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Darkroom 4 image editor for iPad now available with split screen support, keyboard shortcuts, color histogram, much more

We got a sneak peek at Darkroom 4 coming to iPad last month and some of the handy features that would be shipping with the release. Today, the app is now available for iPad and also includes a huge list of features for all Darkroom users. Read on for all the release details and how Darkroom 4 for iPad and iPhone is more powerful, fast, and easy to use.

Darkroom’s founder and CEO, Majd Taby, shared about the launch of Darkroom 4 for iPad in blog post today:

No Half Measures: Building the Best Photo Editing App for iPad

To build the best photo editor that feels native on the iPad, we need to deliver on three core promises:

  • Respect the platform
  • Streamline the editing experience
  • Be familiar

With those guideposts, the new update brings a ton of new features along with the iPad support. Darkroom now offers a “responsive, universal interface” that sees three different layouts on iOS devices.

We’re excited to support three distinct layouts today: Portrait, Portrait-Wide, and Landscape. Darkroom will choose the best layout for each device and size, and you’ll always have a consistent editing experience. This new system allows us to improve how we handle gestures, delivering a more fluid navigation experience.

Robust keyboard shortcut support also comes with the iPad version of Darkroom.

Tap the arrow keys to move from next to the previous photo. Use the 1–7 keys to switch between the tools. Use the Command — F key to favorite. Use Command — Z to undo your last edit. Or even use Command — C to copy edits, and Command — V to paste them. To discover all the available keyboard short cuts simply hold down the Command ⌘ key in any view, or app, and get a neat overview of everything that’s available.

Another change sees albums being bumped to the top level of your image library, making them easier to get to.

On all landscape interfaces, we’ve promoted Albums to the top level of the library, putting them next to the photos, and added a collection of Smart Albums to the top to help you navigate by file type. Navigating between albums can now happen instantly, rather through complex multi-screen flows.

Another great feature is easy access to the actions menu right from the Photo Strip.

Most importantly, you have full access to the Photo Actions menu by long-pressing on a photo in the Photo Strip, meaning you can do complex library management and copy/pasting right from within a single editing session. Zoom zoom zoom!

A brand new addition with this update is a color histogram.

With the new Color Histogram, you’ll be able to see at a glance the distribution of colors in your photo, and quickly visualize how the sliders (particularly hue) affect the image. We are constantly revisiting and refining every part of the app, and our tools are no exception. Look forward to more advancements here in the future.

The update also brings a partnership with camera app and external iPhone lens maker Moment (review):

We’re excited to announce that we’ve partnered with the folks at Moment to add integration with their Pro Camera app. Moment makes the best lenses for iOS, and we love what they contribute to the ecosystem. Now, if you have the Moment Pro Camera app installed, you’ll automatically get a button to open it from Darkroom, and vice versa. And if you have both the Halide and Moment camera apps installed, you’ll be able to choose which default camera app to use the first time.

Finally, the post details across the board improvements, here are a few of them:

App-Wide Refinement

Every tool and every view has been refined to improve performance and usability. For a full list with details head to our release notes. Some highlights:

Value labels on sliders: Being able to see the values means being able to reproduce and share looks. It means editing with more confidence and refinement.

Filter strength: We’ve revamped how it works, now, when you adjust the strength of a filter, you’ll be able to clearly see that adjustment in the filter at all times, and you can copy/paste edits with the strength adjustment, and even make your own filter with a custom strength.

Full Right-To-Left language support: When using the app in Arabic or Hebrew, the entire user interface will now flip, along with all the gestures and arrows. We’re extremely proud to offer first-class support for this.

Undo and Redo Gestures: Tap with two fingers to undo, three fingers to redo. Works on iPhone and iPad.

Check out the full release notes here. With an impressive 4.8/5 star average rating with over 6,000 reviews, Darkroom is a free download from the App Store with optional in-app purchases to unlock all the pro features.


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