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Apple Testing Two Major iPhone 18 Pro Camera Upgrades

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Apple is actively testing two major rear camera improvements for the iPhone, according to a reputable leaker.

iphone-17-cameras-zoom.jpg

The Weibo user known as "Digital Chat Station" claims that Apple is testing a new main camera for the iPhone with a variable aperture. A variable aperture allows the camera to adjust the amount of light that reaches the sensor. This means that in dark environments, the aperture can be opened to receive more light, while in light environments, it can be closed to prevent over-exposure. It also should provide users with greater control over depth of field, which refers to how sharp a subject appears in the foreground compared to the background.

The claim corroborates a multitude of previous rumors that the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will feature an upgraded main camera with a variable aperture. In December 2024, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo was first to say that that the main rear camera on both iPhone 18 Pro models will offer variable aperture. A more recent report from October 2025 said Apple was moving ahead with plans to bring the technology to next-generation iPhones and was discussing components with suppliers.

Apple has never used a variable aperture on an iPhone camera before. The main cameras on all of the iPhone 14 Pro through iPhone 17 Pro models have a fixed aperture of ƒ/1.78, and the lens is always fully open and shooting with this aperture. Samsung Electronics previously brought a variable aperture camera to its Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S10 models in 2018 and 2019, but due to increased thickness and high price, it dropped the feature in 2020.

Secondly, the leaker reiterated their claim that that Apple is testing a new telephoto camera with a larger aperture for the iPhone 18 Pro. The iPhone 17 Pro models feature a telephoto camera with an ƒ/2.8 aperture. While the camera was upgraded to a 48-megapixel sensor, which was a substantial improvement over the 12-megapixel sensor used on previous generations, it retained the same aperture size. A larger aperture on the iPhone's telephoto camera would primarily improve light gathering, noise performance, shutter speed, and background separation.

Other rumors suggest that the iPhone 18 Pro models could also gain a teleconverter to increase effective focal length and improve zoom reach, as well as a 24-megapixel front-facing camera. They are expected to launch in the fall alongside the first foldable iPhone.

Article Link: Apple Testing Two Major iPhone 18 Pro Camera Upgrades
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/02/07/two-major-iphone-18-pro-camera-upgrades/
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Faster lens = bigger lens, as Samsung found out. This is the case in pro cameras (Nikon, Canon etc) as well, but size isn't as significant a restraint in that arena.

f/1.7 on a phone is something like f/11 on a 36x24mm format sensor in the pro cameras.

The pro cameras have f/0.95 lenses https://www.nikonusa.com/p/nikkor-z-58mm-f095-s-noct/20086/overview but they're not especially practical.

The biggest upgrade Apple could make to the iphone camera is have it be one camera, flush with the body, like on iPhone 4. That way the camera lenses don't stick out so far and require these little pyramid-style stepped platforms to make the size less apparent.
 
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Note that there are other programs on the APP store to massage the images including saving them as RAW images. I am currently testing three programs that are Leica Camera related programs that seem to work. They seem to replace the Apple massaging.
 
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When Apple using their own CMOS? Rumor say Apple gonna using their own design sensor really hope big sensor like 1 inch on main camera
 
Problem with 1" format sensor is that is a large sensor, for a phone. That would mean a thicker phone and a camera lens that sticks out more.

For a pro camera like Canon or Nikon where APS-C and 36x24mm formats are standard, 1" format is very small.

formatssensor.png
 
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A variable aperture won’t change the current sensor performance, it won’t be a substantial change. Apple should bring a bigger sensor 1/1.14 or 1-inch type, any other thing won’t be as good as a bigger sensor.

It’s incredibly bad that the telephoto sensor of the Vivo X300 Pro is almost as big as the primary sensor of the flagship 2026 iPhone.
 
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wdfly said:
does not matter, small sensors = bad photos, this is why there are still full-frame sensor cameras out there.
Click to expand...
This is flat out wrong. The gear used to take a photo doesn’t dictate whether a photo is good or bad, the photographer does. Give Greg Heisler or Joe McNally an iPhone and they’ll take better photos than I could with a Hasselblad or GFX.

I have heaps of photos I took with my iPhone that I prefer to photos taken with my full frame Sony, and vice versa. Because it’s about photo, and the light, and what the photo means, so much more than the f stop of the lens I used to make it.

Mother Nature said:
Apple should bring a bigger sensor 1/1.14 or 1-inch type
Click to expand...
That would be nice. Particularly on the telephoto.
 
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wdfly said:
does not matter, small sensors = bad photos, this is why there are still full-frame sensor cameras out there.
Click to expand...
No, bad photographers = bad pictures. It depends entirely on what you are going to do with the images. I'm currently at a stage where I'm considering changing over my full frame ILC - and frankly if these specs are real (and I'm also a 'wait for the first hands-on review' type of guy) then it would almost certainly prompt me to hold off and buy an 18 Pro for half the cost.
 
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capamac said:
Faster lens = bigger lens, as Samsung found out. This is the case in pro cameras (Nikon, Canon etc) as well, but size isn't as significant a restraint in that arena.

f/1.7 on a phone is something like f/11 on a 36x24mm format sensor in the pro cameras.

