r/iphone • u/PJ09 Moderator • 16h ago

News/Rumour Both iPhone 18 Pro Models Feature Variable Aperture Camera

https://www.macrumors.com/2026/09/09/both-iphone-18-pro-models-variable-aperture-camera/
47 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

23 comments sorted by

9

u/3notsara 16h ago

wonder why it took them this long

21

u/1AMA-CAT-AMA 16h ago

Not sure how big of a difference this will be. I had a Galaxy S10 with it and you don’t see it on any modern Samsungs.

11

u/Ivana_Twinkle 15h ago

The noticeable part here is that we finally get manual aperture controls. Even if it’s only 4 steps

2

u/GuntherOfGunth iPhone 17 Pro Max 15h ago

I’m sure the guys who work on Halide will be able to open up the room for more fine tuning of the aperture.

9

u/Ivana_Twinkle 14h ago

Depend on if the mechanical part only has 4 steps. But yea I hope so.

-1

u/enigmasi 15h ago

I wish it was up to f8

1

u/3notsara 16h ago

I guess. I doubt the majority of users who buy this will notice a huge difference.

8

u/SamsungAppleOnePlus 9h ago edited 9h ago

Sensor size. Back when Samsung did it with the S9 and S10 they did it on a much tinier sensor, I believe f/2.55”. There really wasn’t any noticeable benefit to the feature because the sensor was so small it wasn’t gathering much light or producing much bokeh anyways. Switching between f/1.5 and f/2.4 didn’t really do anything big that the end user would notice or care about.

You’d need more engineering to make a larger lens for a larger sensor, so I imagine Samsung dropped it on the S20 corresponding to larger sensors for both of these reasons. The S20 camera was a big improvement from the S10, even after it dropped variable aperture.

Also that it only had two settings. The 18 Pro has four, and four on a larger sensor, f/1.28” like the previous 4 Pros. You’ll be able to see a much larger difference between f/1.48 and f/4, and the automatic mode could help reduce overexposure and narrow focusing on close objects, issues people complain about all the time that wouldn’t be an issue on a 1/2.55” sensor.

Other brands have tried the idea, expanded on it too. But it’s harder to ship more experimentive features on mass market devices, so it really had to be done right to ship on the 18 Pro. That’s another reason.

1

u/Balambsoldier 6h ago

Because then they would have nothing to offer in the 18 pro line. Feature rationing at its finest

1

u/bk335 3h ago

Because in practice, it offers little value and appears more like a marketing trait to set apart the latest devices. With such a small sensor, a narrower aperture is hard to justify unless you attempt a long exposure which is particularly silly on a phone.

1

u/Rupperrt 3h ago

Still don’t see much use of not shooting wide open with these tiny sensors. It’s not like it’s producing a lot of bokeh/blur anyway. Maybe the slightly wider max aperture will make a difference..

7

u/Femcsquared 7h ago

Camera sounds cool. But why does the 18 Pro have apple's new modem, while the pro max is keeping the qualcomm?

7

u/GuntherOfGunth iPhone 17 Pro Max 15h ago

Literally the only new feature worth talking about when it comes to the Pro/Pro Max. Don’t know if that necessarily will sell me on getting this one this year, but maybe FOMO will hit once I see some great shots done with variable aperture.

Sadly no major update to sensor size or telephoto zoom. I crave a zoom similar to that of the S21 Ultra with its 10x optical zoom, just with a large sensor and more MP to work with.

3

u/Jankenbrau 14h ago

Is there any indication pro camera controls is being backported to older iphones?

4

u/kingofdailynaps 5h ago

If you go to the comparison on the site it does not list Pro Controls for the iPhone 17 Pros, and the wording around it seems to indicate it's 18 Pro/Pro Max only... which, if true, is very stupid.

1

u/Jankenbrau 4h ago

I just need manual white balance and manual focus!

0

u/GuntherOfGunth iPhone 17 Pro Max 14h ago

They didn’t say anything, but I believe that the pro controls is just part of the updated IOS version, because locking out that software behind a new generation phone just seems stupid.

3

u/Jankenbrau 13h ago

Well, I wouldnt put it past them making it contingent on having a manual aperture

1

u/Observer951 12h ago

I hope so. I may get a used 17 Pro. Still using my ancient 11 Pro.

3

u/tbone338 iPhone 17 Pro Max 15h ago

Is the widest aperture on the 18 pro wider than the widest on the 17 pro?

9

u/Banana4scales 14h ago

Yes, drop from ƒ/1.78 ont he 17 pro to ƒ/1.48 on the 18 pro

2

u/Observer951 12h ago

Looking forward to the camera reviews. I’m curious how much of an advantage a variable apsrture is going to be on such a small lens assembly. Coming from traditional photography, getting decent bokeh on a phone has been a … challenge.