Halide 2.13 Features In-App Action Button Triggers on iPhone 15 Pro

[MacRumors]

Award-winning iPhone camera app Halide was today updated for iPhone 15 Pro models, and features a set of in-app triggers that work with the devices' new Action button.

With the Halide 2.13 app open on an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max, the Action button can be pressed to trigger manual focus, auto/manual exposure, RAW capture, 12/48-megapixel capture, cycle through lenses, take a picture, and more.

To achieve the feat, Halide developers built a custom Shortcut that when selected in iOS Settings ➝ Action Button, automatically triggers a pre-set option in the app's dedicated new Action button menu when the app is active.

• iPhone 15 Pro: How to Customize the Action Button

During setup, Halide's Action button menu explains to users how to set up custom triggers. Alternatively, users can set the Action button to enable a single-click "Open Halide" shortcut or open a Shortcut Menu with a list of options.

In addition, Halide includes new optimizations for capturing with 5× telephoto on iPhone 15 Pro Max, taking advantage of zero shutter lag for iPhone 15 Pro, and other enhancements.

Halide 2.13 is a free update for existing users. There's a free one-week trial of the app, after which users can choose an annual $11.99 subscription or a $59.99 one-time purchase. The Halide developers have also published their annual deep dive into the new camera enhancements in Apple's latest iPhone 15 series, which can be read on the Halide website.

Article Link: Halide 2.13 Features In-App Action Button Triggers on iPhone 15 Pro

 

[isomorphic]

Halide looks great, but these App Store pricing structures scare me off. I won't rent a camera app, but I'm afraid the one-time-purchase will only apply to Halide Mark II, and there's no guarantee when Halide Mark XIV will come out and leave Mark II to wither without updates. I don't want a free lunch, but I don't want to be screwed, either. At $60 it becomes a gamble, and right now $12/month is too steep for casual use.

Edit: Sorry! I was mistaken, I misread the price in the App Store: As Cocoi points out, it's $12/year; it's $3/month. (I blame my eyes and Apple's terrible In-App Pricing formatting on the iPhone.) Cocoi assures us that Mark III, at least, barring new costly services, will be included in the $60 one-time-price. I think the $3 is cheap enough as a one-off to get all the features to try out for a month before dropping $60.

 

[fumi2014]

I used to use this a lot. Then the subscription model came in and it was farewell from me.

 

[tomtad]

Can someone explain why if you can use the action button for the shutter you can’t use the volume controls for zoom?

The same goes for the default camera app

 

[nutmac]

Halide looks great, but these App Store pricing structures scare me off. I won't rent a camera app, but I'm afraid the one-time-purchase will only apply to Halide Mark II, and there's no guarantee when Halide Mark XIV will come out and leave Mark II to wither without updates. I don't want a free lunch, but I don't want to be screwed, either. At $60 it becomes a gamble, and right now $12/month is too steep for casual use.

Agreed on the pricing, but having used Halide for 1 month, I can see why it is priced that way.

I don't think the app will be fully appreciated by casual photographers. So it is priced for prosumer and pro photographers (who do not always carry larger cameras but want more out of iPhone).

 

[Cocoi]

Halide looks great, but these App Store pricing structures scare me off. I won't rent a camera app, but I'm afraid the one-time-purchase will only apply to Halide Mark II, and there's no guarantee when Halide Mark XIV will come out and leave Mark II to wither without updates. I don't want a free lunch, but I don't want to be screwed, either. At $60 it becomes a gamble, and right now $12/month is too steep for casual use.

Hey, I make Halide. Well, I wrote the article and I design it, Ben codes it.
We're working hard on Mark 3, and that is definitely included in the price. We might have ongoing cost-services at some point, and those would not be in the subscription. Things like Skylight, where we use weather forecast reports to forecast sunset quality for instance.

It's also $12 a year, not per month. I hope that helps a bit

 

[saucykash]

Can someone explain why if you can use the action button for the shutter you can’t use the volume controls for zoom?

