Apple Wanted to Buy Halide to Boost iPhone 18 Pro's Camera App—Now There's a Lawsuit
Apple tried to buy Halide camera app maker Lux Optics for the iPhone 18 Pro. Now its co-founders are locked in a fierce legal battle.
Matilda
Apple Wanted to Buy Halide to Boost iPhone 18 Pro's Camera App—Now There's a Lawsuit
iPhone 18 Pro Camera Upgrade Sparks a Bitter Startup Lawsuit Apple wanted to supercharge the iPhone 18 Pro camera app by buying the team behind one of the most beloved photography apps ever made. Instead, the deal collapsed, a co-founder walked out the door and straight into Apple's design team, and the other is now suing him for financial misconduct and leaking company secrets. This is the story of how a quiet acquisition negotiation turned into one of tech's messiest public fallouts. Why Apple Was Eyeing a Small Camera Startup In the summer of 2025, Apple held serious acquisition talks with Lux Optics, the San Francisco-based developer behind the popular iPhone photography apps Halide, Kino, and Spectre. These are not minor utilities. Halide in particular has built a devoted following among smartphone photographers who want manual controls and a tactile shooting experience that Apple's default Camera app has never offered. Apple's interest was not casual. According to r…