iPhone 18 Pro to Kick Off Apple's Four-Part Camera Upgrade Plan

[MacRumors]

Apple is evaluating four camera upgrades for future iPhone models, with the first new feature scheduled for this year's iPhone 18 Pro models, according to a reputable Chinese leaker.

The Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station claims that Apple has implementation plans for the following upgrades:

• Variable aperture
• 1/1.12-inch "ultra-large" main camera sensor
• Enhanced optical image stabilization for ultra-wide lens
• 200-megapixel periscope telephoto lens

The variable aperture is widely rumored to be introduced with the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, expected to launch this September. Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported in December 2024 that the main rear camera on both ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ models will offer variable aperture. More recently in October, a report claimed that Apple is moving ahead with those plans and was discussing components with suppliers.

Apple has never implemented a variable aperture on an iPhone. From the iPhone 14 Pro through the iPhone 17 Pro, the main camera uses a fixed ƒ/1.78 aperture, meaning the lens remains fully open at all times when capturing images. In contrast, a variable aperture lets the camera control how much light reaches the sensor. In low-light conditions, it opens to admit more light, while in bright scenes, it closes to avoid overexposure. This should also give users more control over depth of field.

The other camera upgrades the leaker mentioned appear to be ones that Apple is testing for future models beyond the iPhone 18 Pro, with an unclear timeline for implementation.

Regarding the "ultra-large" main sensor, the 1/1.12-inch label is based on a legacy optical format, not a literal measurement. It dates back to video camera tubes, so the number doesn't correspond directly to the sensor's physical width. In practice, a 1/1.12-inch sensor has a diagonal of around 14.5mm – far smaller than the label might suggest, but very large by smartphone standards. It's the same size as Sony's LYTIA LYT-901, which is shipping in the Vivo X300 Ultra. It's significantly larger than the 1/1.28-inch main sensor the iPhone 17 Pro models use, and would offer improved low-light performance, dynamic range, and signal-to-noise ratio.

As for the 200-megapixel periscope telephoto lens, Digital Chat Station has mentioned multiple times that Apple is studying the technology, but they recently said it is unlikely to feature in an iPhone before 2028.

Digital Chat Station has more than three million followers on Weibo, and has a track record of accurately leaking Apple-related information. For example, they accurately revealed the overall design of the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro, as well as the triple 48-megapixel rear camera system of the ‌iPhone 17 Pro.‌ Recently, the leaker claimed Apple's first foldable, expected to arrive alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models, will be called "iPhone Ultra."

Article Link: iPhone 18 Pro to Kick Off Apple's Four-Part Camera Upgrade Plan

 

[everlast3434]

This will be the best camera they've ever shipped in an iPhone! I think I'm going to love it!

 

[rbbloom99]

It should be great. Fingers crossed it comes out as scheduled.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

Are they going to give users a simple way to ease off on the post-processing that doesn't involve pro terminologies or too much messing about? Such as a set it and forget it single button like a "reduced processing" or "true to life" mode. I have taken photos of a cloudy sky with my 13 mini and the post-processing added blue parts to the sky in places, when in reality the sky I was looking at had none. This didn't happen on the SE first generation. Just looking for a simplified processing that better reflects what my eyes are actually seeing, without me needing to use any app later to tweak the image. Pinks and oranges of an evening sunset are never accurate, for example.

I spoke about this issue on the nightmare of a website that is Reddit and got such nonsense replies that confused me more than anything. Apple, just give us a toggle to respect what we're looking at and call it a day.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

• 1/1.12-inch "ultra-large" main camera sensor

Is that genuinely a 1.12" camera sensor, or some simulated number via optics? My aging, but still amazing, Nikon D3500 has a physical CCD size of something like a 0.9" x 0.7", and I can't imagine an iPhone having anything that big.

 

[HouseLannister]

So 200MP in 4 1/2 months or 2+ years?

200MP Telephoto iPhone Lens Unlikely to Arrive Before 2028

Apple is unlikely to add a 200-megapixel telephoto camera to the iPhone before 2028, despite having already tested such a sensor in prototypes, according to leaker Digital Chat Station. In a post today shared on China's Weibo social platform, the leaker said Apple has evaluated a 200-megapixel...

www.macrumors.com

 

[MacMeHappy]

Seriously, I think smartphone camera capabilities completely exceed my ability (or will) to take pictures.
I have no clue what I'd do with a 200 megapixel picture...even if such a thing were possible.

 

[filchermcurr]

People and technology are funny. We now have these amazing quality cameras always with us... and my daughter and all of her friends want old-school point and shoot digital cameras.