The same goes for the default camera app

Since the action button is used as a user creates a shortcut within the app, the volume controls are not able to be adjusted for different use.

 

[gaanee]

Halide app maybe good but not their business model. I was one of the early buyers of the app when it was released as one-time purchase and then they changed to a subscription model for all. And now they charge $59.99 for one-time purchase. What's the guarantee that they won't charge again for the third-time one-time purchase?

 

[headlessmike]

Halide app maybe good but not their business model. I was one of the early buyers of the app when it was released as one-time purchase and then they changed to a subscription model for all. And now they charge $59.99 for one-time purchase. What's the guarantee that they won't charge again for the third-time one-time purchase?

I think it’s only fair to expect the purchase to be for the version you buy. Major updates being included in that price is a bonus more than a right. That’s how all software worked before the App Store came around and distorted people’s expectations.

 

[macduke]

This is how I want the action button to work by default: When you're in an app, the app can use the action button for custom shortcuts with a single press—BUT without having to first configure a full shortcut on the user's end. It should just work, and have settings in the app to change assignment. Then, if you long press, it triggers your normal set action—your "global" action. Then you won't accidentally trigger it in your pocket because the quick press only works inside of apps when your phone is unlocked.

Apple also needs to add double press and triple press, but that's a different story.

 

[Egregius]

Does Halide support a Fjorden grip?

 

[isomorphic]

Hey, I make Halide. Well, I wrote the article and I design it, Ben codes it.
We're working hard on Mark 3, and that is definitely included in the price. We might have ongoing cost-services at some point, and those would not be in the subscription. Things like Skylight, where we use weather forecast reports to forecast sunset quality for instance.

It's also $12 a year, not per month. I hope that helps a bit

I apologize for getting the pricing wrong, I've edited my original post. I appreciate your clarification of the pricing. I remember the original -> Mark II transition, which is to be honest what has kept me away from paying anything for your app. Your comment that Mark III at least will be included is reassuring.

App developers have to be very very careful with pricing models. For example, I no longer use 1Password—an app which I loved—due to their transition to subscription pricing (and forced cloud storage). (I'd spent hundreds of dollars on 1Password.) Same with Adobe, although Adobe has a heavyweight suite of apps targeted at professionals who make money off of their product. (I'd spent thousands of dollars on Adobe products.)

As others have pointed out, Halide seems to be following a similar pro model, possibly at the same cost of alienating more casual users. As a hobby photographer, I'll never make $60 off of my photos to cover the cost of the app, so it's definitely a discretionary / only-for-fun purchase.

 

[DowsingForPurple]

They made it so the button does different things depending on the app that's open!? Bit of a silly feature and defeats the point IMO.

Subs for a camera app are absolutely laughable too.

 

[kiensoy]

I bought the app some time ago but I haven't used it in a long time. The native Camera app just offers many features that get lost in other apps, especially with the latest additions from Apple. Intelligent Portrait mode, Live Photos, Night Mode, ProRaw Max, 48mp heifs, burst mode, wide preview in the corner when zooming. Even just the ability to switch to Video, Panorama, Timelapse, etc within the same app is very convenient. Apple is sherlocking these apps with every update.

 

[unfunfionn]

They made it so the button does different things depending on the app that's open!? Bit of a silly feature and defeats the point IMO.

This makes no sense. It’s exactly how it works with the default camera app except Halide gives you more control over what the action button does inside the app itself. I don’t know what point that defeats.

 

[newton4000]

My only concern is that, afaik, Halide does not support the new 24 mp option?

 

[Cocoi]

Halide app maybe good but not their business model. I was one of the early buyers of the app when it was released as one-time purchase and then they changed to a subscription model for all. And now they charge $59.99 for one-time purchase. What's the guarantee that they won't charge again for the third-time one-time purchase?

If you were an early buyer, we actually set you up with a free upgrade to V2, along with 18 months of updates. And you still get to use and enjoy every feature of that, forever — with just a single purchase or subscription required for the newest features. If you feel like that's unfair, I'd love to chat — we really try to do the best by our users.

