Comparison

Halide Mark III vs Affinity Photo 2 for iPad

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

Head to head
About

Halide Mark III

This app offers advanced manual camera controls and unique image processing for natural, film-like photos. It provides tools for precise focus, composition, and editing, allowing users to capture and refine professional-quality images directly on their iPhone.

Highlights
  • Manual exposure controls
  • Focus Peaking and Loupe
  • Customizable framing guides
  • Dedicated Macro Mode
  • Photographic Looks
  • RAW file support
  • Photo Lab editing
Features
Read full description

Halide unleashes your iPhone’s camera. Disable iPhone processing for natural photos, apply powerful film situations, access manual controls, and more. Halide has over 24,000 5-star ratings and is an App Store Editors’ Choice and Apple Design Award winner. Halide’s Looks are built into the camera itself, changing how your photo is captured and processed - not just a color filter applied after the fact. These are the best photos you can get out of an iPhone. Start with Process Zero for natural, film-like results, without any AI or computational photography. Explore our rich set of creative Looks developed with Hollywood colorist Cullen Kelly, and powered by sophisticated film simulation. For nine years, Halide has set the standard for professional iPhone camera control. Nail your manual focus with Focus Peaking and the Focus Loupe. Compose your shots with intention using sophisticated framing guides, from a basic grid and rule of thirds, to the golden ratio and rabatment of the rectangle. Get perfect macro shots with Halide's dedicated Macro Mode. Hate editing? Halide gives you amazing results straight out of the camera. But when you need to fine-tune, Photo Lab makes it fast and intuitive. Try dramatically different Looks, adjust framing and exposure, experiment with film simulation, or rescue details in highlights and shadows with Tone Fusion. You can even import and load RAWs from other apps, such as Apple’s own camera app, or standalone cameras by Canon, Nikon, Sony, Leica, Fujifilm, and Hasselblad. Specific formats are listed below. *Halide is a paid app. Try it free for 7 days with an annual membership, or buy it outright with a one-time purchase — no subscription required.* Features: - Shoot without Apple’s computational photography for stronger contrast and more natural results. - Photographic Looks developed in collaboration with esteemed Hollywood colorist Cullen Kelly. - Rescue details in shadows and highlights with a Tone Fusion slider inspired by darkroom dodging and burning. - Try any Look on existing ProRAW files - including photos shot in Apple’s camera app. - Become a better photographer by signing up for our 10-day tutorial directly from the app. - Full manual exposure controls including shutter speed, ISO and white balance. - Technical Readout to view all details of your iPhone camera hardware. - Also runs on iPad, for an amazing Photo Lab experience. RAW File Support: - DNG (iPhone, Leica) - CR2 (Canon) - CR3 (Canon) - NEF (Nikon) - RAF (Fujifilm) - ARW (Sony) - FFF (Hasselblad) Terms of Use can be found here: https://halide.cam/terms Privacy: https://www.lux.camera/privacy/

About

Affinity Photo 2 for iPad

A professional-grade photo editor for iPad, offering advanced tools for editing, retouching, and creating complex designs. It supports a wide range of file formats and color spaces, with optimized performance for iPad hardware and Apple Pencil.

Highlights
  • Non-destructive editing
  • Advanced masking tools
  • RAW image development
  • Layer support
  • Object removal
  • PSD file compatibility
  • 16-bit and 32-bit color editing
Features
Read full description

The next generation of the iPad App of the Year, Affinity Photo 2 for iPad is a genuine desktop-grade, professional photo editor used by photographers, graphic designers, illustrators, artists, and other creators around the world. Wielding tons of incredible new features, hundreds of enhancements and a completely redesigned UI, the award-winning photo editing app has everything you need to edit images, retouch photos, create multi-layered art, beautiful raster paintings, designs, and so much more – no matter where you are. OPTIMIZED FOR IPAD • Fully integrated and optimized iPad gesture controls to speed up your workflow • iOS16 ready, including optimization for virtual memory swap, dramatically increasing performance on large documents • Sensitive to pressure, tilt, and angle, the app harnesses the full power and precision of Apple Pencil • Command controller hosting on-screen modifiers • Quick Menu for context-sensitive access to commands • Full iCloud drive integration for seamless file management, storage, and sharing • External display support with separate configuration options POWERFUL TOOLS & FUNCTIONALITY • Non-destructive RAW development of linked/embedded RAW images • Non-destructive Live Mesh Warp filter and other live effect layers • Luminosity, hue range, and band pass live masks • Compound masks • Multiple shadow, outline, and overlay layer effects per object • Normals adjustment for editing normal maps from material and texturing workflows • JPEG XL file import and export • OCIO v2 support – particularly useful for video editors, VFX, film, and 3D artists PERFORMANCE & POWER • Massive image support (100+ Megapixels) • Pan and zoom at maximum refresh rate • Open, edit, and save Adobe Photoshop ® PSD/PSB files • RGB, CMYK, Greyscale and LAB color spaces • Full 16-bit and linear unbounded 32-bit per channel editing • Work with all standard formats like PNG, TIFF, JPG, JPEG XL, GIF, SVG, EPS, EXR, HDR, and PDF UNSURPASSED PRODUCTIVITY • Full support for unlimited layers, layer groups, adjustment layers, filter layers, and masks • Edit live filters, adjustments, effects, blend modes, and masks non-destructively • Remove objects or erase backgrounds with magic eraser tool, blur photos, add filters for pictures, cut, crop, and more with ease • Savable history with alternate futures • Customizable shortcuts with attached keyboard or new quick menu • Isolate, edit, and duplicate spare channels with a simple touch • Link layers to edit simultaneously • Stitch picture-perfect panoramas on location PROFESSIONAL IMAGE PROCESSING • Open RAW in a dedicated 16-bit development workspace and edit straight from your camera • Adjust exposure, blackpoint, clarity, vibrance, white balance, shadows, highlights, etc. • Advanced lens corrections including chromatic aberration, defringe, vignette, and noise reduction • Paint areas or use fully customizable gradients to mask adjustments • View histograms, blown highlights, shadows, and tones as well as detailed EXIF information • Focus Merge, HDR Merge, and Tone Mapping for advanced image processing QUALITY RETOUCHING & CORRECTION TOOLS • Intuitive selection brush and refinement for precise selections like strands of hair • Dodge, burn, clone, patch, blemish, red eye, advanced inpainting, and object removal • Smooth and retouch skin with built-in frequency separation • Dedicated Liquify persona gives freehand control over warps, twirls, pinch, punch, and turbulence ADVANCED BRUSH ENGINE • Huge library of painting, drawing, textures, and professional DAUB® Brushes included • Create custom brushes and nozzles with full control over advanced dynamics FAST, CUSTOMIZABLE EFFECTS • Massive collection of effects available, including blurs, distortions, tilt-shift, shadows, glows, lighting, and many more • Swipe-able split or mirrored screen always available for before and after views • Path text capabilities

