Comparison

Sunbeam Editor vs LAB*

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

Head to head
About

Sunbeam Editor

Features
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Sunbeam is an advanced mobile photo editor built to be intuitive, tactile, and private. — POWERFUL TOOLS IN THUMB'S REACH A fleet of tactile sliders lets you make refinements without needing to shift around or burrow into menus. ADVANCED CAPABILITIES Color grade, mix individual colors, apply film-like effects like grain and halation, adjust tone, and more. REFOCUS A powerful on-device depth model allows you to tap a subject and adjust focus and bokeh intensity on the fly for any photo in your library. MAKE IT YOUR OWN Save your own edits or import cinema-grade 3D LUTs as customizable presets. PRESET CAROUSEL Find the right look by browsing presets that apply in real time as you scroll, and freely dial in the intensity once you've found the right one. BATCH EDITS MADE EASY Effortlessly apply presets across your library for quicker edits. SMART MASKS Automatically select a subject or region to make local adjustments. PUT YOUR BEST PHOTO FORWARD Toggle between edited and original views. Undo up to 50 times, or completely revert changes non-destructively at any time. Explore parallel edits with separate versions of a photo. EXPORT CONTROL Independently manage the format, scale, and included metadata of each export in a batch, or apply all settings globally. CLICKS, TICKS, THUMPS, AND POPS Sunbeam takes cues from the physicality of hardware. These small details make the editing process feel deliberate and close at hand. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Editing and rendering happen on your device. Sunbeam requires no account and uses no analytics, advertising, or tracking. Your photos are never uploaded to servers operated by Sunbeam. GO INFINITE Sunbeam's core editing tools are entirely free to use. An optional one-time Sunbeam Infinite purchase unlocks unlimited saved presets, alternate versions and 3D LUT imports, complete undo history, and full export controls.

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

Sunbeam Editor4 screens
LAB*4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: LAB* at none against Sunbeam Editor's 1. LAB* also leads on device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence, 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. Sunbeam Editor sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. LAB* asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sunbeam Editor ships an update every 9 days, LAB* every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Ā· 4 level
Sunbeam Editor versus LAB*: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSunbeam EditorLAB*
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 11 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS26.2 — better26.5
Further details — not scored
Size63 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKevin MankaSchilliro Massimiliano

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Sunbeam Editor

One-time1
  • Sunbeam Infinite$4.99
None

LAB*

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Sunbeam Editor free?
Sunbeam Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is LAB* free?
LAB* is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Sunbeam Editor or LAB* have ads?
Neither Sunbeam Editor nor LAB* shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sunbeam Editor or LAB*?
Sunbeam Editor ships an update every 9 days, and LAB* every 11 days. Most recently, Sunbeam Editor was updated on September 30, 2026 and LAB* on September 26, 2026.

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