 

[Cocoi]

My only concern is that, afaik, Halide does not support the new 24 mp option?

Indeed, we cannot. Apple doesn't give us an API for 24MP, so we're really waiting for them to fix that. We've sent in the feedback, now we wait

 

[Cocoi]

I apologize for getting the pricing wrong, I've edited my original post. I appreciate your clarification of the pricing. I remember the original -> Mark II transition, which is to be honest what has kept me away from paying anything for your app. Your comment that Mark III at least will be included is reassuring.

App developers have to be very very careful with pricing models. For example, I no longer use 1Password—an app which I loved—due to their transition to subscription pricing (and forced cloud storage). (I'd spent hundreds of dollars on 1Password.) Same with Adobe, although Adobe has a heavyweight suite of apps targeted at professionals who make money off of their product. (I'd spent thousands of dollars on Adobe products.)

As others have pointed out, Halide seems to be following a similar pro model, possibly at the same cost of alienating more casual users. As a hobby photographer, I'll never make $60 off of my photos to cover the cost of the app, so it's definitely a discretionary / only-for-fun purchase.

I appreciate the frank feedback! It's frustrating, though, because it seems that whatever we do, we can't do anything right.

We have to keep developing Halide, as without updates it will stop working. Cameras change annually and the APIs are very in flux, often changing significantly even within major iOS releases. When we were set to release our big v2.0 a few years ago, we had a choice: either give it away for free, and risk not getting enough cash so we can keep working on the app, or figure out a way to add upgrade pricing.

What we set out to do was to grandfather in every single existing user, even those who had bought Halide years before and upgrade them for free. In addition to that, we decided to add upgrades for a year — which we honored or almost 2 years — and even then keep the app working with all those features for existing users. So you never have to pay again, the app is always yours.

Now, if you're new to Halide, you can do one of two things: you can buy an annual subscription for about a dollar per month, or you can buy it outright for $60. We offer the second option because some people will never buy subscription software, but realistically, we need to keep working on this app indefinitely. We can either keep releasing new versions with a paid upgrade, which means we'd have to abandon the old app and it would stop working for all its user fairly quickly, or we can use subscriptions. The choice was fairly easy for us - but I still read people saying online that it's not fair that they have to pay again.

I'm not sure if we communicated this poorly or if it's a bad deal, but we're really doing our best!

 

[Stuey3D]

Subscription models are the bane of modern software because every man and his dog wants monthly money off you. Yes it might only be a couple of bucks but when most of your apps all want a couple of bucks it adds up and fast.
I much prefer the old "versions" system where you'd pay for an app once and you got Version 1 and all its updates then when Version 2 came out people with V1 could update for a discount or if you could live without the new features and support you could stay on V1 until OS updates rendered it obsolete. For me I would only be happy to pay for a software subscription if the software itself relies on cloud services that need to be paid for.

 

[iMacDragon]

This is how I want the action button to work by default: When you're in an app, the app can use the action button for custom shortcuts with a single press—BUT without having to first configure a full shortcut on the user's end. It should just work, and have settings in the app to change assignment. Then, if you long press, it triggers your normal set action—your "global" action. Then you won't accidentally trigger it in your pocket because the quick press only works inside of apps when your phone is unlocked.

Apple also needs to add double press and triple press, but that's a different story.

Very much this, it seems crazy waste of the buttons possibilities to me this was not how it was implemented currently, at least as an option. And can but hope that this is the plan, but want to introduce it later.

 

[CarAnalogy]

I appreciate the frank feedback! It's frustrating, though, because it seems that whatever we do, we can't do anything right.

We have to keep developing Halide, as without updates it will stop working. Cameras change annually and the APIs are very in flux, often changing significantly even within major iOS releases. When we were set to release our big v2.0 a few years ago, we had a choice: either give it away for free, and risk not getting enough cash so we can keep working on the app, or figure out a way to add upgrade pricing.

