Darkroom Photo Editing App Rebuild Promises Major Performance Improvements - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Darkroom Photo Editing App Rebuild Promises Major Performance Improvements

by

Popular photo editing app Darkroom received a significant update over the weekend, introducing major under-the-hood changes to the rendering engine that should bring dramatically improved performance, stability, and reliability.

The substantial rebuild has touched over 50 percent of the app's code, so while the update doesn't bring any new features, the developers say that every existing feature is better and faster as a result of the changes.

Darkroom 3 5 depth
First up, the new depth engine should provide much more accurate blur rendering results that are on a par with Apple's Photos app.

Now when you open a Portrait photo, we match the simulated aperture that the photo was captured by, and when available, we use the same blend of available depth images to provide a very high quality editable Portrait image that the system camera does.

In addition, a year-long reworking of the entire RAW editing feature has also been undertaken that should provide a faster, smoother, and more stable experience across all platforms.

The revamp has also made the transition into and out-of RAW images much lighter and more smooth, improved the performance of all editing operations, and added support for pixel-level zoom on all RAW images.

Other improvements in this update include a 5x increase in the zoom range that enables more efficient spot checking of smaller image regions, improved photo grid performance including the use of higher quality thumbnails, and an altogether more responsive app interface.

Darkroom is available on the App Store for the iPhone and iPad. The app's subscription-based model is set at $3.99 per month or $19.99 per year. A one-time $49.99 purchase option is also available.

Top Rated Comments

85 months ago
I'm really glad that every existing feature is better and 'feaster' as a result of the changes! ;)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Janichsan Avatar
85 months ago

I'm really glad that every existing feature is better and 'feaster' as a result of the changes! ;)
Hearder, beetter, feaster, streonger.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Dynamic Island iPhone 18 Pro Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Prices Estimated Ahead of Apple Event Next Week

Thursday September 3, 2026 3:41 am PDT by
Less than a week before Apple debuts new iPhone 18 Pro models, research firm TrendForce has estimated the prices of the devices based on the latest hardware cost environment. TrendForce's price estimates compared to last year's models look like this: Model Starting Price Model Starting Price Change iPhone 17 Pro $1,099 iPhone 18 Pro $...
iPhone Handoff Feature

iOS 27 Introduces New 'iPhone Handoff' Feature

Wednesday September 2, 2026 12:35 pm PDT by
Apple has added a new "iPhone Handoff" feature to iOS 27 that will allow you to switch between two iPhones while using the same phone number on each device. This functionality was briefly mentioned during the WWDC 2026 keynote in June, on a slide that listed hundreds of new features coming in iOS 27 and corresponding software updates, but Apple never shared any further details at the time. ...
Apple Foldable Thumb

iPhone Ultra's Very High Price and Features Revealed in New Report

Thursday September 3, 2026 7:33 am PDT by
Ahead of Apple's event on Wednesday, September 9, where it is expected to unveil its first-ever foldable iPhone, Taiwanese research firm TrendForce today outlined the device's estimated price range, features, and some other key details. In the U.S., TrendForce estimated that the foldable iPhone will have a starting price of $2,099 to $2,299 and said the highest-end configurations could...