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What are the best image editors for iOS?

7
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7
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7 Options Considered

7 Options ConsideredPricePlatformsTethered capture
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Pixelmator
-OSXNo
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Affinity Photo
$49.99OSX, WindowsNo
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Aviary
-––
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Free Photo Collage & Template Designer
Free––
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Lightroom
$9.99/moWindows OSXYes
See Full List
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Pixelmator

Add Video or Image
Andris Pelcbergs
Top Pro

Functionality comparable to that of the desktop counterpart

•••
The app allows adjusting colors (contrast, exposure, white balance, saturation, etc) applying dozens of effects, it has tools for painting (100+ brushes, stylus support, smudging, etc), retouching (sharpening, lightening, etc) and graphic design (texts, shapes) and much more. All supporting layer-b...
Andris Pelcbergs
Top Pro

Cheap

•••
Costs just $5.
Andris Pelcbergs
Top Con

Lots of tapping required to get around

•••
Because Pixelmator tries to include as much functionality as it does, a lot of time is spent navigating through menus, finding the appropriate tool for the job.
Andris Pelcbergs
Top Con

No redo button

•••
See 2 more Pros & ConsSee 2 more Pros & Cons
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Affinity Photo

Add Video or Image
Kristaps
Top Pro

Lifetime updates

•••
Pay once, get updates forever.
Kristaps
Top Pro

Personas allow separation of concerns

•••
At a high level the interface is organized into broad groups of tools called Personas. Personas like Photo for in-depth image manipulation, Liquify for warping the image, Develop for basic RAW photo development and Export for exporting. Each persona displays only those tools that are needed for th...
Kristaps
Top Pro

Interface will be familiar to those coming from Photoshop

•••
The interface, especially the Photo persona, is laid out in way that's very similar to Photoshop - a panel for icons for tools on the left, a panel for information and settings on the right.
Kristaps
Top Pro

Compatible with Photoshop PSD files

•••
Affinity Photo can import and export .psd files.
Kristaps
Top Con

Limited selection of plugins

•••
Plugin support was only recently added to AP and not many plugins have been created for the program so far.
See 3 more ProsSee 3 more Pros
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Aviary

Add Video or Image
Ryan
Top Pro

Easy to use

•••
The app doesn't overwhelm you with functionality or hide it behind unlabelled icons. It displays about 5 tools at a time beneath the image and allows you to swipe through the complete list of tools horizontally. Most interactions with the software are kept in that bottom row so you can always s...
Bryan
Ryan
Top Pro

Free

•••
The core functionality of the app is offered for free without any ads. You can optionally purchase additional effects.
Bryan
Ryan
Top Con

Covers just the basics

•••
There are 20 tools for image manipulation. They allow you to change the sharpness, crop the image, apply filters to it, add frames, etc. There are also tools for one tap redeye and blemish removal.
Ryan
Top Con

Not all effects are free

•••
See 2 more Pros & ConsSee 2 more Pros & Cons
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Free Photo Collage & Template Designer

Kristaps
Neeraj
Top Pro

Easy tools for image editing

•••
Know any negative aspects of this option?
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Lightroom

Add Video or Image
WhiteLilac
Top Pro

HDR support

•••
Can merge multiple shots into one in order to expand dynamic range. This turns your iPhone into a much more powerful camera.
Know any negative aspects of this option?
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Photoshop Fix

Add Video or Image
Bryan
Top Pro

Integrates with Creative Cloud

•••
You can save all projects directly to the Creative Cloud allowing you to access them from any device and with any relevant Adobe software.
Bryan
Top Pro

The app works exactly the same on an iPhone as it does on an iPad

•••
All functionality and navigation is the same on the iPhone as it is on the iPad.
Bryan
Top Pro

Syncs with Lightroom mobile

•••
The app allows easily accessing all Lightroom mobile assets saved on the device.
Bryan
Top Con

Moving projects between Adobe apps could be easier

•••
Projects can't be moved directly between apps, they first have to be saved to the Creative Cloud. This also means that if you're disconnected from the Internet, you can't share projects between applications.
Bryan
Top Con

Covers just retouching tools

•••
See 3 more Pros & ConsSee 3 more Pros & Cons
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Picktorial

Add Video or Image
Alex
Itai Monnickendam
Top Pro

Single-space workflow

•••
I don't need to change to different models every time.
Alex
Itai Monnickendam
Top Pro

Super fast

•••
All operations, even changing between photos is very quick.
Alex
Itai Monnickendam
Top Pro

Intuitive user interface

•••
The UI is very intuitive, the learning curve is very shallow.
Know any negative aspects of this option?
See 2 more ProsSee 2 more Pros

7 Community Recommendations

Neeraj
Bryan
Ryan
LuckyYonggungChasa
EnterprisingHeka
Request recommendations from the community
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