It's nice to see Skylum offer the powerful Luminar tools for iOS and a version that runs natively on Apple's new Vision Pro headset.
It comes as a small but welcome surprise for editors who live in the iOS world and want something more than the basic editing generally on offer.
What Editing Tools Are Available?
The app has rather broad functionality including:
- Develop Tool: Basic adjustments for color correction, including exposure, black & white, temperature, tint, smart contrast, highlights, shadows, whites, blacks, saturation, vibrance, and vignette. Key Tools: Details, Curves, Crop, Erase, Landscape (including Dehaze), and Monochrome (Black & White).
- AI-Powered Tools: Enhance AI, Sky AI, Structure AI, and Relight AI.
- Three Modes: Users can easily switch between Development, Filters, and Sky modes, depending on their editing preferences and the desired outcome.
- Filter collection: Our extensive range of filters not only offers robust color correction but also pays homage to the nostalgia of film cameras, loved by many in the photography world.
- Apple Pencil Support (iPad only): Integration with Apple Pencil for precision editing and enhanced adjustment control.
According to Ivan Kutanin, CEO of Skylum:
Our goal with Luminar for iPad was to completely reimagine the mobile photo editing experience for the end user, making it interactive and entertaining, Leveraging the iPad's platform and our advanced technologies, we are bringing to the market an app that ensures both fun editing process and professional-grade results that Luminar is known for.
How Does It Work?
I thought Luminar for iPad worked well. I didn't see any obvious bugs in this initial release, and it supported the touch interface well. I was quick to adapt, and found the features and controls similar enough to what's in the Mac and Windows versions of Luminar that I didn't really need any documentation.
I was happy to see Sky Replacement was available, and continue to believe that Skylum has the best version of Sky Replacement on offer.
The bigger announcement here is having a version that runs on the new Apple Vision Pro. Although the iPad version of Lightroom works okay on the Vision Pro, it was not purpose-built for Apple's new device.
I found working with Luminar on the Vision Pro a positive experience. I could make the screen as large as I wanted it and was able to go from an edited file to a finished image easily. You have to get used to the Vision Pro conventions of looking at a control, then manipulating it with your hands, but once you get used to it, it works quite well.
I started my image editing at Apple's Mt. Hood environment but needed to make the screen larger and I found the background a bit distracting.
It's easy to darken the background (I used Mt. Hood at night) so I could keep my attention on the screen.
I think the only weakness is that incoming images for editing have to come through Apple's Photo app. There's no access to network resources and it doesn't accommodate the iOS file system. When you save an image, you can save it to Photos, email, or use the Apple Message app, or you can use the Apple File System. It's an odd oversight for getting images in, while it is flexible getting them out. I hope this will be corrected in future editions.
The iPad version I tested (a pre-release beta) was solid. The Vision Pro version crashed one time in a couple of hours of use. Hopefully, that will be fixed by today's release date.
Are These Apps Worthwhile?
In a word, yes, if you want the benefits of Luminar on an iPad, and I think Vision Pro users will be thrilled to have a native editing app for their new device. Skylum has brought the key features editors will want over to these iOS apps and have designed an attractive and productive new interface making them easier to use on a touchscreen or with Vision Pro gestures.
Both the iPad and Vision OS releases are available today. The owners of an Apple Vision Pro device can enjoy free access to the application until June 5th, 2024.
Pricing starts at $4.99 for 1 month, $19.99 for 6 months, or $29.99 for a yearly subscription. The Apple Vision version is included with the iOS purchase. Both are available at the Apple App Store.
