Apple was in acquisition talks with Lux Optics last year to improve the camera experience

Apple held advanced talks last year to buy Lux Optics, the company behind the Halide, Kino, Spectre, and Orion camera apps, according to Lux co-founder and Halide developer Ben Sandofsky. The goal was to fold Lux’s software expertise into Apple’s own Camera app to upgrade the default photo and video experience on iPhones.

The talks reportedly collapsed in September 2024, and the acquisition never went through. Apple is still expected to push camera upgrades in future iPhones, including work on a variable aperture system rumored for the iPhone 18, but it will be doing so without Lux Optics in-house.