iPhone 18 Pro's Major Camera Upgrade to Be Variable Aperture

Wednesday October 15, 2025 3:30 am PDT by Hartley Charlton

Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models will feature a significantly upgraded rear camera with a variable aperture, ETNews reports.

iphone 17 cameras zoom
The Korean-language report claims that only the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ and ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max will feature the camera, which will replace the main wide-angle camera on the rear, sitting alongside the ultra-wide and telephoto cameras.

A variable aperture allows the camera to adjust the amount of light that reaches the sensor. This means that in dark environments, the aperture can be opened to receive more light, while in light environments, it can be closed to prevent over-exposure. It also should provide users with greater control over depth of field, which refers to how sharp a subject appears in the foreground compared to the background.

Apple is now moving ahead with plans to bring the technology to next-generation iPhones and is now discussing components with suppliers. The variable camera is reportedly set to be made by LG Innotech and Foxconn, while the actuator is to be manufactured by Chinese companies Luxshare ICT and Sunny Optical.

Apple has never used a variable aperture on an iPhone camera before. The main cameras on all of the iPhone 14 Pro through iPhone 17 Pro models have a fixed aperture of ƒ/1.78, and the lens is always fully open and shooting with this aperture. Samsung Electronics previously brought a variable aperture camera to its Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S10 models in 2018 and 2019, but due to increased thickness and high price, it dropped the feature in 2020.

The report corroborates a rumor from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shared in December last year. The ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ and ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max are expected to be announced alongside the iPhone Air 2 and Apple's first foldable iPhone in the fall of 2026.

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Top Rated Comments

Wrylachlan2

13 months ago

i think there’s more to it. Apple seems pretty happy with algorithmic boke. So a variable aperture just to allow for optical boke seems like a waste. But the other thing that a variable aperture helps with is preventing blow out in sunny conditions. That’s really not a problem with current sensors as they’re just not sensitive enough for that to bean issue. But if Apple were improving the sensors to make them much more sensitive (for improved low light performance) they’d need variable aperture to keep them from blowing out on sunny days.

So my pet theory is that this is really about low light performance.

Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Kylo83

13 months ago

We need a bigger sensor that’s it, we need a 1inc sensor

Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)

hunter_a

13 months ago

Yawn, gimme 18 Mini.

Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Unami

13 months ago

Not sure how a variable aperture is going to help with, anything? Interested to see how they spin it!

You won't get shuttery-looking videos in moderately bright light. It probably won't help in bright sunlight - video cameras got built-in ND-Filters for that - but even then, it will at least reduce that strobing look.

It can also have some advantages with photos - e.g. more depth of field if you close down the aperture. Right now, it's always fully opened, so you get the most possible background blur. Which isn't much to begin with on those tiny smartphone lenses and sensors, so the effect won't be that strong - but it can help if you photograph something close up and want the backround to be more in focus.

Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

superiska123

13 months ago

Kind of a pointless feature, phone sensors are tiny compared to even the smallest decent camera sensors. Can't see a scenario where it'd be beneficial to have even less light hit the sensor.

Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)