Apple'stabletiswell-suitedforthetask,withahigh-resolutionRetinadisplayandamplescreenrealestate,butofferingthesameexperienceonasmartphone—eventhecapableiPhone5andiPhone5s—wouldbepushingtheenvelope.
MakingLightroomfeelathomeonaniPhoneisnosmallfeat,andwewouldn'thavebeensurprisedtoseefeaturesstrippedawayinanattempttoshoehorntheappontoa4-inchscreen.Thatisnotthecase,however.
TheiPhoneversionfeaturesthesameimpressivearrayofricheditingfeaturesfoundontheiPad,includingcroppingtools,imagepresetsandfineadjustmentslikeexposure,tint,contrast,whitebalanceandmore.Slidercontrolsmakeforeasyimagemodification,whileasimpleUIspeedsupphotoorganizationduties.
BringingLightroomtotheiPhonemeantaretoolingoftheapp'suserinterfaceforthesmallerscreen,thoughthechangesdon'tcompromisetheworkflow.Forexample,elementslikestarratingsandflagsgettheirownoverlaysandone-handedcontrol,maximizingtheapp'sabilitieswithinaconstrainedspace.
LightroomforiPhonemakestheusualhistogram,metadata,adjustmentcontrolsaccessiblefromamaingridviewwithoneortwotaps.Scrollingthroughphotosone-by-one,userscanassignstarratings,makeon-the-flyadjustmentsandmorewithone-fingeroperation.
Alternateviewsandsubmenusareaccessedviaatwoorthree-fingertap,tap-and-holdorsimilargesture,hidingawaytextforanunclutteredviewthatputsphotosfrontandcenter.
TheappdrawsfromandsavestotheiOSCameraRollaswellasFacebook,whileeveryimageadjustmentissyncedtoLightroom5fordesktop,whichwasrefreshedtodaytoversion5.5withnewcameracompatibilityandsupportforstarratingsandcustomsortorders.
Oneofthemorepowerfulfeaturesisanintuitivesmartwand(anormalwandisalsoavailableformanualselections)thatdoesagoodjobofparsingoutobjectsofinterestfornon-destructivecutoutsandimageenhancements.Userscandragtheirfingeraroundanimagetomakesmartselectionsbasedonanumberofimagevariables,usuallyresultinginacleanmask.
Thetoolcomesinhandyforcutouts,whichcanthenbecombinedwithotherphotostoformlayeredcompositeimages.
Mixalsoincludesthreeprocessor-intensivetools—upright,shakereductionandcontentawarefill—thatrelyoncloudcomputingtofunction.Forexample,wetooktheabovepanoramicimageandusedcontentawarefilltoremovethepeoplejustbelowtheislandattheright.Toaccomplishthetask,theappuploadstheimagetoCreativeCloud,processestheselectioninthecloudandsendstheresultsbacktoMix.
Othereditoptionsinclude"Looks,"whicharepresetcoloradjustmentsthatcanbeelectivelyappliedtoanimageviathesmartorbasicwandtools,while"Enhance"letsuserschangetheexposure,contrast,clarityandsaturationofaphoto.Anauto-enhancebuttonisalsoavailableforspeedierresults.Finally,abasiccroppingtoolisalsobakedinwithbothpresetratiosandmanualhandlecontrols.
AnyeditscommittedtotheimagecanbysyncedbacktoPhotoshopaslayeredandmaskedcompositionsforfurtherrefinement.Alternatively,thefilescanbesavedtotheCameraRollorsharedviaemail,Twitter,FacebookandiMessage.MixalsohashooksinAdobe'sownBehancesocialnetwork.
Last-minuteholidaydealsareineffectnowatBestBuy,withdoorbusterpricingdrivingAppleproductsdownto$22.99andup.
"IceDive"takesviewersundertheiceintheArcticasadiverattemptstobreakaworldrecord,filmedforAppleVisionPro.
Despitelowsales,theAppleVisionProisreportedlyshakinguptheVR/MRindustryandmovingthetrendofheadsetsfromentertainmenttoproductivityandinnovation.
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Spamcallsareaseeminglyendlessnuisancewithnosolution,butthereareseveralwaystogetreliefbuiltintoyouriPhoneandthroughserviceslikethoseprovidedbyIncogni.
AppleisreportedlyintalkswithByteDanceandTencenttointegratetheirAImodelswithAppleIntelligenceinChina,soitcanexpandthefeaturesettothelucrativemarket.