7 Days trial$24.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Obscura Ultra Upgrade1 Year trial$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • Obscura Ultra - One Time$74.99

Questions

Is SphereLens free?
SphereLens is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Obscura free?
Obscura is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, SphereLens or Obscura?
Obscura is rated higher. SphereLens averages 3.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Obscura averages 4.1 from 277 ratings.
Do SphereLens or Obscura have ads?
Neither SphereLens nor Obscura shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SphereLens or Obscura?
SphereLens ships an update every 3 weeks, and Obscura every 2 weeks. Most recently, SphereLens was updated on November 1, 2026 and Obscura on November 3, 2026.

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