Popular iPhone Camera App 'Halide' Gaining Three New Features in 2025

Lux, the developers behind Halide and Kino, have announced their plans for Halide 3.0, a major update slated for release in 2025 with a series of new features.

halide camera app
Halide "Mark III" is set to gain one-tap color grading. Color grading has been a highly requested addition since the launch of Process Zero, Halide's proprietary image processing system, which debuted in 2024. The feature is expected to allow users to apply professional-grade film looks instantly, similar to the capabilities offered in Lux's Kino app. Lux envisions this feature going beyond presets, potentially enabling users to import custom looks created by others.

While iPhones have long supported HDR through Apple's native algorithms, Halide has refrained from adopting the technology due to concerns over aesthetic preferences and technical compatibility. Lux aims to address these concerns by introducing a nuanced, tasteful HDR implementation that avoids the garish appearance often associated with poorly executed HDR. The timing coincides with advancements in iOS 18, particularly the introduction of Adaptive HDR, which extends HDR compatibility to legacy file formats like JPEG. Lux believes this development marks a tipping point for HDR’s broader adoption and plans to integrate the feature alongside its color grading tools.

Lux is also planning to debut a complete redesign of Halide's user interface. With Halide Mark II turning five years old in 2025, Lux has decided it is time for a visual and functional overhaul. The company has hinted that the changes will integrate tightly with the new features, such as making the color grading interface central to the app’s operation.

Lux has launched an official Discord server, allowing Halide subscribers to access early builds, share ideas, and participate in discussions to help shape the new version of the app. The server will also host a year-long photography challenge, offering weekly prompts and resources to inspire photographers and encourage engagement within the community.

Tag: Halide

Popular Stories

iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
ios 26 1 slide to stop

iOS 26.1 Brings Back 2007 Feature in New Way

Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important. Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped. The new ...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
ipad mini 7 feature blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 Release Candidates

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
apple tv hd

Apple Launched Its Big New Vision for TV 10 Years Ago Today

Thursday October 30, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple launched the Apple TV HD, the Siri Remote, tvOS, and their accompanying App Store a decade ago today, marking a major overhaul of the device. The new vision for the Apple TV was unveiled on September 9, 2015 during Apple's "Hey Siri" event in San Francisco, where CEO Tim Cook introduced the device with the statement, "The future of TV is apps." The announcement represented a major...

Top Rated Comments

applevisionpro Avatar
11 months ago
a subscription for a camera app? Are you out of your mind??
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Megaman Avatar
11 months ago
Subscription is a no go. Specially for a camera app.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
poematik13 Avatar
11 months ago
subscription?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jasonsmith_88 Avatar
11 months ago

Halide seems like a nice app and I understand that devs have to eat, too ... but there's just no way in hell I'm paying €23/a for this or €70 one time payment and it's not even really one time because you will have to buy the next version _again_.
So you don’t want to pay for a subscription but also don’t want to pay for major versions. So what exactly are you asking for? To pay once for unlimited access to all future versions of the app for the rest of your life? Do you genuinely believe this is a reasonable ask?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
neilw Avatar
11 months ago

you will have to buy the next version _again_.
No. From their blog:


Attachment Image
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cocoi Avatar
11 months ago

Halide seems like a nice app and I understand that devs have to eat, too ... but there's just no way in hell I'm paying €23/a for this or €70 one time payment and it's not even really one time because you will have to buy the next version _again_.
No, Mark 3 is obviously included. We even say so in the post!


Why should i pay to use a different UI for my camera?

Go get a real job, in hardware

Oh yeah, those “one pay” models are scams too. You’ll always release a new overhauled version that requires a new purchase, and the old one stops getting updates.
It costs nothing to be nice, by the way. Please elaborate on how we are a ‘scam’. If you bought Halide EIGHT YEARS AGO for $2/$3, not only does it still work, you got almost every major feature we added in the subsequent eight years for free. We even promise it will keep working, with all of those features, for the life of the app.

It’s bizarre to me that two guys making a camera app that work super hard on it - we barely have vacations - get called a ‘scam’ when the App Store is full of apps that require you to pay $8 for a week of features that barely work. Again, it costs nothing to be nice. If you have serious concerns or feedback, I answer our email personally. If you are a user from back then and you are unhappy with the product now, I’ll refund you out of pocket. Just DM me. But don’t say things that just aren’t true.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)