What we set out to do was to grandfather in every single existing user, even those who had bought Halide years before and upgrade them for free. In addition to that, we decided to add upgrades for a year — which we honored or almost 2 years — and even then keep the app working with all those features for existing users. So you never have to pay again, the app is always yours.

Now, if you're new to Halide, you can do one of two things: you can buy an annual subscription for about a dollar per month, or you can buy it outright for $60. We offer the second option because some people will never buy subscription software, but realistically, we need to keep working on this app indefinitely. We can either keep releasing new versions with a paid upgrade, which means we'd have to abandon the old app and it would stop working for all its user fairly quickly, or we can use subscriptions. The choice was fairly easy for us - but I still read people saying online that it's not fair that they have to pay again.

I'm not sure if we communicated this poorly or if it's a bad deal, but we're really doing our best!

If Apple would just support upgrade pricing in the App Store that would help a lot.

Halide in particular makes sense as a subscription app for exactly the reasons you described, and I think you’re making the best decisions given the circumstances. There’s no pleasing everyone at any price.

If an app is going to be subscription, it should support new hardware and OS features quickly, which is exactly what has happened here.

If an app just doesn’t need to be updated that often or is slow to add features, the price should reflect that. I actually think a lot of developers price their apps reasonably based on the amount of work put into it, but most users don’t appreciate that and I have no idea if the economics of that actually works out for most developers.

 

[CarAnalogy]

Subscription models are the bane of modern software because every man and his dog wants monthly money off you. Yes it might only be a couple of bucks but when most of your apps all want a couple of bucks it adds up and fast.
I much prefer the old "versions" system where you'd pay for an app once and you got Version 1 and all its updates then when Version 2 came out people with V1 could update for a discount or if you could live without the new features and support you could stay on V1 until OS updates rendered it obsolete. For me I would only be happy to pay for a software subscription if the software itself relies on cloud services that need to be paid for.

Like so much else these days, there’s a kernel of a reasonable idea there that has been widely abused.

There are tons of subscription apps not worth it and many outright scams. But some apps really do need to be updated frequently to keep working or stay useful.

The subscriptions definitely add up and it’s a real problem, but great developers still let you buy “lifetime” licenses. Halide can be purchased for $60.

It’s still computers, that can still only be a relatively short time just due to the nature of computers. Still running your copy of Word 95? You still own it. But the world has moved around it.

An extreme example perhaps, but try using a camera app that was last updated for iOS 13, for example. I still own “lifetime” licenses to apps that don’t know about the screen real estate that used to be taken up by the top and bottom bezels.

 

[arcane93]

I think it’s only fair to expect the purchase to be for the version you buy. Major updates being included in that price is a bonus more than a right. That’s how all software worked before the App Store came around and distorted people’s expectations.

On the other hand, with their pricing structure, I’d certainly hope that a one-time purchase includes at least the next several versions. At $12 per year or $60 for one-time purchase, that means you are paying the cost of five years of subscription time with a one-time purchase. It would be pretty crappy to expect you to pay again in less than five years, regardless of how many major updates come out in that time. A one-time purchase should cover you for at least five years, if not longer, regardless of what comes out in that time.

 

[Harmonious Zen]

Halide looks great, but these App Store pricing structures scare me off. I won't rent a camera app, but I'm afraid the one-time-purchase will only apply to Halide Mark II, and there's no guarantee when Halide Mark XIV will come out and leave Mark II to wither without updates. I don't want a free lunch, but I don't want to be screwed, either. At $60 it becomes a gamble, and right now $12/month is too steep for casual use.

Edit: Sorry! I was mistaken, I misread the price in the App Store: As Cocoi points out, it's $12/year; it's $3/month. (I blame my eyes and Apple's terrible In-App Pricing formatting on the iPhone.) Cocoi assures us that Mark III, at least, barring new costly services, will be included in the $60 one-time-price. I think the $3 is cheap enough as a one-off to get all the features to try out for a month before dropping $60.

I know people hate subscriptions, but $3/month is extremely reasonable. And they're providing the option to buy it outright.