Variable Aperture Rumored to Bring Major Camera Upgrade to iPhone 18 Pro
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models will feature an upgraded main rear camera with a variable aperture for the first time, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Apple has gradually expanded new camera technologies, such as sensor-shift stabilization, 48-megapixel sensors, and the tetraprism 5x telephoto camera, across its iPhone models in recent years. It now appears that after completing the rear camera array's transition to 48-megapixel sensors by bringing one to the telephoto camera on next year's iPhone 17 Pro models, the next significant camera upgrade will be the introduction of a variable aperture.
The information comes from Kuo's latest post on Medium, where he outlined how upcoming products such as the iPhone 17 "Slim," M5 MacBook Pro, and iPhone 18 will affect Apple supplier Sunny Optical. Kuo believes that Sunny Optical and Luxshare will be the primary and secondary shutter suppliers for the iPhone 18 Pro's new main camera, while the variable aperture lens will be supplied by Sunny Optical and Largan Precision.
The iPhone 14 Pro, 15 Pro, and 16 Pro's main cameras feature a fixed aperture of ƒ/1.78. A variable aperture on future iPhone models would allow the main camera to control the amount of light entering the lens, allowing it to adjust to different lighting conditions. It also would provide more control over depth of field, enabling sharper focus on subjects or smoother background blur. The iPhone 18 is expected to launch in 2026.
Popular Stories
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models as soon as early March, but if you can, this is one generation you should skip because there's something much better in the works.
We're waiting on 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, with few changes other than the processor upgrade. There won't be any tweaks to the design or the display, but later this...
Wednesday February 11, 2026 10:07 am PST by
Juli CloverApple today released iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3, the latest updates to the iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 operating systems that came out in September. The new software comes almost two months after Apple released iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
According to Apple's release notes, ...
Apple plans to release an iPhone 17e and an iPad Air with an M4 chip "in the coming weeks," according to the latest word from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
"Apple retail employees say that inventory of the iPhone 16e has basically dried out and the iPad Air is seeing shortages as well," said Gurman. "I've been expecting new versions of both (iPhone 17e and M4 iPad Air) in the coming weeks."...
Apple acquired Canadian graph database company Kuzu last year, it has emerged.
The acquisition, spotted by AppleInsider, was completed in October 2025 for an undisclosed sum. The company's website was subsequently taken down and its Github repository was archived, as is commonplace for Apple acquisitions.
Kuzu was "an embedded graph database built for query speed, scalability, and easy of ...
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report said the iPhone 17e will be announced in a press release on the Apple Newsroom website, so do not expect an event for this device specifically.
The iPhone 17e will be a spec-bumped successor to the iPhone 16e. Rumors claim the device will have four key...
