A lawsuit filed by the co-founder revealed that Apple wanted to acquire the developer of Halide, a professional-grade camera for iPhones.
Ben Sandovsky, one of the co-founders of Lux Optics, the developer of Halide, a popular professional camera app for iPhones, has sued fellow co-founder Sebastian de Witt, who works at Apple at the time of writing. This lawsuit reveals that Apple was planning to acquire Lux Optics.
Apple Acquisition Talks, Fraud Accusations: Behind One App Startup's Nasty Split — The Information
Halide co-founder is suing Sebastian de With for taking code to Apple | The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/business/898687/halide-lawsuit-co-founder-apple
Apple wanted to buy Halide, co-founder lawsuit fight reveals
https://appleinsider.com/articles/26/03/21/apple-wanted-to-buy-halide-co-founder-lawsuit-fight-reveals
Halide is a professional-grade camera app for iPhone and iPad. It not only allows you to freely adjust settings such as shutter speed, ISO sensitivity, and white balance, but it also boasts a variety of other features. We've published a review of our experience using it on GIGAZINE.
A review of 'Halide,' a camera app packed with professional features yet easy for beginners to use - GIGAZINE
According to sources, Apple is aiming to elevate the iPhone 18 Pro's camera to a professional level, and to that end, it appears to be upgrading the functionality of its native camera app and striving for more advanced usability. Appleinsider points out that if the acquisition of Lux Optics had gone through, Apple could have used Halide to upgrade its native camera app.
However, Apple's acquisition of Lux Optics has fallen through. This was revealed when Sandowsky sued De Witt. Sandowsky is suing De Witt for allegedly misusing Lux Optics' funds, and according to the lawsuit, the damages amount to $150,000 (approximately 24 million yen).
DeWitt joined Apple in January 2026 and became part of the company's design team. The lawsuit alleges that DeWitt brought confidential documents and source code related to future features under development by Lux Optics to Apple. However, DeWitt's lawyer denies these allegations, stating that 'this attempt to involve Apple in a legal dispute appears to be aimed at increasing negotiating power and attracting attention.'
De Witt's joining Apple was widely reported, but the lawsuit alleges that in October 2025, Sandowski investigated De Witt's alleged misappropriation of funds, placed him on leave, and then fired him in December.
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in Software, Smartphone, Posted by logu_ii