Spectre Long-Exposure iPhone Camera App Now Free, Ushering in Spectre Pro

Spectre, the long-exposure AI-powered iPhone camera app made by the developers of the popular Halide photography app, is now free.

spectre pro
For those unfamiliar with Spectre, the app uses a computational shutter to take hundreds of photos over the course of a few seconds to create an up to 3-second long exposure.

Because it's taking hundreds of images instead of one continuous shot, users can hold their phone while taking long exposure images with Spectre, no tripod necessary.

Previously $1.99, the app's switch to freeware marks the introduction of a new paid-for Pro version, which includes additional 15- and 30-second exposure modes, plus a new Pro icon.


Spectre Pro is a free upgrade to existing users, while new users can unlock the Pro version for a $4.99 one-time purchase. The app works on the iPhone 6S and newer and requires iOS 15 and later, and is available to download from the App Store.

Tag: Halide

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro 3 Heart Rate Tracking Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Expected to Launch This Year With Key New Feature

Sunday August 24, 2025 7:16 am PDT by
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects Apple to release new AirPods Pro this year, and he said the earbuds will have a key new feature: heart rate monitoring. From his Power On newsletter today, with emphasis added:As for Apple's other devices, there's a lot in the fall pipeline — though many of the new products are only incremental upgrades. There will be Apple Watch updates, faster Vision...
iPhone 17 Pro on Desk Centered 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 12 New Features

Sunday August 24, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max should be unveiled in a few more weeks, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman corroborated a rumor that iPhone 17 Pro models will be "available in an orange color." Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are...
Alleged iPhone 17 Pro Antenna Design

Two All-New iPhone 17 Colors Seemingly Confirmed

Monday August 25, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple will offer the upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max in a new orange color, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman made the claim in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, adding that the new iPhone 17 Air – replacing the iPhone 16 Plus – will come in a new light blue color. We've heard multiple rumors about a new iPhone 17 Pro color being a shade of orange. The ...
iPhone 17 Air Thumb 2 Blue Electric Boogaloo

Apple Has Reportedly Considered Releasing iPhone 17 Air Bumper Case

Sunday August 24, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple has "considered" releasing a bumper case for the upcoming iPhone 17 Air, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Similar to the bumper case that Apple introduced for the iPhone 4 in 2010, Gurman said the iPhone 17 Air version of the case would cover the edges of the device, but not the back of it. Those bumper cases were made of rubber. Given that the iPhone 17 Air is expected to have ...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Just Weeks Away: Eight Reasons to Upgrade

Wednesday August 20, 2025 6:44 am PDT by
We're only weeks away from Apple's annual iPhone event – rumored to take place on September 9 – and along with the new iPhone 17 series, we're going to get a new version of the Apple Watch Ultra for the first time since 2023. By the time the Ultra 3 is unveiled, it will have been two years since the previous model arrived. The intervening period has left plenty of room for enhancements,...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: Apple Watch Series 11 and Ultra 3 or Wait for Next Year?

Friday August 22, 2025 9:15 am PDT by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through what to expect from the Apple Watch SE 3, Series 11, and Ultra 3, and whether it's worth holding off on an upgrade until next year. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos The third-generation Apple Watch SE is rumored to feature a larger display (perhaps like the Apple Watch Series 7), the S11 chip, and...

Top Rated Comments

Lee_Bo Avatar
28 months ago
It may be decent and the non-subscription is awesome, however no serious person uses a phone to create art. If you want art, go get a real camera, a tripod, and study how to frame the subjects of your photo shoot.


Taken with iPhone 11 Pro Max (with tripod and bluetooth shutter), made the cover of a local trade magazine.

But please, let’s see some of your “serious person” projects.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gank41 Avatar
28 months ago

It may be decent and the non-subscription is awesome, however no serious person uses a phone to create art. If you want art, go get a real camera, a tripod, and study how to frame the subjects of your photo shoot.
Only a real artist removes the shackles of limitation you seem to have put on yourself, only allowing one device for a medium..

I remember a very long time ago, someone in a teaching position told me to never listen to people that put barriers on the creation of art. It's all based on opinion, anyway.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gears Avatar
28 months ago

It may be decent and the non-subscription is awesome, however no serious person uses a phone to create art. If you want art, go get a real camera, a tripod, and study how to frame the subjects of your photo shoot.
The camera is only as good as the one you have on you! A lot of people wont carry a main camera around with them all the time. Myself when out and about have a 4 year old and dog to contend with so the last thing i want to be carrying is a camera on top of everything else.
End of the day a picture from a phone camera is better than no photo at all
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unggoy Murderer Avatar
28 months ago

It may be decent and the non-subscription is awesome, however no serious person uses a phone to create art. If you want art, go get a real camera, a tripod, and study how to frame the subjects of your photo shoot.
I'm a self-proclaimed "pretty serious" photographer, I have a Canon 7D MK II and a great lens for it.

The best tool to create art is whatever you have, and whatever you make of it. I have taken some pictures on my iPhone that look as good as or potentially better than what I could capture on my Canon. My Canon, lens and battery grip also collectively weigh 20x as much as my iPhone, doesn't fit in my pocket, and doesn't go everywhere with me.

Equipment / brand snobbery in photography is boring and vapid; don't be one of those people.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
contacos Avatar
28 months ago
No subscription?!? Love them already
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
VampyricGentleman Avatar
28 months ago

I'm a self-proclaimed "pretty serious" photographer, I have a Canon 7D MK II and a great lens for it.

The best tool to create art is whatever you have, and whatever you make of it. I have taken some pictures on my iPhone that look as good as or potentially better than what I could capture on my Canon. My Canon, lens and battery grip also collectively weigh 20x as much as my iPhone, doesn't fit in my pocket, and doesn't go everywhere with me.

Equipment / brand snobbery in photography is boring and vapid; don't be one of those people.
This is so true. A long time ago when I was not in as good a financial situation as I am now I owned a Sony Ericsson Xperia X8. I had an old Sony R1 as my main camera. Anyway a friend invited me to a Facebook online camera club which was full of people bragging about how they “only” spent £3000 on a lens. Anyway, they hosted a competition for a winter shot. So I entered something from the X8 (which if memory served cost £85) and won the competition (which was judged on the number of likes) by a country mile. You can imagine the equipment snobs horror when I told them what I used when they were using equipment that could have easily been 30x more expensive and their results were no where near as good.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)