iPhone 18 Pro expected to feature variable aperture camera

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Rumors about Apple's iPhone 18 Pro camera upgrade have resurfaced, with a wide-angle lens with variable aperture expected to deliver improved depth-of-field effects when shooting.

In July, rumors swirled that the iPhone 17 would get a variable aperture system that could change the way photographers use the iPhone to take pictures. Now, an analyst has doubled down on his own claims that the feature is expected for the iPhone 18 Pro.

In a Monday blog post from TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo covering several Apple rumors, Kuo briefly mentioned a small element about the iPhone 18 Pro. It is stated that the iPhone 18 Pro's wide-angle camera will be updated to use variable aperture in 2026.

The reason for the link is that the article discusses BE Semiconductor, a supplier of assembly equipment. Some of the equipment it supplies is used to make aperture blades, a key component to enable the variable aperture in the iPhone camera module.

This isn't the first time Kuo has talked about a variable aperture in the iPhone 18 generation. Kuo's November post was based on his own industry sources, with the aperture capable of “dramatically improving the user experience in photography.”

Benefits of Variable Aperture

Modern smartphone photography relies on a fixed aperture, which is a specific size opening for light to pass between the lens and the sensor. In the iPhone, the aperture is fixed, simply because using aperture blades to change the size of the opening and actuators to move those blades can take up valuable space.

A variable aperture system can make the aperture larger or smaller, which affects the amount of light that hits the sensor. This can cause other parts of the exposure triangle to change, such as increasing the amount of time it takes for the photo to actually be taken so that enough light is captured.

The result of changing the aperture size is the ability to change the apparent depth of field. By increasing the aperture, this can cause the depth of field effect to become narrower, introducing blurred bokeh in the background behind the subject.

Modern iPhone photographers will be aware of the depth of field adjustment system in Portrait mode, which does this computationally. It takes a sharp image, identifies the subject, and then simulates bokeh blur on background elements to mimic the effect.

With variable aperture, users who want the real deal can get it without any help from post-processing.