Apple hiring news usually arrives with the emotional texture of a firmware update: important, inevitable, and delivered in a tone best described as “silent mode.” So when a well-known independent designer openly announces he’s joining Apple’s design team—and the story pops up across the Apple ecosystem in a matter of hours—you pay attention.
On January 28, 2026, Sebastiaan de With, co-founder of Lux (the studio behind the beloved iPhone camera app Halide, plus Kino and Orion), said he has joined Apple’s Design Team. The news was first reported by Jay Peters at The Verge, which is the original RSS source for this item. citeturn3view0
To be clear: this is not a random “a designer got hired” item. De With is one of the rare indie app makers who’s managed to become influential outside of App Store charts—through relentless craft, clear writing, and a consistent philosophy: photography should look intentional, not algorithmically overconfident. That makes his move into Apple’s design organization genuinely interesting, especially at a moment when Apple’s camera pipeline and interface decisions are increasingly intertwined with computational photography, HDR, and AI-adjacent features.
Also: if you’re a Halide user and your first thought is “Wait, does this mean Halide is done?”—Lux says no. Lux co-founder Ben Sandofsky publicly emphasized that Halide is continuing, and the timing is almost comically on-the-nose: the same day as the hiring news, Lux launched a public preview of Halide Mark III. citeturn3view0turn2reddit14
What happened: the facts, cleanly separated from the vibes
Here’s what we can say with confidence based on reporting and primary statements:
- Sebastiaan de With announced on social media that he has joined Apple’s Design Team. citeturn3view0
- The Verge reported the move on January 28, 2026, crediting de With’s announcement and noting his background with Lux apps (Halide, Kino, Orion). citeturn3view0
- De With has worked with Apple before (including iCloud/MobileMe and Find My, per his own site and multiple reports). citeturn3view0turn0search0turn0search1
- Lux co-founder Ben Sandofsky said Halide is “going nowhere,” and Lux launched the public preview of Halide Mark III around the same time. citeturn3view0turn2reddit14
Everything beyond that—what he’ll work on, whether he’ll touch the Camera app, how fast his influence will show—falls into the category of educated speculation. So let’s do that responsibly, with context.
Why this hire matters: Apple doesn’t just buy talent, it buys taste
Apple hires a lot of designers. Many are invisible to the public, by design. But Apple rarely hires a designer whose work is both highly visible to iPhone power users and deeply embedded in a niche Apple cares about: camera experience—not just lens hardware, but the entire chain from capture to processing to sharing.
Halide is one of those apps that has, over the years, become a kind of unofficial “control group” for iPhone photography. Users compare Apple’s Camera output to Halide’s RAW workflow, to Process Zero shots, to Halide’s manual controls, and increasingly to Halide’s evolving philosophy about HDR and looks.
In other words: de With isn’t only a designer. He’s a designer who has been building—and publicly defending—a coherent alternative viewpoint about how iPhone photos should look. And that’s exactly the kind of person Apple sometimes pulls inside when it wants that viewpoint to become part of the mothership.
The Apple pattern: acquire the outside perspective, then normalize it
Historically, Apple has been comfortable borrowing best ideas from the ecosystem (sometimes politely, sometimes with the subtlety of a steamroller), but it also does something more interesting: it hires people who embody a design sensibility Apple wants to amplify.
This is not about “copying Halide.” It’s about absorbing a set of instincts:
- Designing pro tools that don’t feel like you’re flying a 747 just to take a picture of your cat.
- Making algorithmic processing feel like an option, not a mandate.
- Treating photography output as a creative decision (SDR vs HDR, contrast choices, tone mapping), not an automated default.
Those instincts align with a growing tension in smartphone photography: people like computational magic until it starts rewriting their memories with the confidence of an intern holding a Sharpness slider.
Halide’s philosophy in one phrase: “less machine, more intent”
To understand why de With is relevant to Apple design, you have to understand what makes Halide—and Lux’s broader product line—feel different.
Process Zero: a deliberate rejection of computational excess
Halide’s Process Zero is essentially Lux saying: “What if we treated the iPhone’s camera sensor as a camera sensor again?” The company describes Process Zero as capturing raw sensor data and processing the photo very minimally—not stacking frames, not doing the familiar smartphone trick of reconstructing reality until it looks like a glossy brochure. citeturn1search5turn1search3
And with Halide Mark III, Lux is expanding that idea into a broader system of “Looks,” including a Default look that matches Apple’s built-in camera behavior and a Process Zero II look that disables computational photography at capture for a more natural feel. citeturn4view0turn3view0
Looks, HDR, and the rare sentence: “We’re proud this does not use AI”
In Lux’s Mark III preview materials, the company frames HDR not as a “must have because marketing,” but as a creative decision. Some scenes benefit from HDR, others look better in SDR, and the point is that the photographer should remain in charge. citeturn4view0
Lux also introduces a “Tone Fusion” slider conceptually inspired by dodging and burning in the darkroom—and explicitly says it does not use AI, instead relying on “pre-AI techniques” to recover values already present in the image. citeturn2search6
That language matters. Not because AI is evil (it’s mostly just enthusiastic), but because it signals a specific stance: the user’s creative intent should dominate the machine’s enthusiasm.
