Comparison

True Color vs LAB*

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

Head to head
About

True Color

Features
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True Color is a real photo editor, not another filter app. Under the hood it's the color math you know from desktop editors: layers, masks, Levels, Curves, Hue/Saturation, Color Balance, Channel Mixer and more, rebuilt for touch. QUICK WHEN YOU WANT IT • Adjust: exposure, contrast, color and tone, plus a one-tap auto that writes a real Levels layer you can open and inspect • Filters: one-tap looks with an intensity dial • Alchemy: blend styles on a free two-axis pad and save the mix as your own look • Crop, B&W, Portrait Blur, Colorize, Splash: the everyday tools, simple and fast DEEP WHEN YOU'RE READY • A full layer stack with 26 blend modes, opacity and groups • Masks: paint, subject, depth, gradient and luminosity, with the AI running on-device • Blend If: composite on tone, so an edit lands only where you meant it • Pipeline view: see exactly how any edit is built, layer by layer • Save any edit as a reusable Look, or import your own .cube and .3dl LUTs PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your photos never leave your iPhone. All editing and all AI runs on-device. No account, no upload. FREE AND PRO The editor is free: three layers on every photo, the everyday adjustments, the whole Filters rail and all 26 blend modes. True Color Pro takes the ceiling off, with unlimited layers, 17 more adjustment layers (Curves, Levels, Channel Mixer, Selective Color, Lab Color, Split Toning and more), all five kinds of mask, Blend If, Looks, LUT import, and saving from the one-tap tools. SUBSCRIPTION True Color Pro is an auto-renewing subscription, offered in three lengths: • Pro Weekly, $4.99 per week • Pro Monthly, $7.99 per month • Pro Yearly, $29.99 per year Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically for the same period at the same price unless auto-renewal is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the current period ends. You can manage your subscription and turn off auto-renewal in your Apple Account settings after purchase. Prices are in US dollars and may vary by region. Terms of Use: https://gettruecolor.com/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://gettruecolor.com/privacy.html

About

LAB*

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# 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

True Color4 screens
LAB*4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: LAB* at none against True Color's 3. LAB* also leads on device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. True Color sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. LAB* asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences Ā· 4 level
True Color versus LAB*: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTrue ColorLAB*
PriceFreeFree
Update frequency—Every 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS26.0 — better26.5
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIhor MalovanyiSchilliro Massimiliano

In-app purchases

3 purchases

True Color

Subscriptions3
  • Pro Weekly3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Pro Monthly$7.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly - Best Value7 Days trial$29.991 Year
None

LAB*

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is True Color free?
True Color is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is LAB* free?
LAB* is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do True Color or LAB* have ads?
Neither True Color nor LAB* shows ads.

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