Darkroom releases version 3.5

Darkroom continues to entrench itself as the best photo editor for the iPhone, and we don’t see this pick changing anytime soon. With version 3.5, Darkroom introduces a range of powerful features we’ve never seen in any other photo editor on iOS. As it turns out, Halide integration is one of the smaller features found in version 3.5.

Darkroom’s latest update, first and foremost, introduces Depth Editing, a unique editing feature capable of taking advantage of Apple’s Portrait photos. Darkroom scans photos you’ve shot in Portrait Mode and allows you to apply edits to the foreground and background separately. This is especially handy if you’re looking to bring an image’s entire focus onto your subject. Darkroom’s Depth Editing is a good example of a feature that could only happen thanks to Apple’s Portrait Mode — a DSLR or mirrorless camera separates a foreground or background simply based on physics and the construction of a lens.

Darkroom, of course, takes this Depth Editing one step further for those wanting one touch edits: Darkroom now includes Depth-aware Portrait and Instant filters. You’ll notice these filters with a little icon in the top-left corner of the filter screen.

RAW photography has greatly improved the iPhone’s capabilities as a camera, allowing photographers to push the data in their photographs to new limits. Darkroom continues its innovation in this arena by introducing more extended RAW editing.

As seen above, Darkroom’s RAW editing features move beyond the capabilities of competing editors like VSCO.

As always, there are a range of other in-app improvements pushing Darkroom to new heights. New and rebuilt sliders, exposure preservation, a redesigned badge system, and generally improved performance round out the impressive list of new features found in Darkroom 3.5.

Darkroom has been our pick for the best photo editor for the iPhone for quite some time. There are rumors the app is coming to the iPad, further exciting us here at The Sweet Setup who want to move more of our photography over to the iPad. Darkroom 3.5 is a big step forward for photo editing on the iPhone and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for Darkroom in the future.

Darkroom 3.5 is available as a free update and free download on the iOS App Store. We wholeheartedly recommend making the in-app purchase to unlock all of Darkroom’s sliders, curves, and subject-specific filters.