"HDR unavailable" notification when editing HDR photos in Lightroom for iOS

Question

Issue: When editing in HDR in Lightroom for iOS, the histogram shows the message "HDR Unavailable" (see screenshot). Additionally, photos that are edited in HDR sometimes do not show as HDR in the grid view.

Lightroom for iOS version number: 10.0.1

iOS version number: 18.1 (production version)

iPhone 16 Pro

Steps to reproduce:

1. Open photo from the Grid view

2. Select "Edit in HDR mode"

3. Open HDR histogram

Expected result

1. SDR and HDR histograms presented, all white lettering

2. HDR-edited photos are identified as HDR in the grid and can be filtered

Actual result

1. red "HDR Unavailable" message under histogram with link to learn more

2. HDR-edited photo not marked as HDR in the grid and cannot be filtered. Some are marked as such, some aren't.

Workaround/Fix

1. Disable "Auto-Brightness" in iOS accessibility. This made the full HDR histogram available again, even when turning Auto-Brightness back on.

2. No other accessibility features were on when this issue presented (eg "reduce white point")

3. Deleting and re-installing the app made no difference

TDC3000 · Accepted Answer

Ok, I can definitely reproduce the issue by turning on low power mode. When I turn it off, the issue goes away.

I now remember when this happened yesterday, I was on low power mode for quite a while and noticed the issue. What confused me was that when I switched off low power mode, the issue did not go away. I rarely use low power mode anymore because the 16Pro is more efficient, so maybe that's why I began to notice it just recently.

So maybe this is a combo of power issues and throttling? If so, then descriptive help text would be a great fix. I'll try leaving the phone on low power mode for awhile next to make sure.

Charlie.D · Answer

Hello @TDC3000
I'm trying to understand how to reproduce this. I am on 16 Pro Max, also iOS 18.1. In iOS Settings > Accessibility I have Auto-Brightness enabled, and I have tried with my screen brightness at different levels from very dim to 100% bright. Even if I disable Auto-Brightness, I can still enable HDR and do not see the "Unavailable" message.

What camera captured your source images, and what file format/capture setttings did you use?

Are there any other details you think might be relevant?

fyi, grid view thumbs are SDR and won't reflect HDR image qualities. That may change in the future as HDR adoption progresses.

Also, as far as I know, the only images that show the HDR badge in grid view are photos captured as HDR in the LR in-app camera.

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