The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max have a 48MP Fusion main camera with a variable aperture that moves between f/1.48 and f/4 using six laser-cut blades. It is the first time an iPhone can physically change how much light reaches its main sensor, and the Camera app adds manual aperture and shutter speed controls to go with it.
Until now, every iPhone main camera has had a fixed aperture, so depth of field was controlled by software in Portrait mode. Apple confirmed the new camera in its press release after today’s event, and the full rundown of the phones is in our iPhone 18 Pro announcement coverage.
What a variable aperture does on the iPhone 18 Pro
The aperture is the opening in the lens, and the blades in a DSLR lens open or close it to control light and depth of field. The iPhone 18 Pro puts a six-blade version of that mechanism behind the main lens.
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| Setting | Aperture | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Wide open | f/1.48 | Most light, shallowest depth of field |
| Stopped down | f/4 | Less light, more of the scene in focus |
At f/1.48 the camera gathers the most light for low-light shots and produces optical background blur. At f/4 more of the scene stays sharp, which suits landscapes and group photos. The Camera app lets you set the aperture and shutter speed yourself, which is the kind of control that previously required a dedicated camera or a third-party app.
Every other iPhone 18 Pro camera feature
The variable aperture is the headline, but Apple’s press release lists several other changes on the photo and video side.
- Smart Focus subject tracking
- Faster Night mode
- Upgraded Photographic Styles with texture and grain controls
- Cinematic effects up to 60 fps
- 4K Dolby Vision HDR time-lapse
- Enhanced Audio Mix with music isolation
- Apple Reference Image, which stores an untouched original with verification metadata alongside your edits so a photo can be shown to come from a real capture rather than AI
Apple Reference Image is also part of iOS 27, which arrives on Monday, September 14 as a free update.
What Apple did not change
Apple did not announce changes to the Ultra Wide or front camera, so the variable aperture is specific to the 48MP main camera. Both the 6.3-inch iPhone 18 Pro and the 6.9-inch iPhone 18 Pro Max get the same main camera, so you do not need the larger phone for the new lens.
The camera work is backed by the A20 Pro chip, which Apple says doubles the AI processing of the A19 Pro with a dual 16-core Neural Engine. Pre-orders open Saturday, September 12 at 5 a.m. PT and the phones ship Friday, September 18, with prices from $1,199. You can follow the rest of today’s news in our Apple event live blog.
