iPhone 18 Could Borrow This Camera Feature from Android Smartphones

Nov. 12, 2024

Numerous leaks suggest that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will boast 48MP ultrawide cameras, and we’ll finally get to see an upgraded 24MP selfie camera across the entire lineup. For the iPhone 18 series, Apple might pay more attention to aperture, rather than megapixels. A trusted source has now revealed a jaw-dropping camera upgrade for the iPhone 18 series.

Variable Aperture Lens on iPhone 18

According to the analyst Ming-Chi Kuo,the high-end iPhone 18 will feature a variable aperture main camera. By high-end iPhone, we expect the iPhone 18 Pro Max and likely also the iPhone 18 Pro, but Kuo hasn’t mentioned the phones by name. Initially, Apple was reported to use variable aperture on the iPhone 17 series, but it looks like the giant has pushed this feature one year later.

Kuo says that variable aperture is already present on several Android smartphones and will level up the photography experience on upcoming iPhones. An aperture is the size of the lens opening that lets light into the camera. The vast majority of smartphones have fixed apertures. A variable aperture lets you control how much light reaches the sensor, giving you more control over exposure. For instance, you can set the aperture to its widest setting while capturing low-light shots.

The reports mention that Sunny Optical would be the primary supplier for the iPhone 18 variable aperture lens. They have vast experience designing and manufacturing the same parts for Android smartphones.

More recently, the variable aperture lens has been used by some other brands like Vivo and Xiaomi. That said, this feature hasn’t really caught up on smartphones. That said, depending on Apple’s execution, the variable main camera aperture might bring some photography advantages to the iPhone 18 Pro Max.

While Kuo has a nice track record for Apple information, this is a very early leak so we’ll take it with a pinch of salt for now.