So what will de With do at Apple? Let’s discuss the likely zones of impact
Apple hasn’t announced what de With will work on, and he hasn’t provided details beyond joining the team. citeturn3view0
Still, Apple’s design team is not a monolith, and de With’s background suggests a few plausible areas where he could be especially valuable:
1) The iPhone Camera app experience (not just the UI, but the philosophy)
The obvious guess is the Camera app. But “Camera app” is shorthand for several layers:
- Interaction design: how quickly you can change modes, lock exposure, adjust focus, and trust what you see.
- Information design: what the interface reveals (or hides) about what the camera is doing.
- Capture pipeline options: how Apple presents tradeoffs like file size, ProRAW flexibility, HDR output, and processing style.
Halide has repeatedly tried to make those tradeoffs legible without making the user feel like they need a certification. That’s an area Apple constantly wrestles with as it adds capabilities.
2) Pro workflows across Apple’s platforms (iPhone, iPad, and the “pro” story)
Lux’s work isn’t only about “take photo.” Consider Orion, which turns an iPad into an HDMI monitor with a capture card, and explicitly markets itself as having no data collection. citeturn1search2
That’s relevant because Apple increasingly positions iPad as a production tool (on set, in the field), and the boundary between consumer and prosumer continues to blur. Designers who understand both pro expectations and consumer tolerance for complexity are valuable.
3) Visual design systems: the “Living Glass” and interface materiality obsession
De With is also known for obsessing over interface materiality and how software should “feel” like it belongs to the device. MacRumors previously covered his “Living Glass” concept work imagining an Apple UI that better matches the material properties of glass screens. citeturn0search2
If Apple is continuing to evolve its interface language across iOS, iPadOS, and beyond, bringing in someone who thinks in those terms is not an accident.
What this means for Lux, Halide, and the indie app scene
Halide isn’t dead—Lux is shipping Mark III right now
Ben Sandofsky’s statement (shared publicly and cited by multiple outlets) is unambiguous: Halide is continuing, and Lux is optimistic about what comes next. citeturn3view0turn2reddit14
In fact, the public preview of Halide Mark III is positioned as a major new chapter, centered around Looks and expanded Process Zero ideas. citeturn4view2turn2search1
That matters because it counters the standard “acquihire panic” that follows any high-profile indie-to-Apple move. In this case, Lux is saying: the company remains a company, and the product roadmap remains a roadmap.
But Lux will inevitably change (and that’s not automatically bad)
Even if Halide continues, de With’s departure will be felt. Lux has always been a studio with a strong point of view, and point-of-view companies are sensitive to leadership changes.
However, the Mark III preview also highlights something important: Lux collaborates. Sandofsky mentioned working with The Iconfactory and colorist Cullen Kelly on Mark III. citeturn3view0turn2reddit14
That suggests Lux is building a broader bench—design, engineering, and color expertise—rather than depending on a single person to do everything. As indie studios grow up, that’s often the healthiest transition.
The broader industry context: smartphone photography is now a design problem
For years, smartphone camera competition was framed as a hardware race: bigger sensors, better stabilization, more lenses. That still matters. But the “wow” factor increasingly comes from software choices—tone mapping, HDR behavior, detail recovery, portrait segmentation, video color science, and what gets smoothed versus what gets preserved.
Those choices are not purely technical; they’re deeply aesthetic. And aesthetics, in consumer products, is design territory.
HDR: from “feature” to “default”—and why users are pushing back
Lux’s materials for Mark III make the case that HDR can be beautiful, especially in high-contrast scenes like sunsets, but also emphasize that HDR is a creative choice and that SDR can be more appropriate in low-contrast scenes. citeturn4view0
This framing mirrors what many photographers complain about with default smartphone pipelines: the device makes too many creative decisions on your behalf. Apple has generally tuned its processing more conservatively than some competitors, but the overall industry trend is still “more computational everything.”
Hiring a designer publicly associated with “tasteful restraint” is, at minimum, an interesting signal.
AI in imaging: the line between enhancement and authorship
Even when a feature is not marketed as AI, the user experience can feel AI-like: scene reconstruction, semantic edits, and aggressive noise reduction can create images that look less like photographs and more like “a confident interpretation of a photograph.”
Halide’s Process Zero line and its “no AI” messaging positions Lux as a counterweight to that trend. citeturn1search5turn2search6
Apple, meanwhile, must serve two audiences at once:
- People who want the phone to do everything automatically, always, instantly.
- People who want the phone to get out of the way so they can make decisions.
Design is the bridge here. If Apple can expose control without turning the Camera app into a cockpit, that’s a design win.
