Comparison

Maple vs LAB*

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

Head to head
About

Maple

A professional, non-destructive RAW photo editor and library manager for photographers. It allows precise color control, organization with ratings and keywords, and export in various formats while keeping original files untouched.

Highlights
  • Non-destructive RAW editing
  • Library management with ratings and keywords
  • Scene-referred color pipeline
  • Support for popular RAW formats
  • XMP sidecar for reversible edits
  • Export JPEG, TIFF, PNG
Features
Read full description

Maple is a professional, non-destructive RAW photo editor and library manager for photographers who want precise color and direct control of their files. Browse and cull a whole library, develop each frame in a scene-referred color pipeline, and export finished images without ever altering the original. Every adjustment is stored in an XMP sidecar, keeping edits reversible and portable. • Open popular RAW formats including CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, DNG, RAF, ORF, RW2, PEF, SRW, and more • Organize with ratings, pick/reject flags, color labels, and keywords • Refine exposure, white balance, tone, HSL, color grading, curves, detail, lens corrections, crop, masks, and film looks • Work with local folders, Apple Photos, and network shares • Export JPEG, TIFF, or PNG in sRGB or Display P3 • Keep originals untouched with non-destructive XMP sidecars Maple is built around a shared image-processing core so your adjustments remain consistent across supported platforms.

About

LAB*

Read full description

# LAB* — App Store Listing --- ## App Name LAB* RAW Photo Editor & Darkroom LAB* is a professional RAW photo editor for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Silicon Mac — built for photographers who care about quality, privacy, and speed, without subscriptions or paywalls. Edit RAW, ProRAW, and standard photos directly from your camera roll, SD card, USB drive, or cloud storage. Every edit happens entirely on your device. Nothing is ever uploaded, tracked, or shared. **RUNS ON ALL YOUR APPLE DEVICES** • iPhone — edit on the go • iPad — full-screen editing with touch precision • Mac with M1, M2, M3, or M4 chip — same app, same power, on your desktop **POWERFUL EDITING TOOLS** • Exposure, Brightness, Contrast, Clarity • Highlights & Shadows with split toning — push warm or cool color into your tones independently • Whites, Blacks, Saturation, Vibrance, Warmth, Tint • Bloom, Halation, Fade, Grain, Vignette, Sharpness, Noise Reduction • Master tone curve + per-channel RGB curves • HSL color grading — adjust Hue, Saturation, and Luminance for 8 individual color ranges (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, Purple, Magenta) **MASKING & LOCAL ADJUSTMENTS** • Radial masks — circular spotlight adjustments • Linear masks — graduated filter for skies and horizons • Luminance masks — target shadows, midtones, or highlights • Color masks — select and adjust specific colors • Subject & Background masks — AI-powered person detection • Depth masks — near/far selection using Portrait mode depth data • Stack multiple masks on one photo **CROP & GEOMETRY** • Free-form crop with all 4 corner handles • Fixed aspect ratios: 1:1, 4:3, 16:9 • Straighten with auto-zoom (no black corners ever) • Rotate 90° left or right • Vertical and horizontal keystone correction **LOOKS & COMMUNITY PRESETS** • Built-in looks: Vivid, Classic Warm, Cool Blue, B&W, Vintage Fade, Moody • Save your own custom presets • Share presets as .labpreset files via AirDrop or iMessage • Import presets from friends — tap to install instantly **WORKFLOW** • Open RAW files directly from SD cards and USB drives — no import needed • Before/after split view with draggable divider • Hold to compare original • Pinch to zoom and pan • Full undo/redo history • Batch edit — apply a preset to multiple photos at once • Export as HEIC or JPEG with quality and resize controls • Share directly via AirDrop, iMessage, Instagram, and more **100% PRIVATE** No account required. No analytics. No ads. No data collected — on any device. Everything stays on your device, always. Built with love for photographers, by a photographer. --- ## Category Primary: Photo & Video Secondary: Utilities ## Age Rating 4+ ## Pricing Free ## Privacy Policy URL https://spurious-delphinium-b23.notion.site/LAB-Privacy-Policy-3be54f36504a8096ba69e56523206c30 ## What's New (first release) Welcome to LAB* — a free, privacy-first RAW photo editor for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Silicon Mac. Edit RAW files straight from your SD card, use professional tools including masks, curves, and HSL, then share your presets with the community.

Screenshots

Maple3 screens
LAB*4 screens

Verdict

The call

Maple and LAB* are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Maple ships an update every 3 weeks, LAB* every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Maple versus LAB*: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMapleLAB*
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS26.0 — better26.5
Further details — not scored
Size106 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHelix TenSchilliro Massimiliano

In-app purchases

None

Maple

No in-app purchases

None

LAB*

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Maple free?
Maple is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is LAB* free?
LAB* is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Maple or LAB* have ads?
Neither Maple nor LAB* shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Maple or LAB*?
Maple ships an update every 3 weeks, and LAB* every 2 weeks. Most recently, Maple was updated on November 9, 2026 and LAB* on November 10, 2026.

Other comparisons