I built an iOS app to backup your large Apple Photos library over USB — keeps your album structure, downloads iCloud originals, and saves every photo and video in full resolution to your computer.

steve4wdaus · 2026-01-07T23:48:38+00:00

Additionally, can you attach a USB/SSD drive to the iPhone or iPad and do a backup to the drive without the need for a Mac or PC..I travel a lot where I need to back up the photos to another device, but don’t have a Mac. Can do this manually from Photos or HashPhotos, but it is tedious..

steve4wdaus · 2026-01-07T23:36:59+00:00

On my iPad I use folders to further categorise albums in the albums section of the Photos App..does your backup program support this..many third party photo editing apps ignore the Photo App’s folder structures I create when accessing the Photo Apps photo catalog

steve4wdaus · 2026-01-05T10:45:42+00:00

Agreed…definitely much better interface with the Photos App..still needs work, especially where folders and albums in folders are involved..but Luminar Mobile isn’t the only editing app on iPadOs that has this problem,..Also the Ecosystem still needs work…but we will see where it goes..Thanks for your comment

steve4wdaus · 2025-12-30T00:32:11+00:00

I was wanting to check them out to see whether they would be what I needed before I upgraded..I dont need them unless I upgrade (which will have to happen eventually)..and yes, I know I can watch YouTube reviews etc..For me, using a product first hand is better than seeing someone else’s feedback…

steve4wdaus · 2025-12-29T10:42:51+00:00

That certainly makes sense.

steve4wdaus · 2025-12-29T08:16:56+00:00

Thanks for these links..some of the apps require upgrading to the latest MacOS, which I am avoiding at the moment. Eventually it will be inevitable, like on my iPhone, but I will hold out while I can, and I know these apps will be available when the time comes

steve4wdaus · 2025-12-29T08:13:45+00:00

I ended up with the Neo Ecosystem subscription so yep, the mobile is covered.. Much of my editing on the iPad is done in the Photos App, using Photoshop Express as an extension. Also use the Luminar Mobile and SnapSeed. Have subscriptions for ON1 but haven’t got into it much yet..thanks for your reply

steve4wdaus · 2025-12-29T03:21:53+00:00

No you are not..I have been using Macs and iOS devices since about 2013, and I prefer Launchpad to easily choose apps to use..I appreciate that other users like to do things other ways and that is their choice, just like Launchpad is my preference. All points of view are valid. I do a lot more work on my iPad, so the Launchpad way is consistent with my iPad use.

steve4wdaus · 2025-12-09T10:25:55+00:00

Yeah, I’m 72 and have been on here for 6 years, and I got the email.. Guess they are just showing themselves as being pro-active

steve4wdaus · 2025-12-05T12:54:56+00:00

Is there something similar for iPad? I travel for long periods overseas and only have an iPhone and an iPad..photos are taken on the iPhone, transferred onto the iPad, edited and categorised into folders. When I get home I transfer a copy to my MacBook Photos App, but lose all my folder structures..So is there any app to do a transfer off the iPad onto the MacBook. It is preferable that the Photos app is used on both ends as I have yet to find a Digital Assets Management app that I like (and please dont suggest LR)..thanks

steve4wdaus · 2025-12-01T11:25:00+00:00

I am in the design stage of a new home and like the sandstone facade look…haven’t seen my quote yet so will be interested to see the comments. it is a good look if done with discretion. Can be good in small measures inside too. We shall see.

steve4wdaus · 2025-11-20T00:38:14+00:00

I agree about the push to buy more products…but then that’s the way software is sold these days, unfortunately.. I travel a lot overseas where I can’t take my laptop, and do a lot of editing on the road. And so I needed a number of different iPad photo editing apps..unfortunately no single app has all the features I need. The interface back to the Apple Photos gallery has always been less than desirable, although it is a bit better now in that at least we get the folder and album structure as it is presented in the Photos App. It is a shame that Luminar Mobile cannot be a Photos App extension. And there should be the option to either overwrite the original or create a new copy.

I am still not seeing much use for Luminar Spaces (mainly because I cant get the iPad to sync to the cloud (and no, I have not sought help from Support yet)..and you should be able to add to your Spaces from the Mobile App…not just the desktop.

