The best camera phones have come a long way, but that doesn’t mean there’s no room for improvement. Take Apple’s upcoming iPhone 18 Pro – new rumours point to what could be a major camera upgrade that could change how you snap photos with an iPhone.
According to Korea’s ETNews (via MacRumors), Apple is ramping up production for a new variable aperture camera system that’s expected to land on the iPhone 18 Pro later this year.
Current iPhones use a fixed aperture – meaning the lens stays at the same opening no matter what you’re shooting. From the iPhone 14 Pro through to the iPhone 17 Pro, that’s sat at f/1.78.
A variable aperture changes that – instead of one fixed opening, the lens can physically adjust. Open it up, and you let in more light for night shots. Close it down, and you get better control in bright scenes, plus sharper group shots where more of the frame stays in focus. It also affects background blur – wider apertures give you softer, more natural bokeh, while narrower ones keep more of the scene crisp without relying as heavily on portrait mode.
It’s not a brand-new idea, either. Phones like the Huawei Mate 50 Pro and Huawei P60 Pro use variable aperture systems, while Xiaomi 14 Ultra offers a multi-step version that can adjust depending on the scene. Even the Samsung Galaxy S9 also experimented with a simpler dual-aperture setup years ago. It’s still relatively rare in mainstream flagships though, which makes Apple’s rumoured move stand out.
Supplier Sunny Optical is said to be producing the actuators that control the aperture, while Apple’s long-time camera partner LG Innotek is reportedly preparing to begin module production around June or July.
There’s still time for plans to change though, and Apple hasn’t confirmed anything yet. But if this does make it to the final hardware, it’s the sort of upgrade you’ll likely notice once you start shooting – especially in tricky lighting.
We’ll likely find out around September, when Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro alongside its rumoured foldable. Watch this space.
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