iPhone 18 Pro to use variable aperture camera technology for photography improvement

Apple will introduce major camera upgrades for iPhone 18 Pro models planned to be released in the second half of 2026 including the variable aperture technology.

Supply chain analyst Ming Chi Kuo said the iPhone 18 will upgrade for the main sensor. Though Kuo has refrained from mentioning the specific model it’s more likely that the Pro model will get this camera rather than the standard version.

Specifically, the devices will bring variable aperture tech for a better photography experience.

The smartphone’s primary lens offers a fixed aperture, which may limit the creative part for camera enthusiasts. On the other hand, variable aperture gives freedom to users for different photography scenarios.

The camera module is enhanced with shutter blades to enable different apertures. As a result, it provide more control over light, image quality, and depth of field for more natural photograph session.

This tech is already used by Samsung and Chinese phone makers including Huawei, which is the current active player in this field. It introduced variable aperture with Mate 50 and continues to utilize this camera in the latest flagship devices.

Its lens offers variable aperture between f/1.4 to f/4.0 range and it can automatically adjust the aperture based on the photography scenario. Furthermore, users can manually change the aperture in pro mode.

According to Kuo, Sunny Optical will supply the shutter for this variable aperture architecture and Luxshare will be a second supplier. Largan Precision will supply aperture lenses for the camera module.

iPhone 17

A previous report from TheInformation anticipates that the iPhone 17 lineup will be the first to launch variable aperture tech. Though it’s not certain but the iPhone maker is actively exploring ways to launch this tech in iPhones.

The company will introduce this lineup next year including four different models.