Screenshots

Halide Mark III4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Halide Mark III at weekly against Affinity Photo 2 for iPad's every 6 weeks. Halide Mark III also leads on monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs paid) and chart position (#147 vs unranked). Affinity Photo 2 for iPad's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Halide Mark III sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Affinity Photo 2 for iPad sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Affinity Photo 2 for iPad holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 14K and 3.2K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 41% of Halide Mark III's written reviews are positive against 43% of Affinity Photo 2 for iPad's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Halide Mark III ships an update weekly, Affinity Photo 2 for iPad every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on November 7, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Halide Mark III versus Affinity Photo 2 for iPad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHalide Mark IIIAffinity Photo 2 for iPad
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (14K ratings)4.6 (3.2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews41.1% of reviews43.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings14K — better3.2K
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#147 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPad
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size87 MB1.7 GB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLux Optics IncorporatedSerif (Europe) Ltd.

Customer experience

Halide Mark III

All ratings13,678 ratings
Positive86.4%
Neutral2.5%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews914 reviews
Positive41.1%
Neutral8.1%
Negative50.8%

Affinity Photo 2 for iPad

All ratings2,131 ratings
Positive89.4%
Neutral3.1%
Negative7.5%
Written reviews358 reviews
Positive43.0%
Neutral12.0%
Negative45.0%

User reviews

Halide Mark III

From 14K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Powerful manual controls
  • 👍 Intuitive and clean interface
  • 🔍 Excellent RAW capture and editing
  • 📷 Macro and depth features
  • 🎨 Great image quality and color

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🔍 Depth/portrait mode limitations
  • 🕰️ Slow performance on older devices
  • 💰 Expensive subscription model
  • 🔒 Lack of free trial or demo

Affinity Photo 2 for iPad

From 3.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Powerful features
  • 💡 Robust photo editing capabilities
  • 👍 Great value for the price
  • 🚀 Efficient workflows
  • 👍 Seamless integration with iPad

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes
  • 🐛 Buggy performance
  • 👎 Confusing UI and navigation
  • 👎 Lack of basic functionality
  • 👎 Unstable after update

Bugs and requests

Halide Mark III

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Photos not saving properly
  • Zoom functionality issues
  • Landscape mode UI problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • Shutter speed adjustment
  • Live depth/bokeh preview
  • Custom white balance
  • Time-lapse and video recording
  • Ability to save settings/presets

Affinity Photo 2 for iPad

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes when adjusting white balance
  • Issues with importing and opening photos
  • Brush tools not working as expected
  • Layers and masks not functioning properly
  • Exporting issues causing loss of work

Requested features

5 requests
  • Auto subject selection
  • Improved help and documentation
  • Better file management and export options
  • Support for more RAW formats
  • Astrophotography tools like the desktop version

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Halide Mark III

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Camera, Editor, and Lessons$9.991 Month
  • Pro Camera, Editor, and Lessons7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • One Time Purchase$69.99
1 purchases

Affinity Photo 2 for iPad

One-time1
  • Photo 2 for iPad LicenseFree

Questions

Is Halide Mark III free?
Halide Mark III is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Affinity Photo 2 for iPad free?
Affinity Photo 2 for iPad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Halide Mark III or Affinity Photo 2 for iPad?
Affinity Photo 2 for iPad is rated higher. Halide Mark III averages 4.4 out of 5 from 14K ratings, while Affinity Photo 2 for iPad averages 4.6 from 3.2K ratings.
Do Halide Mark III or Affinity Photo 2 for iPad have ads?
Neither Halide Mark III nor Affinity Photo 2 for iPad shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Halide Mark III or Affinity Photo 2 for iPad?
Halide Mark III ships an update weekly, and Affinity Photo 2 for iPad every 6 weeks. Most recently, Halide Mark III was updated on November 7, 2026 and Affinity Photo 2 for iPad on November 7, 2026.

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