The iPhone 18 Pro's camera has a variable aperture
ThinkingNews Desk · how this was written
Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro features a triple-camera system whose primary sensor incorporates a mechanical iris that can switch among f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8 and f/4 apertures, providing variable depth-of-field options. The device also adds manual controls for shutter speed, white-balance and focus, allowing users to override automatic settings when shooting.
Written from all 3 reports below, not from any single one.
How it was reported
- Engadget·The iPhone 18 Pro's camera has a variable aperture
The iPhone 18 Pro introduces a physical variable aperture, allowing the lens to open to f/1.48 for brighter low-light images and shallow depth of field, or narrow for greater depth of field. Users can rely on automatic adjustments or manually select aperture in the Camera app, matching capabilities previously seen on Samsung’s S9/S10 and Xiaomi’s 14 Ultra.
- Ars Technica·Apple's iPhone 18 Pro adds variable camera aperture and a more powerful chip
Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro introduces a variable-aperture camera system that lets users manually adjust exposure for greater creative control, alongside enhanced computational-photography features. It is powered by the new A20 Pro SoC, a 2 nm chip with a 6-core CPU (two super-cores up to 20% faster), a 7-core GPU delivering up to 40% higher performance, and a dual-Neural-Engine design for accelerated machine-learning tasks.
- Engadget·iPhone 18 Pro hands-on: Variable aperture and stunning new colors
The iPhone 18 Pro introduces a variable-aperture camera with selectable f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8 and f/4.0 settings, alongside adjustable shutter speed, white balance and ISO, and visibly moves its blade mechanism in the viewfinder. It also features a smaller Dynamic Island that can display three simultaneous activities, and updated Photographic Styles with new texture, grain options and descriptively labeled filters such as “Amber + Glow” and “Rose gold + Glow.”
- The Verge·The variable aperture isn’t the cool part of the iPhone 18 Pro’s camera
Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max feature a triple-camera system whose primary sensor includes a mechanical iris that can switch among f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8 and f/4 apertures. The phones also add manual controls for shutter speed, white balance and focus, letting users override automatic settings when shooting.
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- Apple publishes a technical breakdown of the architecture for the iPhone 18 Pro's Reference Image camera mode; the chain of trust begins at manufacturing time (Marcus Mendes/9to5Mac)4 outlets
- Apple announces the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max7 outlets
- Get a closer look at the iPhone 18 Pro’s mechanical camera3 outlets
- Apple adds a Reference Image feature to the iPhone 18 Pro, which digitally authenticates that photos taken with its camera haven't later been altered by AI (Benjamin Mayo/9to5Mac)3 outlets