The pro cameras have f/0.95 lenses https://www.nikonusa.com/p/nikkor-z-58mm-f095-s-noct/20086/overview but they're not especially practical.

The biggest upgrade Apple could make to the iphone camera is have it be one camera, flush with the body, like on iPhone 4. That way the camera lenses don't stick out so far and require these little pyramid-style stepped platforms to make the size less apparent.
Click to expand...
If f/1.7 on a phone is f/11 on full frame, well that’s huge pain…

Also f/0.95 lenses on cameras might be useful like the f/1.2 ones…

Really apple should make a one inch sensor… look at the

Huawei Pura 80 Ultra !​

 
wdfly said:
does not matter, small sensors = bad photos, this is why there are still full-frame sensor cameras out there.
Click to expand...
I agree, the iPhone sensor is too small in most cases ! If you want something good, don’t buy the iPhone pro !
mushy peas said:
This is flat out wrong. The gear used to take a photo doesn’t dictate whether a photo is good or bad, the photographer does. Give Greg Heisler or Joe McNally an iPhone and they’ll take better photos than I could with a Hasselblad or GFX.

I have heaps of photos I took with my iPhone that I prefer to photos taken with my full frame Sony, and vice versa. Because it’s about photo, and the light, and what the photo means, so much more than the f stop of the lens I used to make it.


That would be nice. Particularly on the telephoto.
Click to expand...
Sorry bud but the iPhone cam is like a kit lens or even worse… And like kit lenses, yes you can take good photos sometimes but it will be very limited in what it can do… For example a telelphoto will always take better pictures of birds than an iPhone and you can forget telephotos on iPhone, they are not good…

So yeah iPhone = kit lens
 
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capamac said:
Faster lens = bigger lens, as Samsung found out. This is the case in pro cameras (Nikon, Canon etc) as well, but size isn't as significant a restraint in that arena.

f/1.7 on a phone is something like f/11 on a 36x24mm format sensor in the pro cameras.

The pro cameras have f/0.95 lenses https://www.nikonusa.com/p/nikkor-z-58mm-f095-s-noct/20086/overview but they're not especially practical.

The biggest upgrade Apple could make to the iphone camera is have it be one camera, flush with the body, like on iPhone 4. That way the camera lenses don't stick out so far and require these little pyramid-style stepped platforms to make the size less apparent.
Click to expand...
Amen, but I think they probably need to keep the plateau but make it into a mesa
 
Mother Nature said:
A variable aperture won’t change the current sensor performance, it won’t be a substantial change. Apple should bring a bigger sensor 1/1.14 or 1-inch type, any other thing won’t be as good as a bigger sensor.

It’s incredibly bad that the telephoto sensor of the Vivo X300 Pro is almost as big as the primary sensor of the flagship 2026 iPhone.
Click to expand...

100%

OPPO x9 ultra will have

1/1.1 main
1/1.28 3x
10x with 1/2.7

Vivo 300 ultra

1/1.1
1/1.28 ultra wide
1/1.4 telephoto
 
A variable aperture can easily make the aperture *smaller*.

But it cannot make the lens opening larger. You'd need a wider, bigger, heavier lens to achieve this. Which means a bigger camera hump on the phone.

So unless Apple wants to make the camera hump bigger, their only option is to add aperture blades that make the current lens have a _smaller_ aperture. Which means less light. And these tiny iphone sensors already struggle at f/1.7 or whatever. So making it smaller doesn't achieve much of anything.

The depth of field on a f/1.7 iphone lens is already more or less like f/11 on an 36x24mm format sensor, thus there's little need to have a smaller aperture. You could get a couple stops more depth of field, perhaps. Along with the option for a couple stops slower shutter speed in bright light. But the downside to a smaller aperture is increased diffraction, which reduces sharpness.

Plus having an adjustable aperture would increase mechanical complexity of the lens design, add a smidge of weight, probably also increase the cost by a few pennies per camera unit, and increase the liklihood of the camera malfunctioning were the aperture to jam.
 
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J.Dillinger said:
Production starts in August.
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No, iPhone production starts as early as June/July. Components for the iPhone have to be available at that point in high quantities.
Components have a lead time of 3-4 months too, plus, it takes time for the components to ramp up production too for those.
But whatever, this is just another rumor on a rumors website and everything including the "article" are opinions and everyone is entitled to theirs, facts don't matter here.
 
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citysnaps said:
I haven't found that to be the case at all. Shoot in RAW, post-process in Lightroom => Outstanding results. Never disappointed.
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While your statement is correct, the vast majority of iPhone users have no idea what RAW is and certainly do not use Lightroom.
And if you use the default camera settings, there's a ton of processing, over processing that seemingly a lot of people like but some don't.
 
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jz0309 said:
No, iPhone production starts as early as June/July. Components for the iPhone have to be available at that point in high quantities.
Components have a lead time of 3-4 months too, plus, it takes time for the components to ramp up production too for those.
But whatever, this is just another rumor on a rumors website and everything including the "article" are opinions and everyone is entitled to theirs, facts don't matter here.
Click to expand...
Exactly, we are way past the stage of testing hardware for the iPhone 18. Maybe for the 19.
 
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