Sony released the Sky HDR application as a way to create landscape images with a high dynamic range, particularly when the sky and foreground have very different brightness levels. The idea was to reduce the need for a graduated neutral-density filter in some situations by combining exposures and adjusting the tonal balance in software.
It is an interesting example of how computational photography began to move some traditional filter techniques into the camera and its applications. It does not make graduated ND filters obsolete in every situation, but it gives photographers another option when dealing with a bright sky.
Petapixel covered the release here:
Sony’s new Sky HDR app and the role of graduated ND filters in landscape photography
Historical note: This article refers to a Sony application released in 2015. Check current app availability and camera compatibility before relying on it.
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