Comment by JKCalhoun
6 hours ago
Many of the "old-timers" on the Photos team (when I was on that team for a couple of years) also missed Aperture. Very much so.
Many kept Aperture running on a device at home—still used it for their own workflows (many passionate photographers on that team—surprise!). And in fact when it came time to discuss future Photos features there was always a contingent pushing to add back features that were lost in the transition away from Aperture.
While I was there, for example, they pushed (and got) Curves added to the editing pane. Levels had always been there but the purists missed the more laser-focused "curve" adjustments.
They wanted, did not get, the ability to "brush" a setting (the way you might dodge/burn an area of the image).
These days, who knows. Like me, perhaps the old guard have moved on…
(To clarify though, I was never the "old guard" with regard to the Photos team—had never worked on Aperture.)
Around the time Aperture became dead, I was looking for a photo editing app on the iPhone; three of my non-negotiable requirements: non-destructive adjustments, curves, and the ability to brush a mask for an adjustment. I found Snapseed which fulfilled these requirements. But of course, why did I get the idea for these requirements of mine? Aperture of course. Once you got used to the features of Aperture, you really don’t want to use a lesser app like Photos.