Aperture

Aperture: Support

Questions, bugs or feature ideas: aperture@maladeta.studio. We usually reply within two working days.

Frequently asked questions

How do I take manual control? Tap any value under the viewfinder (EV, WB, FOCUS) to open its dial. Amber means you’re in control; press and hold the value to hand it back to auto. Switch A to M to add shutter speed and ISO.

What do the gestures on the viewfinder do? Tap to focus and expose. Press and hold to lock both. Swipe up or down for exposure, left or right for manual focus, and pinch to zoom.

How do I get to 8× or digital zoom? Press and hold the lens button next to the shutter. You’ll see every lens (on iPhone 17 Pro and later that includes the 2× and 8× sensor crops) and a ZOOM button for a ruler up to 40×.

What is Direct mode? A single exposure straight from the sensor, saved as a DNG, with no multi-frame fusion, Night mode or Deep Fusion. Some demosaicing and lens correction always happen in iPhone’s hardware; Direct is as close to the sensor as iPhone allows.

Can the shutter stay open longer than 1 second? Yes, with Aperture Pro. iPhone limits a single exposure to about one second, so in M mode the shutter dial continues past 1″ to 2″–30″ (shown in red): Aperture shoots many frames across that time and combines them — Blur for silky water and clouds, Trails for light trails and stars. Use a tripod; tap the shutter again to stop early and keep what’s been captured.

Why is Direct at 48MP marked “ProRAW”? iPhone only delivers single-exposure Bayer RAW at 12MP. At 48MP, Direct uses Apple’s full-resolution ProRAW sensor readout instead — still a RAW DNG with no Apple look applied, though iOS may build it from more than one frame.

How does Camera Control work? A full press takes a photo; the volume buttons work too. With Aperture Pro, a light press shows zoom, exposure, lens, focus, aperture (iPhone 18 Pro) and, in M mode, shutter and ISO.

How do I cancel or change my subscription? Open Settings → your name → Subscriptions → Aperture, or in the app go to Settings → Manage Subscription. Cancel at least 24 hours before renewal to avoid the next charge.

I reinstalled the app or changed phones. How do I get Pro back? In the app: Settings → Restore Purchases. Use the same Apple Account you subscribed with.

Where are my photos saved? In your Photos library. Aperture never uploads them anywhere. See the privacy policy.