Good news, mobile photographers: your HDR photos will now look right on both Android and iOS

Slightly less confusing than before

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To see all the benefits ofHDR (High Dynamic Range) in photos, you need the right software and hardware tech to display the images – and when it comes to software, the latest versions of Android and iOS are now on the same page, soHDRsnaps will now look consistent across both mobile platforms.

As explained in detail by Mishaal Rahman atAndroid Authority, this is due to the adoption of the ISO 21496-1 standard inAndroid 15andiOS 18. In simple terms, it just means an agreed upon way of interpreting and displaying HDR information in a picture.

Appleannounced atWWDC 2024back in June that support for ISO 21496-1 was coming to its software platforms, and reportsfrom userssuggest that support is now being enabled. On the Android side, ISO 21496-1 is part of the Android 15 roll out – the software is nowavailable for Pixel phones.

Further testing from Android Authority and display analystDylan Ragahas confirmed that HDR photos are appearing as intended across both Android 15 and iOS 18, whether they were taken on an iPhone or an Android device.

Apps, standards, and displays

The key difference HDR makes is extending the range of luminance levels in a picture – practically, that means being able to see details in the darkest and lightest parts of a photo, rather than having them washed out or too dark to see.

While brightness is the main focus, colors often improve too: HDR images typically look more vibrant and rich than their SDR (Standard Dynamic Range) equivalents. On devices without the necessary HDR support, HDR images are shown in their SDR form.

And to truly see an HDR photo properly on a device – once it’s been correctly captured in HDR form – you need HDR support baked into the device’soperating system, the app you’re using to view the photo, and the device’s display. To make matters even more complicated, there are multiple HDR standards out there.

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Apple andGooglehave now made the situation slightly less confusing, though app support is still required. Right now,Google Photos(on Android and iOS) and Apple Messages and Apple Photos (on iOS) should all display HDR pictures correctly.

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Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you’ll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.

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