Aurora HDR 2018
Aurora HDR 2018 is a photo editing and tone-mapping utility developed by Skylum (formerly Macphun) that specializes in HDR (High Dynamic Range) image processing. It is designed to merge multiple exposures into a single high-quality HDR image, apply tone mapping and local contrast enhancement, and deliver vibrant, detailed photographs from scenes with difficult lighting. The app was popular with photographers and enthusiasts seeking quick, aesthetically polished HDR results, particularly for landscapes and architectural photography. It integrates with Lightroom and other editing workflows as a plugin or standalone tool.
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1 suggestionAurora HDR 2018 has been discontinued and is no longer supported by Skylum. The app does not have a native Apple Silicon build, and the developer has marked it as end-of-life, meaning no updates or native ports are planned. The Intel-only build will continue to run under Rosetta 2 today, but Apple is removing Rosetta in macOS 28 (late 2027), at which point this app will stop launching entirely. If you rely on Aurora HDR's HDR and tone-mapping features, Skylum's current product line includes Luminar AI and Luminar Neo, both of which ship with native Apple Silicon support and offer similar tone-mapping and enhancement capabilities. Alternatively, Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop now include effective native HDR merge and tone-curve tools that accomplish comparable results. A paid third-party option is Affinity Photo 2, which offers robust HDR and tone-mapping features and runs natively on M-series Macs. For a free option, consider exploring tone-mapping via GIMP or Krita, though these have steeper learning curves than the visual, slider-driven approach of Aurora HDR.
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