Leica Lux App: Leica Looks on Your iPhone

In a sense, the Leica LUX app brings Leica’s look and feel to the iPhone. It offers a less convoluted UI, a more tactile shooting experience, and access to custom Leica color profiles. It doesn’t try to mimic pro cameras through gimmicks and the like—it leans into what the iPhone can already do and gives you more control over it.

I used the app in various locations: architectural shots, teaching sessions, and as my main iPhone camera when used in conjunction with the Leica LUX Grip. It hasn’t replaced my camera, but it’s the only mobile app that made me want to slow down and compose.

The free version of the app was used for this review instead of the full pro version. The free version has its limitations in terms of functionality, available lens emulations, and available Leica Looks, yet for this review, the free version was more than adequate. More on the pricing of the app later.

Specifications

• Manual controls

• Shutter speed

• ISO

• Manual focus with peaking (Pro)

• Exposure compensation

• Live histogram (Pro)

• Leica Looks

  • Leica Standard

  • Leica Classic

  • Leica Contemporary

  • Black and white options

• Focus peaking

• Tap-to-focus

• Clean interface with no bloat

• Compatibility: iPhone 12 and newer

Shooting Experience

The app feels fast. You tap the shutter, it shoots—no delay, no animations—just a clean, decisive click with haptic feedback if you engage it. The controls are easy to learn, even if you are not a photographer. Its straightforward UI is just that—straightforward. The app encourages you to shoot slower and with more purpose. No filters, no fluff, just exposure, focus, and selection of Leica Look, which incidentally is retained from the last setting used.

The two shooting modes available are Aperture and Photo. The Aperture mode (Pro version) provides you with various lens emulations. In the free version, however, you only have the option of the 28SLX. The Photo mode avails you of five focal lengths ranging from 13mm to 120mm.

Leica Looks

This is where the app stands out. The color profiles aren’t simply filters; they are tuned rendering styles based on Leica’s in-camera looks. Leica Classic gives you a more nostalgic tone, whereas Contemporary brings contrast with softer highlights. The black and white modes are not overly grainy or crushed; they are clean, with gentle roll-off in the tones. You don’t have to shoot raw to get them. JPEGs come out looking finished. You can even frame your image with all the EXIF data and location info if that’s your bag.
In the free version, you can view your scene with all the Leica Looks but can only shoot with five of the 15 Looks available. I did shoot with all of the available Looks but spent a great portion of the time using the Black and White High Contrast.

Stability and Speed

The app runs smoothly, and I never encountered any crashes, stutters, or bugs. It boots fast and connects to the LUX Grip immediately if you’ve used it before. There’s no video mode, so if you’re looking for an all-in-one app, this isn’t it—but if photography is the goal, it delivers, along with some really sweet Leica Looks.

Final Thoughts

I’d recommend it if you want:

• Full manual control over your phone camera

• You care about color and tone straight out of the camera

• You use raw or want to get more from JPEGs

• You’re pairing it with the LUX Grip

• You love the Leica Looks

And I would avoid it if:

• You shoot mostly video

• You want AI-based editing or automated effects

• You’re fine with the stock iOS camera

The free version is great to use for everything I have mentioned here. The Pro version, however, retails at £69.99 per year or £6.99 per month, which I feel is a bit too steep for an app, even with all of Leica’s Looks and lens emulations. Granted, it’s not the most expensive app and it does provide a great mobile shooting experience, yet I feel that perhaps £20 or £30 less would be a better ballpark figure.

The Leica LUX app doesn’t try to turn your phone into a Leica—it simply gives you a cleaner, more controlled shooting experience. It slows you down in the right way. You start thinking like a photographer again, not a content creator. I discovered that it became one of my default apps within a day simply because of the Looks, and that it slowed me down in the right way.

You can find the app in the App Store.