Apple considered buying Halide to upgrade its native Camera app

A legal spat between the co-founders of Lux Optics, the developer behind camera app Halide, has revealed that Apple is close to acquiring the company. As first reported The informationApple has held acquisition negotiations for Lux Optics, which also developed the Kino, Specter and Orion apps, in summer 2025.

According to The informationthe deal ultimately fell through in September of that year, but the potential acquisition could have provided Apple with the third-party software needed to improve its own built-in camera app. Apple is rumored to introduce variable aperture on its upcoming iPhone 18 Pro models, so it’s no surprise that the iPhone maker was looking for software with advanced features to match its possibly upgraded camera hardware.

Despite Apple’s interest, Lux Optics co-founders Ben Sandofsky and Sebastiaan de With concluded that future Halide updates could increase the company’s valuation and ended acquisition talks. According to the lawsuit between the co-founders, Sandofsky began investigating de With for alleged misuse of company funds shortly after negotiations with Apple ended. Subsequently, de With was fired from Lux Optics and later joined Apple’s design team. Even though Halide remains third-party software for iPhone and iPad, users can still expect some software improvements to the built-in camera app, as this is reportedly one of Apple’s priorities.