As you’d expect from Apple, the design is simple but elegant and there are some great features, most of which are performed using the multi-touch gestures that make the tablet such an enjoyable and intuitive device to work with. Smart Browsing uses image-matching technology to make it easier to find specific photos and compare them with similar shots. The editing area is arranged with a scrolling panel of thumbnails to one side of the selected image, and the tools and functions are tucked away in narrow strips at the top and bottom.

Your fingertips become brushes to paint adjustments directly onto the photos, while the edge-detection feature saves you worrying about going over the edges of your selections. Virtual paint brushes fan out from the bottom, a menu of processing effects displayed as swatches can be fine-tuned and applied instantly. All edits are non-destructive and you can roll back previously applied adjustments at any time.

There are lots of sharing options too in addition to the usual direct social media uploads. Create a slideshow using one of eight stylish cinematic themes (and stream it wirelessly to your TV with Airplay, if you have an Apple TV) or try the Photo Journal feature, which arranges a set of images into an editable montage, with maps, Post-It notes and so forth, which you can then print or share online.

Few of these features are unique to iPhoto, but the way that Apple implements them is a beautiful thing to behold and you just have to smile the first time you see them. iPhoto works on both iPhone and iPad, and you can wirelessly beam full-res images from one to the other.