Leica released a silver LUX 2.0 grip and a new artist look by Steve McCurry

The Leica LUX camera app has been given its most major update to date with a new gallery interface, the Artist Look by Steve McCurry and support for the iPhone 18 Pro series. The silver Leica LUX grip – a camera grip for the iPhone – and matching leather cases provide the perfect finishing touch for the mobile system.

Leica Camera AG is expanding its ecosystem for iPhone photography by introducing new features, creative options and coordinating accessories. Leica LUX 2.0 is the most comprehensive update to the Leica LUX camera app yet: the new version will use the same gallery interface as the Leica FOTOS App going forward and features a revamped user interface with new app icons inspired by legendary Leica cameras, as well as subtle elements of Apple’s Liquid Glass design vocabulary. Alongside the Artist Look by Steve McCurry and support for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, this represents the most significant advancement in the history of the Leica LUX App.

Leica is also expanding its range of mobile photography accessories. The Leica LUX grip, a camera grip for the iPhone that replicates the feel of a camera, is now available for the first time in a silver finish. Matching Leica LUX cases in black leather, which fit the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max precisely, are designed to complement the camera grip. They combine reliable protection with the distinctive Leica design language. The silver Leica LUX grip can be purchased for €300, including VAT, and includes one year’s access to Leica LUX PRO. Leica LUX cases cost €95 each, including VAT.

Since its launch in 2024, the Leica LUX App has been downloaded millions of times and is used by hundreds of thousands of photographers every month. With an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars based on over 25,000 reviews, it is also one of the highest-rated camera apps on the Apple App Store.

Leica LUX 2.0: App and System Are Becoming More Closely Integrated

Leica LUX brings Leica’s distinctive visual aesthetic to the iPhone. With simulations of legendary Leica lenses, a variety of Leica Looks and manual control over focus, exposure, ISO and white balance, a whole host of possibilities are opened up for both spontaneous snapshots and carefully composed shots.

Leica LUX version 2.0 introduces the same gallery interface found in the Leica FOTOS App. Leica FOTOS connects compatible Leica cameras to smartphones and tablets, supporting the transfer and management of images. As both apps will follow the same operating logic going forward, the photographic experience within the Leica system is more consistent.

A new filmstrip enables you to select individual shots straight from the detail view. In grid view, multi-select functionality makes it easier to manage larger image series. In addition, Adobe Lightroom and Capture One can now be launched directly as external image editing programs alongside Darkroom.

The Leica LUX user interface has also undergone a comprehensive redesign. Its clearer appearance incorporates elements of Apple’s Liquid Glass design vocabulary while retaining the familiar layout of the photographic control elements. The key settings are therefore still located where users would intuitively expect them to be. The new design is complemented by alternative app icons inspired by legendary Leica cameras, allowing for a personalised home screen display.

Leica LUX is compatible with the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max from launch. Version 2.0 includes further optimisations tailored to the photographic capabilities of this new generation of devices.

The app’s regular release cycle reflects its ongoing development: new features are released approximately every two months. Last year, Leica LUX was enhanced with features including Leica Perspective Control, a halation effect and colour filters for monochrome photography.

“With Leica LUX 2.0, mobile photography is becoming more closely integrated with the Leica system. The shared gallery, the new user interface and Steve McCurry’s Artist Look offer photographers new ways to develop their own visual language using an iPhone. Together with the silver Leica LUX grip and matching cases, the result is a coordinated range for mobile photography,” says Marius Eschweiler, Leica Camera AG’s Vice President of Mobile.

The Artist Look by Steve McCurry: Colour as a Starting Point

Steve McCurry is one of the most influential photographers of our time. His work lies at the intersection of reportage, portrait, travel and landscape photography, and follows a humanistic visual tradition. His photographs combine a keen eye for people and their living environments with an unmistakable flair for colour, light and capturing the decisive moment. McCurry has been a Magnum contributor since 1986. In 2011, he became the first photographer to be inducted into the Leica Hall of Fame.

The Artist Look, developed in collaboration with Leica, translates McCurry’s approach to colour into a unique visual aesthetic for mobile photography. The focus is on distinctive colour palettes and the interplay of light and colour. What sets it apart is not a single colour effect, but rather the combination of colour, subject, light and composition.

The Artist Look is intentionally not a template that automatically makes a shot look like a Steve McCurry photograph. Instead, it provides a starting point for a photographer’s own creative composition. After all, an image’s emotional atmosphere arises from the moment itself, the light, the composition and the subject.

Following Greg Williams’ Artist Look, the Artist Look by Steve McCurry is the second instalment in an ongoing series developed by Leica in collaboration with renowned photographers. The new look is included in Leica LUX PRO. It is also available for the Leica Q3 and the Leica SL3 via the Leica FOTOS App.