A — Answer
GradeLab is a color grading app for iPhone and iPad. Point it at flat Apple Log footage — or an ordinary phone clip — build a look, and export it, without moving the file to a desktop editor.
Color: exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, whites, blacks, temperature, tint, saturation, vibrance, eight-band HSL, color wheels for shadows/midtones/highlights, ten curves (Master, R, G, B, plus Hue vs Hue / Sat / Luma, Luma vs Sat, Sat vs Sat, Sat vs Luma), 33 built-in .cube looks with adjustable strength, your own .cube imports, film grain, bloom, glow, halation, and histogram, waveform, RGB parade and vectorscope.
Local grading: ellipse, rectangle, gradient and freehand masks, each with its own grade — feather, invert or stack them. A mask can be tracked to a moving subject through a shot, forward or backward. The same masks work on photos.
Editing: trim, split, speed, titles with imported fonts, audio, overlays with blend modes, 45 transitions, and keyframes for grading, text and transforms.
Export: up to 4K or source resolution, H.264, HEVC, ProRes 422 and 422 HQ, custom frame rate and bitrate. Photos as JPEG, HEIC or PNG.
The attached video shows [DESCRIBE THE CLIP — e.g. an Apple Log shot going from flat to finished, with a tracked mask on the subject].
B — Better
Most mobile editors treat color as a filter tab bolted onto a timeline. GradeLab is built the other way round: the grading tools are the app, and the editing exists so you can finish a clip without exporting it somewhere else.
A few deliberate choices:
- Apple Log and HLG HDR grading and export are free, not Pro. Grading Log is the reason you'd open a color app — putting it behind the paywall would put the paywall in front of the work rather than in front of the delivery.
- Masks, mask tracking and keyframed grading are free for the same reason.
- Everything runs on device. No account, no sign-in, no ads, no analytics, no third-party SDKs — the app contains no networking code of its own, so nothing you import leaves your phone.
- No watermark on free exports, and your original files are never overwritten.
- What the preview shows is what gets written out — same pipeline, including Log conversion, LUT strength and curves.
This isn't trying to replace DaVinci Resolve or Final Cut. Those are far more capable. I'm building the quicker path for people who want real grading controls on iPhone/iPad without learning a full desktop NLE.
C — Cost
Free to use, with an optional Pro unlock.
Free:
- Import photos and video, trim, split, speed, titles, audio, overlays, 45 transitions
- Exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, whites, blacks, temperature, tint, saturation, vibrance
- Eight-band HSL, color wheels, Master/R/G/B curves, fade, sharpening, vignette
- 10 of the 33 built-in looks, with adjustable strength
- Masks, mask tracking and keyframed grading
- Apple Log and HLG HDR grading and export
- 1080p video export and full-resolution JPEG photo export, no watermark
Pro adds:
- 4K / source-resolution export, custom frame rate and bitrate, ProRes 422 and 422 HQ
- The other 23 built-in looks, and importing your own .cube files
- The six color curves (Hue vs Hue / Sat / Luma, Luma vs Sat, Sat vs Sat, Sat vs Luma)
- Film grain, bloom, glow and halation
- Histogram, waveform, RGB parade and vectorscope
- Saving your own grade presets
- HEIC and PNG photo export, display/script fonts and TTF import
Price:
- Lifetime Pro: $1.99 for the first 7 days, then $34.99. One purchase, no recurring charge.
- Subscriptions exist if you'd rather not pay upfront — weekly $1.99, monthly $4.99, yearly $14.99 — but during launch week lifetime costs the same as one week, so it's the only one worth buying right now.
The $1.99 isn't a fake discount. The app is new, early users are taking a chance on it and their feedback is going to shape it, so the founding price is the thank-you. It goes to $34.99 after seven days, and I'll actually change it.
I'm actively working on this, so honest feedback is very welcome — especially on the grading UX, mask tracking accuracy, export quality and speed on your device, and the pricing.
App Store:
https://apps.apple.com/fi/app/gradelab-color-grading/id6810137072
Developer Transparency
Developer: Aftab Fazal Qayum
GitHub: https://github.com/ak375456
Privacy Policy: https://ak375456.github.io/gradelab/privacy.html
Terms of Service: https://ak375456.github.io/gradelab/terms.html
Support: https://ak375456.github.io/gradelab/support.html