Export: Saving the Finished Image
Export opens as its own sheet via the “Export” toolbar button. Format and quality are fixed — there’s no choice to make.
Fixed settings
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Format | JPEG (fixed, no choice) |
| Quality | 94% (fixed, no choice) |
| Dimensions | full resolution, shown live as width × height in pixels |
There’s no UI option for a different export format (such as PNG, HEIF, or TIFF), or a different quality level — both are hard-coded.
The two ways
| Action | Mechanism |
|---|---|
| Save as a new copy in Photos | writes a new copy to your photo library (needs only “Add” permission) |
| Share or save to Files | opens the iOS share sheet, for example to save into the Files app |
After a successful save to Photos, the confirmation “Saved as a New Copy in Photos” appears.
The original stays untouched
“The original isn’t changed.”
Editing and exporting never overwrite the original. The local project preserves the source, edits and history; export creates a new JPEG copy.
Preparation and open AI selections
The export sheet opens immediately and shows preparation progress. Save and Share become available once the JPEG is ready. You can close the sheet or retry after an error.
If AI Removal still has an open selection or result under review, apply or discard it first. Export becomes available afterward. Applied AI corrections and reflection analyses reuse their stored results during export.
The same applies to an open Select object preview: accept or discard it first. If reflection analysis required by an active Polarizer is still running, export waits for the completed correction. After an error, retry the analysis or disable the affected effect. The histogram, mask overlay, and clipping warnings are editing aids and do not appear in the exported photo.
A JPEG is the finished image, not an editable project archive. New features may require a newer app version to reopen the local project format. Older versions reject such projects instead of silently dropping unknown settings.
Error cases
Depth lock: if depth blur is turned on but no depth map is available, export is blocked with one of the following messages:
“The AI depth map is still being computed. Wait a moment, or switch the depth source.”
“Depth blur needs the AI depth map, which is missing. Restart the estimate, or switch the depth source.”
Other error messages:
| Message | Cause |
|---|---|
| “The image couldn’t be exported.” | general render error |
| “The export file couldn’t be created.” | file couldn’t be written |
| “JPEG export failed.” | JPEG encoding failed |
| “Allow adding to your photo library in Settings.” | Photos permission denied |
Practical tips
- If depth blur is active and export is blocked, check the Depth tool first to see whether the AI estimate is still running or has failed — switching the depth source, or trying the estimate again, usually clears the block.
- Since quality is fixed at 94%, there’s no reason to pick a quality level before exporting — export is configured identically every time.
- “Share or save to Files” is the right path when you want to continue working with the finished image outside your photo library, for example in another app or on a server.
- Because the original is never changed, you can export the same edit again with different values at any time, without losing the source image.