Apple Considered Buying Halide To Upgrade Its Native Camera App

A ineligible feud betwixt nan co-founders of Lux Optics, nan developer down nan Halide camera app, revealed that Apple was adjacent to acquiring nan company. As first reported by The Information, Apple held acquisition talks for Lux Optics, which besides developed nan Kino, Spectre and Orion apps, successful nan summertime of 2025.

According to The Information, nan woody yet fell done successful September of that year, but nan imaginable acquisition could've provided Apple pinch nan third-party software to amended its ain built-in camera app. Apple is already rumored to beryllium introducing variable aperture to its upcoming iPhone 18 Pro models, truthful it's not astonishing that nan iPhone shaper was looking for package pinch precocious features to lucifer its perchance upgraded camera hardware.

Despite Apple's interest, Lux Optics' co-founders, Ben Sandofsky and Sebastiaan de With concluded that early updates to Halide could summation nan company's valuation and ended nan acquisition talks. According to nan suit betwixt nan co-founders, Sandofsky started investigating de With for nan alleged misuse of institution costs soon aft nan talks pinch Apple ended. Afterwards, de With was fired from Lux Optics and later joined Apple's design team. While Halide whitethorn stay third-party package for iPhones and iPads, users tin still look guardant to immoderate package improvements to nan built-in camera app, since that's reportedly 1 of Apple's priorities.