 

[CarAnalogy]

First quick scan of headline I thought it said iPhone 18 Pro will have four cameras.

Somehow that still sounds excessive yet plausible.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

People and technology are funny. We now have these amazing quality cameras always with us... and my daughter and all of her friends want old-school point and shoot digital cameras.

Haha, indeed. My 16 year old took over my 2MP Nikon Coolpix 2100 from like 2003ish, and uses it all the time. She can carry it at school, too, since phones are completely banned.

It still takes surprisingly good photos.

 

[sos47]

Object detection and object following would be a much more useable thing than var aperture

 

[BorisDG]

Sounds good on paper. Let's hope it becomes reality. It's upgrade year for me. 😀

 

[winxmac]

Apple improves the hardware only to completely negate it with computational photography. The Apple Camera app needs to have an option for natural processing [or no processing] just like other camera apps in the App Store.

 

[Astuces iOS]

Y’all, go buy mirrorless cameras instead ! Apple is again going to make numbers look big with 200mp when this is totally useless !

 

[Mr_Ed]

Is that genuinely a 1.12" camera sensor, or some simulated number via optics? My aging, but still amazing, Nikon D3500 has a physical CCD size of something like a 0.9" x 0.7" sensor, and I can't imagine an iPhone having anything that big.

Not really 1/1.12” but not “simulated”. The diagonal of the sensor is 14.3-14.5mm, where the APS-C sensor on your old Nikon D3500 has a diagonal of about 28.2mm. The legacy TV tube based measurement stated as 1/x” refers to the diameter of circle analogous to an old tube sensor, where the “usable” rectangular portion within, capturing the image for the rectangular TV broadcast usually works out to roughly 2/3 the total area of the circle (subject to aspect ratio, etc.). I’m still baffled by the fact that the ‘1/x inches’ thing is still used given how long rectangular solid state sensors have been around.

 

[jerryjohnson]

Variable aperture is actually a meaningful upgrade. Better than another “thinner bezel” update.

 

[aberdeenmeadows]

Seriously, I think smartphone camera capabilities completely exceed my ability (or will) to take pictures.
I have no clue what I'd do with a 200 megapixel picture...even if such a thing were possible.

You will never, ever, ever get a 200 megapixel picture. The goal is for you to zoom in way closer, but the image will be cropped. It will still be at 12MP or maybe 20MP - but it is used for cropping. Trust me - Apple relies heavily on you subscribing to the cloud service so they want pictures and videos to have a small image size as possible. Do you think when Apple was the first to come out with HEVC format (I believe in 2013/2014), they were benevolent to you? It's so they could reduce their storage requirements by nearly half. Your photos and videos when syncing to the iCloud is also throttled (like everyone elses) so a 200 megapixel photo would clog up the sync for some time. Even on the fastest internet you got.

 

[joshwithachance]

I'm looking forward to the day where Apple, Samsung and/or Google come out with a proper 1-inch sensor on the main camera. It'll be fun to see how it competes with all the point & shoots that have regained popularity recently.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

At this rate, the rear camera will require the entire backside of the phone. 😱

 

[EugW]

I look forward to these improvements in the coming years, as the biggest reason our iPhone upgrades is the camera.

The real world improvement of the camera in my 17 Pro is very significant compared to both our 12 Pro Max and 14 Pro Max, especially for the telephoto. We'll probably replace the 14 Pro Max with a 19 Pro Max in 2027, and replace the 17 Pro with a 21 Pro in 2029.

 

[terminator-jq]

So the iPhone “Ultra” gets none of the camera updates while being marketed as the “Ultra” iPhone with highest price…?

 

[contacos]

Honestly said, I haven't really noticed much of a difference besides better zoom since the iPhone 12 Pro Max days for what I am using my camera for and I am saying this as someone that just put in an order for the Oppo Find X9 Ultra 😅

 

[fhrd]

I'm looking forward to the day where Apple, Samsung and/or Google come out with a proper 1-inch sensor on the main camera. It'll be fun to see how it competes with all the point & shoots that have regained popularity recently.

Vibe and oppo gave up on 1 inch type sensors for a reason, the size of the lens was copiously large. They’d rather focus on 24mm focal lengths than keep a 1 inch type sensor at 35 like xiaomi (who is also rumored to abandon the 1”)

 

[theorist9]

If they're going to offer a variable aperture, I'd like to see them give me more control over the camera, so I can adjust both the shutter speed and aperture myself.

 

[r_123]

where's a fourth camera? apple is seriously lacking in the telephoto department.