This display isn't HDR — content shows at standard (SDR) brightness
MakeHDR vs Apple Photos for HDR
iPhones capture HDR, and Apple Photos shows it — but it won't turn an ordinary JPEG into a shareable Ultra HDR file. MakeHDR does.
See the difference
SDR
HDR
This display isn't HDR — content shows at standard (SDR) brightness
MakeHDR
Apple Photos
Convert any JPEG to HDR
Yes
No, only its own captures
Cross-platform
iPhone, web
Apple devices
Gain-map Ultra HDR output
Yes
Not as an export
Price
$24.99 once
Free
Apple Photos is great for shots your iPhone took in HDR. To make any JPEG — from any camera — into a true Ultra HDR file that glows everywhere, use MakeHDR. For HDR video, the MakeHDR app on iPhone, iPad and Mac does what Safari and iPhone browsers can't.
Frequently asked questions
No. It displays HDR from its own captures but doesn't convert arbitrary JPEGs into shareable Ultra HDR. MakeHDR builds a real gain map from any JPEG.
Yes. Ultra HDR renders in HDR on iPhone and supported browsers, and falls back cleanly elsewhere.
Photos convert in any browser — including Safari on iPhone and Mac — with nothing uploaded. HDR video is different: Safari and iPhone can't create it in a browser, so the MakeHDR app converts video to true HDR natively on Apple hardware — iPhone, iPad and Mac.
