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pcAI Photo Retouch Review: Offline Photo Restoration and Art Styles on iPhone and Mac

·5 min readBy Hans Kuepper · Founder of PromptQuorum · Discovery engine for open-weight & open-source AI

pcAI Photo Retouch is a free-to-install iPhone, iPad and Mac app that restores old photos and applies art styles, with an AI that its developer says runs entirely on the device. Extra features are sold as in-app purchases, the source code is not published, and the model is not named.

Key Takeaways

  • Publisher: listed on the App Store as 维 艾 (Wei Ai, copyright "aiwei"); no source repository or license text was found.
  • AI: the developer's page says processing runs on the Neural Engine through Core ML; no model is named.
  • Cost: free to install; three in-app purchases are listed (Pro Light, Pro Infinity and Starry Night Style).
  • Reputation: the App Store listing shows no ratings yet.

📍 In One Sentence

pcAI Photo Retouch is a closed-source photo app from a single publisher, free to install, whose AI model its developer says runs on the device.

💬 In Plain Terms

You load a photo and tap a button; the app sharpens it or repaints it in a chosen style on your own device, without an account or an upload, according to the developer.

⚠️Warning: No update since 20 February 2026. The App Store lists version 1.1.0 from that date as the latest release, so the app may be unmaintained. Check the listing for a newer version before relying on it. Everything on this page is the developer's own description; PromptQuorum has not tested the app.

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pcAI Photo Retouch is a photo-editing app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision that restores old photos and applies sketch, oil-painting and Van Gogh "Starry Night" styles, using an AI model that its developer says runs entirely on the device. It is published on the App Store by 维 艾 (Wei Ai). This review is based on the App Store listing and the developer's own pages, checked on 16 October 2026; PromptQuorum has not tested the app hands-on.

pcAI Photo Retouch Review: Offline Photo Restoration and Art Styles on iPhone and Mac

What Is pcAI Photo Retouch?

pcAI Photo Retouch is a photo-editing app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision that, according to its developer, applies its AI on the device instead of in the cloud. The developer's app page describes it as made for content creators, real estate agents and casual photographers, and says it needs no account, login or settings: you tap a button and see the result.

The app has three names: the German App Store title is "Lokale KI Foto Retusche: pcAI", the other storefronts checked show "Local AI Photo Retouch: pcAI", and the developer's site calls it "pcAI Photo Retouch". All three refer to the same App Store ID, 6751140211.

Get It

The app is available only through the App Store; no Android, Windows or web version is listed.

Platform
Where to get it
iPhone, iPadApp Store, iOS/iPadOS 16.0+
MacApp Store, macOS 12.0+
Apple VisionApp Store, visionOS 1.0+
In-app purchases (US store)Pro Light $0.99, Pro Infinity $3.99, Starry Night Style $1.99
WebsitepcAI Photo Retouch page
Privacy policyPrivacy policy
Source codeNot published

Version as verified on 16 October 2026: 1.1.0, last updated on 20 February 2026; the download is 34.9 MB and the app is free to install.

Features Confirmed by the Sources

Every item below comes from the App Store description or the developer's pages; none has been independently tested.

  • Photo restoration. Restores old photos to a clearer look with AI sharpening, and lists a brightness-enhancement step.
  • Art styles. Sketch, oil painting and Van Gogh "Starry Night" styles; the free version includes some style transfer, while the Starry Night style is sold as a one-time purchase.
  • Export and sharing. Unlimited original-size export is free; sharing edited images and flexible export sizes are described as subscription features.
  • Workflow. Unlimited photo loading and replacement; version 1.0.2 let styles be applied directly without an extra click, and version 1.0.1 added adaptive image sizing on macOS.
  • Languages. The interface is available in English, German and Simplified Chinese.

Privacy and On-Device Processing

The App Store privacy section says the developer collects no data; Apple notes that it has not verified this. The developer's privacy policy, effective 20 February 2026, says the app does not collect, store or transmit personal data, has no user accounts, never uploads images to a server, and uses no advertising SDKs, analytics SDKs or third-party AI services.

All features are described as running offline on the device, so photos stay on it unless you share them yourself. The policy does not mention in-app purchases.

📌Note: These are the developer's declarations, not audit results, and the source code is not published. PromptQuorum has not inspected the app's network traffic.

What We Could Not Verify

  • Source code and license. No public repository or license text was found, so the privacy claims cannot be checked against code.
  • Model and quality. Core ML and the Neural Engine are named, but no model, size or training source is; PromptQuorum did not run the app, so restoration quality, speed and battery use are unknown, and no chip or RAM requirement is stated beyond the operating-system versions.
  • What the purchases unlock. The description mentions subscription features for sharing and multi-size export, but the listing names three purchases without saying which one unlocks what or which one renews.
  • Independent feedback. The listing shows no ratings yet, and no third-party reviews were found.

Competitors and Alternatives

Real-ESRGAN

Platforms:
Windows, macOS, Linux
Price / license:
Free / Apache-2.0
Key difference:
Open-source image upscaler you run on a computer; no art styles
Articles about Real-ESRGAN (1)

Also mentioned in:

Draw Things

Platforms:
macOS, iOS
Price / license:
Freemium / closed source
Key difference:
On-device image generator for iPhone and Mac; creates images rather than retouching photos
Articles about Draw Things (2)

Also mentioned in:

DiffusionBee

Platforms:
macOS
Price / license:
Free / AGPL-3.0
Key difference:
Packaged Stable Diffusion generator for Mac; no iPhone version
Articles about DiffusionBee (2)

Competitor details change often; confirm each app's current price, license and platforms on its own listing.

Compare in directory

Frequently Asked Questions

Why don't the support and policy links in the App Store open the current pages?

The App Store lists older github.io addresses for support and the privacy policy; they now show only a notice that the pages moved to apps.h53d.xyz, which is where the links above point.

Does the developer make other apps?

The developer's site lists 15 other apps, among them STEP Reviewer, 3D Model Viewer, DXF Assistant and CutoutCraft.

How does it compare with Real-ESRGAN?

Real-ESRGAN is an open-source upscaler you run on a computer, whereas pcAI Photo Retouch is a closed-source iPhone and Mac app that also applies art styles; the sources do not allow a quality comparison.

Verdict

pcAI Photo Retouch is a simple idea packaged as a store app: restore an old photo or restyle it on the device, free to install, with a few in-app purchases. It is also an unproven and possibly unmaintained one: no update since 20 February 2026, one publisher, no published source, an unnamed model and no ratings yet. It suits iPhone and Mac owners who want to try offline photo restoration at low cost and can live with an app that may not receive fixes; anyone who needs an open-source, auditable tool should compare Real-ESRGAN first and check the App Store page for a newer release before buying anything.

Sources

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