Two months in the past, Halide cofounder and designer Sebastiaan de With made a shock announcement that he was becoming a member of Apple’s design staff. It seems the transfer got here after Apple initially expressed curiosity in buying Lux Optics, the app improvement studio behind the pro camera app.
Apple planning iPhone 18 Pro camera software program improve
Apple reportedly desires to convey extra pro camera options to its software program because the iPhone 18 Pro camera hardware goes larger finish this 12 months.
Aaron Tilley reports for The Information that Apple held talks to accumulate Lux Optics final summer season.
Lux Optics makes Halide, the favored third-party pictures app, in addition to Kino for taking pictures video, Spectre for lengthy publicity pictures, and Orion for turning an iPad into an exterior HDMI monitor.
Sadly, public data of Apple’s curiosity in buying Lux Optics surfaced in a lawsuit filed in opposition to de With by cofounder Ben Sandofsky.
As far as Apple’s acquisition pursuits go, nevertheless, the lawsuit claims that the corporate was eager about Lux Optics’ mental property:
The acquisition of Lux, whose Halide app offers customers extra exact guide management over the iPhone camera’s {hardware}, might have helped Apple speed up its efforts to enhance its built-in camera app, a high precedence for the corporate proper now.
The camera in Apple’s upcoming iPhone 18 Pro fashions will start to match
professional-grade cameras by way of sure superior options. As a outcome, the corporate is trying to give the built-in camera app on its smartphone an improve, individuals acquainted with the effort mentioned. The present iPhone camera app accommodates principally primary controls.
The Information says that talks between Apple and Lux Optics resulted in September when the 2 cofounders agreed that future updates to Halide might enhance the corporate’s worth.
Apple considered buying Halide, lawsuit claims
A month later, Sandofsky started investigating his cofounder over alleged misuse of firm funds earlier than inserting him on go away. The lawsuit states that de With was fired by Lux in December.
It additionally alleges that de With has “confidential materials related to Lux’s future product development” and the Apple Design Award received by Lux Optics.
Frankly, the Lux Optics state of affairs sounds unlucky with clear problems with distrust. It’s a tragic state of affairs for such an adored app.
There’s arguably no Halide with out de With’s design chops and advertising and marketing expertise. It’s additionally attention-grabbing to be taught that even earlier than being employed to design for Apple (for a second time), Lux Optics was shifting ahead with out de With.
But messy lawsuit apart, it is sensible that Apple is eager about bettering its first-party pictures instruments. There would really be no Lux Optics with out the iPhone camera {hardware}.
As Apple continues to squeeze extra pro options into its cameras, it solely is sensible for the software program to comply with.
Meanwhile, de With has design chops that contact on each person interface side past camera software program. Perhaps we’ll see the primary indicators of his affect at WWDC 2026 with iOS 27.
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