Halide Mark III vs iRAW
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Halide Mark III
This professional camera app offers advanced manual controls and powerful tools for deliberate photography. Capture stunning RAW images, utilize Neural Macro for close-ups on any iPhone, and access features like focus peaking and histograms. Learn photography with included lessons and customize your shooting experience.
- Manual exposure and focus controls
- Neural Macro for close-up shots
- 14-bit RAW and ProRAW capture
- Exposure tools: histograms, waveform, zebras
- Focus peaking and loupe
- Gesture-based interface
- Included photography lessons
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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/
iRAW
Capture high-quality photos using your iPhone's RAW capabilities. Offers manual controls for shutter speed and ISO, along with a live histogram and grid lines for precise adjustments. Photos are saved in DNG format for extensive post-processing options.
- Manual and automatic camera modes
- RAW photo capture (DNG format)
- Shutter speed and ISO control
- Live histogram
- Optional 2-second delay
- Grid lines
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iRAW is a camera app that supports manual and automatic modes and uses the RAW photo capability of your newer-model iPhone. All photos are stored in DNG (digital negative) RAW format, which if correctly processed can result in very nice photographs. RAW photos require about 15 MB per photo, as they are stored in DNG format. iRAW lets you use Airdrop to copy photos to your Mac and you can email photos as email attachments. In manual mode, iRAW provides sliders to control shutter speed and ISO. There is an optional 2-second delay before taking a photo. There is a live histogram to help you take better photos and optional grid lines.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Halide Mark III at 4.4 against iRAW's 3.8. Halide Mark III also leads on ratings volume (13K vs 5) and update cadence (every 11 days vs every 6 weeks). iRAW's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. Halide Mark III sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. iRAW asks for nothing beyond the download.
Halide Mark III holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Halide Mark III has 13K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 41% of Halide Mark III's written reviews are positive against 25% of iRAW's.
Halide Mark III ships an update every 11 days, iRAW every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Halide Mark III | iRAW |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (13K ratings) — better | 3.8 (5 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 40.9% of reviews — better | 25.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 13K — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 11 days — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #164 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 84 MB | 22 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Lux Optics Incorporated | Zack Smith |
Customer experience
Halide Mark III
iRAW
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
iRAW
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Halide Mark III
- Pro Camera, Editor, and Lessons$9.991 Month
- Pro Camera, Editor, and Lessons7 Days trial$19.991 Year
- One Time Purchase$69.99
iRAW
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Halide Mark III free?
Is iRAW free?
Which has better reviews, Halide Mark III or iRAW?
Do Halide Mark III or iRAW have ads?
Which is updated more often, Halide Mark III or iRAW?
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