Blur vs Zone Tool
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Blur
Transform your photos into unique wallpapers for your device. This app allows you to remix images, add color tints and saturation, and preview your creations directly on your home screen. Share your personalized designs with friends and family.
- Photo remixing for wallpapers
- Home screen test mode
- Live parallax effect
- Color tinting
- Saturation control
- Direct camera/library access
- Sharing options
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Remix photos to create stunning personal wallpapers that feel right at home in iOS. Features: - Home Screen Test Mode. Quickly test how your creation looks on a home screen without leaving the app. Blur was the first app to introduce such feature in the App Store 3.5 years ago. - Live Parallax effect in the entire User Interface including Home Screen Test Mode giving an incredible feeling of depth. - Tint your blurs with a color of your choice to perfectly match your iDevice. - Make your blurs more vibrant with saturation control. - Choose photos from your library or straight from the camera. - Share your blurs via Facebook, Twitter, Email, iMessages, and AirDrop. - Saved wallpapers are saved in sizes that support parallax effect.
Zone Tool
Calculate photographic exposure and development adjustments using zone system theory. Measure shadows and highlights, input film ISO and desired shutter speed to determine aperture and development time modifications.
- Zone system exposure calculation
- Shadow and highlight measurement
- Film ISO input
- Shutter speed adjustment
- Development time calculation
- Aperture determination
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With this tool you can calculate your exposure and needed adjustment for development. It uses zone system theory originally invented by Ansel Adams and Fred Archer. First decide zone of your shadows and measure the shadows. Then device highlight zone and measure the highlights. Measure these with the film ISO you are going to use. You also need to decide shutter speed in beforehand. The app calculates exposure aperture for you and also tells if you need to shorten (N+..) or expand (N-..) your development time. You will get best results with a spot light meter but mobile apps will probably do fine.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Blur at Free against Zone Tool's $0.99. Blur also leads on rating (3.5 vs 2.8) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 38 months). Zone Tool's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 57%) and chart position (#197 vs unranked). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases 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
Blur is free to download; Zone Tool costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Blur holds the better App Store score, 3.5 against 2.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 6 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 57% of Blur's written reviews are positive against 100% of Zone Tool's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Blur ships an update every 2 weeks, Zone Tool every 38 months. The most recent releases landed on August 29, 2026 and August 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Blur | Zone Tool |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 3.5 (6 ratings) — better | 2.8 (6 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 57.1% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 6 | 6 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 38 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #197 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 12.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Taphive GmbH | Jouni Erola |
Customer experience
Blur
Zone Tool
In-app purchases
Blur
No in-app purchases
Zone Tool
No in-app purchases