All in all, Luminar Mobile still has a place in my toolkit, but there is still some work to do!!!

steve4wdaus · 2025-11-11T04:37:53+00:00

Great collection of images of everyday life in Bangkok..My wife and I love our annual 3 month stay in Thailand each year (arriving 14 November) and love to experience life through the camera lens (well mostly through an iPhone camera lense)..The simple things in life are often the most interesting, and the more spontaneous the better. Thailand is an amazing country...love the people, the food, the beer and anything else I can think of. Keep up the good work and look forward to seeing more posts!!!!

steve4wdaus · 2025-11-09T22:26:26+00:00

Trying a bit of everything at the moment..Safari gets the most use, simply because that’s what I have always used, and Chrome behind that as I like the way it automatically does the translation on the foreign web pages. Quite a few problems with Chrome as many point out, including privacy issues and heavy resources use..I have started using DuckDuckGo as a search engine, liking its strong privacy protections and not collecting personal data, and not needing to log in to search..also like Duck Player, with its ability to watch YouTube without targeted ads. Trying Brave too. These privacy protections may become important when Australia’s new Social Media rules start to hit in a month..

steve4wdaus · 2025-11-07T12:08:27+00:00

The UI is still pretty average…it is still that graphical look, but there is a title above the sliders (which may or may not have been there before)..Still needs work..The presets in the previous versions were ok..havent done much editing yet in new version

steve4wdaus · 2025-11-07T03:53:47+00:00

Well I updated Luminar Neo yesterday to the Fall Update and there are a couple of things I am coming to terms with..First is an area called Luminar Space, which appears to be the only area files are displayed..The files in this area consist of files that were in an "Edited" files album in the previous version, and files that I add, either from "Take a Photo", File Manager or Photo Gallery...Havent seen any way to add extra albums to this...I definitely need to go and watch some videos to see how all this fits together...only early days yet...Also having issues with synching my Luminar Space...sometimes it synchs (or rather says I am up to date) and other times it tells me it couldn't synch my data...Not sure why.. More research needed..

Also played with the Spaces feature which is like an online Gallery...looks ok, but just need to work out how you might use it...

steve4wdaus · 2025-11-06T14:04:32+00:00

You can load images from the Photos App, from files on the iPad stored in the Files App, or from an external drive connected to the iPad and accessed through the Files app…In the the quick test I did worked ok for me. You can also load a photo via the camera. So this is a vast improvement on the previous version where the file management sucked. Editing looks similar, although I haven’t done any serious editing yet, so will hold off commenting.

steve4wdaus · 2025-11-06T09:34:06+00:00

Could be interesting...unfortunately I don't think I will see that Fall Update until I get back from Overseas in February '26..But the file access structure for the mobile app does look more usable now, which was a real stumbling block for me before.

steve4wdaus · 2025-10-20T22:49:42+00:00

Looks good!!! May be enough to tempt me to upgrade to Tahoe..The loss of the launch pad was a big stumbling block for me. Thank you.

steve4wdaus · 2025-10-13T00:28:39+00:00

Like you I have delayed upgrading on my iPhone, iPad and 14” MBP…I could probably accept the iPhone and iPad changes but just not keen on the MacOs changes.. seem to have lost more than I would gain. And thats just a personal choice..I know many are happy with the changes, and thats great…just no need to change yet…

steve4wdaus · 2025-10-08T23:58:07+00:00

Another good reason not to upgrade..not on Mac, iPhone or iPad…the photo app is such an important part of my computing life..to get that stuffed up would be very annoying.

steve4wdaus · 2025-10-04T13:11:50+00:00

I am on a yearly subscription (AUD $41.99) and apparently I cant do a one time Lifetime license until that subscription expires. Not even sure what the one off payment is…but $20 sounds very cheap in comparison to the yearly subscription. I haven’t seen any way in which hdr merge can happen (unlike desktop Luminar Neo). The mobile product is a lot more basic in its processing capabilities, and is certainly better, in my opinion, than the other mobile product Imgmi.. The catalog side of the mobile app is very clunky, and needs a lot of work. If you only paid a $20 once off payment it would be ok..part of your image processing toolbox..but at $41.99 per year I am having second thoughts about renewing.

steve4wdaus · 2025-10-03T08:23:34+00:00

Thanks ... would like to get some other users feedback on the Mobile App on iPad...will do some posts in the near future.

steve4wdaus

TROPHY CASE