Case study: why Halide resonated where other “pro camera apps” didn’t
The App Store has no shortage of “pro camera” apps. Many suffer from one of two classic failures:
- They are too complex for most users, and complexity isn’t the same thing as capability.
- They are too shallow for pros, offering “manual” controls that don’t integrate cleanly into real workflows.
Halide’s appeal has typically come from combining:
- A strong, readable interface that feels designed rather than accumulated.
- Clear capture modes and formats (including RAW workflows and ProRAW support concepts). citeturn1search3turn2search4
- A willingness to build features that challenge default iPhone assumptions (Process Zero being the headline example). citeturn1search5
That “designed rather than accumulated” point is exactly what large platform products struggle with over time. Big products accrete features. Small teams curate them. Apple, famously, wants to ship curated experiences at planetary scale. Bringing in proven curators from the indie world is one way to keep that promise.
What happens next: the realistic timeline for influence inside Apple
Even if de With is working on something user-facing, don’t expect his fingerprints to show up next week. Apple product cycles are long, and design changes often incubate across multiple releases.
However, there are two ways influence can appear sooner:
- Design critique culture: a strong designer can change the quality of decisions simply by being in the room.
- Smaller surface areas: certain UI refinements, default behaviors, or workflow tweaks can ship faster than full redesigns.
Apple also doesn’t hire public-facing indie designers just to tuck them into a corner to redesign an internal button label nobody sees. The odds are good his work will touch something meaningful, even if we can’t yet say what.
Implications for developers: the “App Store dream” still exists (sort of)
If you’re an independent developer or designer, this story lands as a mixed message:
- The good news: building something with taste and a clear product thesis can still earn you a seat at Apple’s table.
- The complicated news: when Apple hires you, your product’s identity may need to survive without you.
Lux’s situation is a useful example of how to do it: communicate clearly, ship product, show the bench, and reassure users with specifics (like the Mark III public preview). citeturn3view0turn2reddit14
Practical takeaways for iPhone photographers right now
If you’re not here for corporate tea but for better photos, here’s what this moment suggests you can do today:
- Re-evaluate your defaults. If you feel your iPhone photos look “overcooked,” experiment with alternative capture pipelines (Halide’s Process Zero approach exists specifically for that feeling). citeturn1search5turn1search3
- Learn what HDR does to your images. HDR is not automatically “better.” It’s a tradeoff between highlight detail, contrast, and the look you want. Lux’s Mark III preview frames it as a creative choice, which is a helpful mindset even if you never touch Halide. citeturn4view0
- Expect Apple to keep pushing computational imaging. The market rewards it. The interesting question is whether Apple will also surface more intentional control for users who want it.
Conclusion: a small personnel story with big product implications
On paper, this is a straightforward story: a designer behind a well-regarded camera app is joining Apple’s design team. But in practice, it’s a lens into what matters next in consumer tech.
Smartphone photography is no longer primarily limited by lens specs. It’s limited by taste, interface, and trust—trust that the camera is capturing your moment, not manufacturing a prettier one without permission.
Sebastiaan de With has spent years building tools and writing analyses that argue for intentionality in iPhone imaging and software design. Apple just brought that viewpoint inside the walls. Whether it changes anything in the products you use will take time—but it’s one of the more interesting design hires Apple has made in a while, precisely because it’s not just a resume. It’s a philosophy.
Sources
- The Verge (original RSS source), Jay Peters, “Halide co-founder Sebastiaan de With is joining Apple’s design team” (Jan 28, 2026)
- MacRumors, Joe Rossignol, “’Halide’ Co-Founder Sebastiaan de With Joins Apple’s Design Team” (Jan 28, 2026) citeturn0search0
- AppleInsider, “Pro camera app Halide developer Sebastiaan de With returning to Apple for design team” (Jan 28, 2026) citeturn0search1
- 9to5Mac, Chance Miller, “Halide cofounder Sebastiaan de With joins Apple’s design team” (Jan 28, 2026) citeturn0search4
- Lux Camera, “The Process Zero Manual” citeturn1search5
- Halide Support (Lux), “Choose your Process and shooting in RAW” citeturn1search3
- Lux Camera, “Inside Looks: A Mark III Preview” citeturn4view0turn2search6
- PetaPixel, Jeremy Gray, “Halide Mark III Doubles Down on AI-Free iPhone Photography” (Jan 28, 2026) citeturn4view2
- The Verge, “Process Zero II will let you do a little processing, if you want” (Jan 28, 2026) citeturn2news13
- TechCrunch, “Meet Kino…” (May 29, 2024) citeturn1search6
- Apple App Store, “HDMI Monitor – Orion” listing citeturn1search2
- Reddit, r/apple thread containing Ben Sandofsky statement (Jan 28, 2026) citeturn2reddit14
Bas Dorland, Technology Journalist & Founder of dorland.org