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 group.
It seems the transfer got here after Apple initially expressed curiosity in shopping for Lux Optics, the app growth studio behind the professional digital camera app.
Apple reportedly needs to carry extra professional digital camera options to its software program because the iPhone 18 Professional digital camera {hardware} goes increased finish this yr.
Apple planning iPhone 18 Professional digital camera software program improve
Aaron Tilley experiences for The Info that Apple held talks to accumulate Lux Optics final summer season.
Lux Optics makes Halide, the favored third-party images app, in addition to Kino for capturing video, Spectre for lengthy publicity pictures, and Orion for turning an iPad into an exterior HDMI monitor.
Sadly, public information of Apple’s curiosity in buying Lux Optics surfaced in a lawsuit filed in opposition to de With by cofounder Ben Sandofsky.
So far as Apple’s acquisition pursuits go, nevertheless, the lawsuit claims that the corporate was involved in Lux Optics’ mental property:
The acquisition of Lux, whose Halide app provides customers extra exact handbook management over the iPhone digital camera’s {hardware}, might have helped Apple speed up its efforts to enhance its built-in digital camera app, a prime precedence for the corporate proper now.
The digital camera in Apple’s upcoming iPhone 18 Professional fashions will start to match
professional-grade cameras when it comes to sure superior options. In consequence, the corporate is trying to give the built-in digital camera app on its smartphone an improve, folks acquainted with the effort stated. The prevailing iPhone digital camera app comprises principally primary controls.
Apple thought of shopping for Halide, lawsuit claims
The Info says that talks between Apple and Lux Optics led to September when the 2 cofounders agreed that future updates to Halide might enhance the corporate’s worth.
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 supplies associated to Lux’s future product growth” and the Apple Design Award gained by Lux Optics.
Frankly, the Lux Optics scenario 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 fascinating 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.
However messy lawsuit apart, it is sensible that Apple is involved in enhancing its first-party images instruments. There would actually be no Lux Optics with out the iPhone digital camera {hardware}.
As Apple continues to squeeze extra professional options into its cameras, it solely is sensible for the software program to comply with.
In the meantime, de With has design chops that contact on each person interface side past digital camera software program. Maybe we’ll see the primary indicators of his affect at WWDC 2026 with iOS 27.
FTC: We use earnings incomes auto affiliate hyperlinks. Extra.
