Leica is expanding its LUX ecosystem, and there are two parts to it: a new LUX Grip in silver, and a substantial upgrade to the LUX app that includes a new Artist Look by Steve McCurry. It’s a smaller announcement than a camera launch, but for anyone using Leica LUX it’s a genuinely useful one. Details are on Leica’s site.
What LUX is, briefly
For anyone who hasn’t come across it, Leica LUX is the company’s iPhone app that brings Leica’s colour science, its famous Look profiles, and manual controls to phone photography, along with the LUX Grip, a Bluetooth accessory that clips to the phone and adds physical camera controls: a shutter release, a control dial and a more camera-like way of holding and shooting. It’s Leica’s answer to the idea that the best camera is the one in your pocket, made to feel a little more like using an actual Leica.
The silver Grip
The headline hardware is straightforward: the LUX Grip now comes in silver, alongside the existing finish. That matters more than a colour choice usually would, because Leica’s own cameras and the phones people pair them with often lean towards silver-and-black, and matching the accessory to the setup is exactly the kind of detail Leica buyers care about. It’s a cosmetic addition rather than a functional change, but a welcome one.
The app upgrade is the more useful part
The more comprehensive version of the LUX app is the substance here, and the standout is a new Artist Look by Steve McCurry. McCurry is one of the most recognisable photographers alive, the man behind the Afghan Girl photograph, and a colourist of enormous influence. An Artist Look built to emulate his style, applied to your own phone photographs, is a genuinely appealing creative tool, and a smart bit of thinking on Leica’s part.
Artist Looks like this sit at the heart of what LUX is for. Rather than a generic filter, they’re colour treatments derived from how a specific, celebrated photographer works, which for anyone learning about colour and mood is a more interesting way in than a slider marked “warm”. It also fits neatly alongside the wider trend of film and photographer-emulation looks we’ve seen across the industry this year.
Our take
This won’t change anyone’s world, but it’s a sensible, well-judged expansion of an ecosystem Leica clearly intends to keep developing. The silver Grip broadens the appeal of the hardware, and the McCurry Look gives existing users a real reason to open the app and experiment. For photographers who already shoot with LUX, both are easy wins, and the McCurry Look in particular is the sort of thing worth trying on your own images to see how it reshapes them.
As ever with a phone-first Leica product, the question is whether the results justify buying into the ecosystem in the first place, and that comes down to how much you value Leica’s colour science on a phone. For those already sold on it, this expansion makes LUX a little more capable and a little more fun.
Leica LUX expansion: what’s new
LUX Grip: now available in a new silver finish, alongside the existing version; a Bluetooth accessory adding physical camera controls to iPhone photography via the LUX app. LUX app: the most comprehensive version to date, launching 24 September, including a new Artist Look by Steve McCurry emulating the photographer’s style, plus further app upgrades. Ecosystem: part of Leica’s LUX platform bringing Leica colour science, Look profiles and manual controls to the iPhone.
Price and availability
Leica has announced the silver LUX Grip and the LUX app upgrade, with the new app version launching on 24 September 2026. Check Leica’s site for current UK pricing on the LUX Grip and any subscription details for the LUX app.
