A leaker with a good track record on iPhone camera matters has backed earlier reports that the iPhone 18 Pro will get a variable aperture lens, something not yet seen in an iPhone.
It’s not yet clear whether both the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max will get the upcoming feature, or whether it will be exclusive to the latter …
Variable aperture lenses
You can find a detailed explanation with examples in our earlier explainer, but the executive summary of the key benefit is greater ability to control the depth of field (DoF) in a photo.
You can have a shallow DoF when you want to isolate the subject from the background, a medium DoF when you want isolation while ensuring the background is still recognizable, or a deep DOF when you want everything in shot to be in focus.
Portrait mode creates an artificial shallow DoF effect, and the telephoto lens offers some degree of optical effect, but a variable aperture lens would offer more control in more circumstances. Reducing the aperture would also have benefits for filmmakers wanting to shoot at 24fps in sunlight.
Latest leak from Digital Chat Station
Ming-Chi Kuo was the first to report plans to introduce the feature in the iPhone 18, and it’s recently been backed by a supply chain report.
Leaker Digital Chat Station (DCS) also cites supply chain sources in corroborating these reports.
From supply chain information, the iPhone 18 series will further strengthen the Pro models […] Pro Max has seen variable large aperture materials, and the 48Mp telephoto lens also has a wider aperture.
DCS previously posted accurate leaks about the telephoto lens coming to the iPhone 16 Pro and the larger sensor size in the main camera.
Unclear whether it’s one model or two
Kuo’s original report was slightly vague, referring to the high-end iPhone 18 without getting specific as to models.
One major upgrade for the 2026 high-end iPhone 18 is the wide-camera lens upgrading to a variable aperture camera, significantly enhancing the user photography experience.
A recent supply chain report suggested that it would be coming to both the Pro and Pro Max models.
Specifically, it is known that the iPhone 18 series will implement a variable aperture for the main cameras of ‘Pro’ and ‘Pro Max’, which are high-end models.
DCS specifically references the Pro Max.
9to5Mac’s Take
We’ve previously cautioned not to expect too much from this development alone.
iPhone cameras already have very wide apertures, but you get limited DoF control because the sensor is very small compared to DSLRs. It’s likely that the bigger impact will be the ability to narrow the aperture when you want to ensure that everything in a scene is in focus from foreground to background when shooting things like landscapes and cityscapes.
However, it does make me feel more optimistic about the prospect for larger sensor sizes in future iPhones. I’ve previously argued that a variable-aperture lens is not a trivial thing to implement, adding both complexity and cost, and it may point to bigger plans.
That suggests to me that Apple is, uh, focused on improving depth of field control, and that the variable aperture may be just one piece of the puzzle. The biggest improvement Apple could make here – which would pay off in better image quality across the board – is to increase the size of the sensor. That’s tricky within the space constraints of a smartphone, but even a relatively modest increase here would make a substantial difference.
We may not get that next year, but it does appear to be a step in this direction. The Pro Max model obviously has the greatest space for a larger sensor, so my expectation would be that it would appear first in this model.
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