Darkroom Photo Editing App Gains New Highlight and Shadow Recovery Tools - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Darkroom Photo Editing App Gains New Highlight and Shadow Recovery Tools

Photo editing app Darkroom today announced the launch of new highlight and shadow recovery tools, which are available as an expansion of the existing recovery sliders.

darkroom update highlight shadows
Darkroom says that the Exposure, Whites, Highlights, Shadows, and Blacks sliders have been rebuilt from the ground up in a major technical investment that allows users to access edits that were previously out of reach.

A luminance curve adjusts the dark and bright areas of the image, while a histogram-equalization algorithm enhances clarity in the midtones to avoid a flat look. A frequency-domain algorithm detects busy areas in the image and enhances contrast, and all of the new algorithms are spatially aware to allow for tweaks to each part of an image.

darkroom sliders before and after
The highlight and shadow recovery tools are available for all image types, but Darkroom says they work particularly well for RAW photos as there is more detail to recover.

With the launch of the new tools, Darkroom is discontinuing the Photos Editing Extension that allowed the Apple ‌Photos‌ app to be used to make Darkroom edits. The feature is being discontinued because of memory constraints and resolution limitations.

Darkroom is free to download, but premium Darkroom+ features are available for $5 per month or $30 per year. Darkroom can be downloaded from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 Adds Two New Features to CarPlay

Tuesday March 24, 2026 1:55 pm PDT by
iOS 26.4 was released today, and it includes a couple of new features for CarPlay: an Ambient Music widget and support for voice-based chatbot apps. To update your iPhone 11 or newer to iOS 26.4, open the Settings app and tap on General → Software Update. CarPlay will automatically offer the new features so long as the iPhone connected to your vehicle is running iOS 26.4 or later....
Apple Business hero

Apple Unveils 'Apple Business' All-in-One Platform

Tuesday March 24, 2026 8:53 am PDT by
Apple today announced Apple Business, a new all-in-one platform that unifies device management, productivity tools, and customer outreach features. The service is designed to be a consolidated replacement for several of Apple's existing business-focused offerings, including Apple Business Essentials, Apple Business Manager, and Apple Business Connect. It provides organizations with a single...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 3, AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Tuesday March 24, 2026 12:31 pm PDT by
Apple today released new firmware for the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and the AirPods 4. The firmware has a version number of 8B39, up from 8B34 on the AirPods Pro 3, 8B28 on the AirPods Pro 2, and 8B21 on the AirPods 4. There is no word on what's included in the firmware, but Apple has a support document with limited notes. Most updates are limited to bug fixes and performance...

Top Rated Comments

darkroomapp Avatar
44 months ago

Always scepticle of these before/after, does RAW really capture enough to bring back all the colour and contrast?
Hi Ryan, these images are exports from Darkroom, both of them. If you look at our launch video, you can see usdemonstrating it live:
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GtrDude Avatar
44 months ago
I used to like this app and used it a lot. Bought it a while back for 9 dollars.
Then they went to monthly ($5) and annual ($30 bucks!!) subscription services, that's when I found another app.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
robfoll Avatar
44 months ago
As an ex-app-dev (failed), I can tell you it costs many tens of thousands $$ just to keep up with Apple OS updates, required coding changes, fix bugs and that's all before adding features. As @PeteBurgh says, it costs a fortune just to stand still. I gave up on my app as, despite good reviews, I could not generate enough revenue to cover the costs of regular updates. @darkroomapp is being honest and fair here IMHO. PS just downloaded Darkroom to try.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44 months ago

Hi, when we switched to subscriptions, we did not remove access to any features you paid for, rather added Flag & Reject and Video editing as add-ons to your purchase for free.

Since the release of Masks, we no longer include new premium features in your "Legacy" purchase, but you continue to have access to what you purchased for free.
I think this is fair to both the user who made a purchase and the developer who needs to make a living.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
darkroomapp Avatar
44 months ago

I used to like this app and used it a lot. Bought it a while back for 9 dollars.
Then they went to monthly ($5) and annual ($30 bucks!!) subscription services, that's when I found another app.
Hi, when we switched to subscriptions, we did not remove access to any features you paid for, rather added Flag & Reject and Video editing as add-ons to your purchase for free.

Since the release of Masks, we no longer include new premium features in your "Legacy" purchase, but you continue to have access to what you purchased for free.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GtrDude Avatar
44 months ago

You can pay to "Unlock Everything Forever"
Yes, I can do that and I was promised that very thing when I first "bought" it at 9 dollars.
Now I can do it again for 75 bucks!!!
Yes, I can still access the app and go in there but as of about two years ago I have not gotten any updates whatsoever.
So it's just a matter of time when the app becomes incompatible with the new iOs's.
But yes, I can indeed buy it again for another lifetime license...
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)