Sebastiaan de With, the designer who proved that a third-party app could out-think Apple’s own camera software, is returning to Cupertino. On Wednesday, the Lux co-founder confirmed he has joined Apple’s Human Interface (HI) Design team, marking a full-circle return for a creator who spent the last decade building the very tools Apple’s professional users demanded.

"So excited to work with the very best team in the world on my favorite products," de With posted on Threads. While he hasn't detailed his specific remit, he joins the HI team as it faces the daunting task of defining the next decade of spatial and tactile computing. His transition to a full-time role at Apple Park comes as the company’s design culture undergoes its most significant transformation since the departure of Jony Ive.

From Third-Party Pioneer to Apple Design Insider

De With’s influence on the iOS ecosystem is difficult to overstate. At Lux, the developer collective he co-founded, he turned apps like Halide, Kino, and Spectre into the gold standard for mobile creative tools. These weren't just apps; they were arguments for how professional-grade complexity could coexist with a touch interface.

His most impactful work was arguably a direct critique of Apple’s own direction. As the native iPhone camera app became increasingly reliant on "Smart HDR" and "Deep Fusion"—computational processing that many users now criticize for looking waxy and over-processed—de With introduced "Process Zero" to Halide. This feature bypassed Apple’s aggressive algorithms to deliver raw, film-like photos.

By hiring de With, Apple is bringing in a practitioner who has spent years perfecting the "anti-over-processed" look. His return suggests Apple may finally be ready to address the growing user backlash against its computational photography aesthetic.

This is a return to roots. Before co-founding Lux, de With designed the early interfaces for iCloud, MobileMe, and Find My. He returns with a portfolio that includes work for Sony and Mozilla, but more importantly, he returns with a decade of experience pushing Apple’s APIs and hardware further than Apple’s own designers originally intended.

Strategic Realignment in Apple’s Design Hierarchy

The hire doesn’t exist in a vacuum; it is part of a top-down reshuffle of Apple’s creative leadership. In December 2025, Alan Dye, Apple’s Vice President of Human Interface Design, left the company to join Meta.

His exit marks the end of a specific era of Apple design.

In the wake of Dye’s departure, Stephen Lemay, a 26-year Apple veteran, was promoted to lead the HI team. Under the current structure, Apple CEO Tim Cook has tasked John Ternus, Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, with overseeing both hardware and software design.

This consolidation is intended to bridge the gap between physical and digital interactions. As Apple shifts from the "Clean" era of flat software toward a more tactile era—defined by the Action Button and the iPhone 16’s Camera Control—de With is uniquely positioned to recalibrate the tactile logic of iOS. He is a designer obsessed with how a digital slider feels and how a virtual shutter responds, making him the ideal architect for this hardware-software convergence.

The Future of Lux and Halide

For the Lux community, de With’s departure creates a strange tension. There is a palpable irony in the lead designer leaving just as the company previews its most ambitious update yet: Halide Mark III.

Lux co-founder Ben Sandofsky moved quickly to reassure users that development is not slowing down, but de With’s exit is a clear break. While his design DNA is baked into the "Mark III" roadmap, the future of the app will now rely on strategic partnerships with the legendary studio The Iconfactory and colorist Cullen Kelly.

De With leaves behind a legacy of "pro" design that forced Apple to take its own camera hardware more seriously. Now, he’ll be doing that work from the inside.