Ming-Chi Kuo reported that the iPhone 18 Pro might use a variable aperture wide-angle lens for better shots and videos.
In his post, Kuo covered a range of rumors and mentioned that the iPhone 18 Pro would have a variable aperture system when it launches in 2026. It’s believed that one of the components will come from BE Semiconductor to make aperture blades presumably to create the iPhone camera module. In November, he mentioned that the aperture would ‘significantly improve the user’s photography experience’.
Currently, the latest iPhone has a depth of field adjustment where the image is processed and the subject is detected before creating a bokeh blur. However, the effect is no longer needed when a variable aperture is used and thus eliminates post-processing. The system can make the aperture bigger or smaller depending on what shot is needed, a change from the existing fixed aperture in the current iPhone models.
