The iPhone 18 Pro might get a major camera upgrade

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Summary

The iPhone 18 Pro will reportedly feature a variable aperture camera lens.
The variable aperture lens allows users to adjust the depth-of-field in photos more precisely.
A report from The Information earlier this year suggested this feature will be on one of the iPhone 17 models.

The iPhone 16 series only released three months ago, but rumors are already shifting towards the iPhone 17 and even the iPhone 18, with the latter reportedly getting a major camera upgrade.

According to often-reliable Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 18 Pro will feature a variable aperture camera lens, and BESI will supply the assembly equipment needed for the camera’s new aperture blades.

However, earlier this year, a report from The Information said the feature would be coming to one of the iPhone 17 models. With this in mind, whether the iPhone will receive this upgrade in 2025 or 2026 is unclear.

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What is a variable aperture lens?

It gives users more depth-of-field options

If you’re unfamiliar with what a variable aperture lens does, the main selling point is it allows users to control the depth-of-field in a photo. Currently, the iPhone’s portrait mode does this artificially. With a variable aperture lens, users can adjust the depth-of-field in a picture, such as isolating a subject from its background with more shallow bokeh. You could also use a medium depth-of-field to not entirely blur the background or add deep depth-of-field to make everything visible in the shot.

Since smartphone cameras typically have smaller image sensors, they sometimes struggle with depth-of-field.

The 5x telephoto lens in the iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro models gives users some control over DOF. However, a variable aperture lens would offer even more nuance. This lens type is mainly found in DSLR cameras. I use my iPhone as my primary camera for photography, so the ability to control depth-of-field precisely how I want it would be game-changing. However, it’s unclear how exactly this lens type would work on the iPhone.

Since smartphone cameras typically have smaller image sensors, they sometimes struggle with depth-of-field. If the iPhone 18 Pro has a variable aperture lens, it will likely need a larger image sensor to make it worthwhile. Apple boosted the image sensor’s size in the iPhone 16, so it has done it before. Given that this kind of camera upgrade is relatively complex, I think Kuo is correct in suggesting it will launch with the iPhone 18 Pro, not the 17.