iPhone 18 Pro's Camera Upgrade Will Cost Apple 50% More

[Lioness~]

No mini, no purchase ‼️

 

[CATiNTHESTORE]

Modern phones have enough quality of photos look at software instead. It’s like house on fire but look honey I bought a new picture from artist.

Let’s hang the picture on the wall and f4ck that everything is on fire

 

[ericinboston]

Apple can improve the hardware all they want, but unless they provide an option for minimal to no photo/video processing, the end result will still look like taken from a smartphone and not in the levels of dedicated cameras that professional photographers look for.

I'm not a photographer, but even owning the 16 Pro I feel the pictures are of fair quality for us living in 2026 and being on the ~20th version of the iPhone.

The quality of the picture should be predominantly defined to the lens (quality and size). Why doesn't Apple make some kind of magnetic snap on accessory that fits your particular iPhone PERFECTLY when you want to take a longer zoom photo or, heck, in general a better photo period? I've seen some lenses you can attach to various iPhones and I've tried them and I found they are clumsy and difficult to use...especially if you're trying to snap them on within 30 seconds to get that great wildlife shot. Sell them for $129. I don't blame Apple for the limitations of tiny lenses on the iPhones...but make an attachment for those of us who want a better experience with our $1000 camera that's sold as "a phone"

 

[maerz001]

quoting a percentage increase without naming what the component actually costs is seriously lazy journalism, but that's why we love this site 😂

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edit: did some research and according to this article, the 17 Pro Max camera module costs $80, which means that the new module would cost - assuming the rumors are true, and they often aren't - $120. That $40 increase actually increases the iPhone Pro Max's BOM (bill of materials) by about 10%, which is... a lot.

For comparison's sake, RAM (which we keep reading is getting more expensive by the day) for the 17 Pro Max is estimated to cost just $21.80

But the article just compared to the 7 segment camera lens. Not the whole camera module.
So the 50% increase would be way less than $40

 

[Kottu]

Literally noone needs this, which is why no other manufacturer does this. Variable aperture on a phone sensor, so you can recreate the same garbage photo of your iPhone 6. Remember Samsung already did this like 8 years ago. This is just a spec sheet line item so Apple can show a slow-mo shot of tiny blades moving in a keynote, like they did something.
We.Need.Larger.Sensors.And.Brighter.Lenses.
Chinese brands have left Apple in the dust years ago (camera hardware-wise).

Apple is still the best when it comes to image processing among smartphone manufacturers. That’s why photos taken with an iPhone usually deliver consistent quality — reliable colors, balanced exposure, and dependable results across different conditions.

Chinese manufacturers, on the other hand, became extremely good at integrating cutting-edge camera hardware, especially high-end Sony sensors. In the early years, the hardware was excellent, but the image processing often wasn’t at the same level. To improve that, many brands partnered with established camera companies such as Hasselblad (owned by DJI since 2017) and Leica.

Huawei was one of the first smartphone brands to collaborate with Leica, and the partnership clearly elevated its cameras. Phones like the P30 Pro and Mate series were widely considered among the best smartphone cameras on the market.

After the U.S. sanctions, Huawei’s global smartphone business suffered heavily, but the company had already started developing its own ecosystem — including HarmonyOS and imaging technologies. Even today, many reviewers consider Huawei’s latest flagship cameras, such as the Pura series, among the strongest in the industry.

Meanwhile, other Chinese manufacturers are rapidly catching up to — and in some areas surpassing — the iPhone, especially in camera hardware, charging speeds, battery technology, and display innovation. Some flagship Android phones now cost as much as or even more than the iPhone Pro Max models because they pack in premium hardware and advanced camera systems.

Apple still leads in areas like video recording, ecosystem integration, and long-term software optimization, but competition from Chinese brands has become stronger than ever.

 

[Biro]

Frankly, I don’t understand why Apple (if the rumors are correct) is bothering with a variable-aperture lens. It might help with exposure control - not that it seems exposure has been a problem so far. But it won’t do much with depth of field when the sensor is that small. It seems like unneeded complexity. But many luxury brands - especially German automakers - often confuse complexity with luxury.

 

[capamac]

f/1.7 (or whatever) on small-chip phones like iPhone is akin to like f/11 on a 36x24mm format pro camera. This is why phones have such deep depth-of-field.

Making the aperture smaller will only increase this already deep depth of field. So I'm not sure what the point of adding variable aperture is.

It's like what if Nikon made a 50mm lens with a maximum fixed aperture of f/11. And then later they produce a revised version of that lens with an adjustable aperture: adjustable to either f/11 *or* f/16.

The main usefulness of this extra depth of field would be in macro shots, where depth of field becomes shallower. For people who use iPhone to take super close-up shots of, like, bugs and coins and stuff.

 

[ab2c4]

Sure sounds like the starting price in the US for a Pro and PM will be $1,199 and $1,299 (considering other components will go up also).

 

[citysnaps]

Literally noone needs this, which is why no other manufacturer does this. Variable aperture on a phone sensor, so you can recreate the same garbage photo of your iPhone 6. Remember Samsung already did this like 8 years ago. This is just a spec sheet line item so Apple can show a slow-mo shot of tiny blades moving in a keynote, like they did something.
We.Need.Larger.Sensors.And.Brighter.Lenses.
Chinese brands have left Apple in the dust years ago (camera hardware-wise).

No one? As a serious photographer who uses my iPhone a lot (because it's always with me, and I never know what I'll come across when I'm out and about) for making (not taking) photographs, I would certainly like this feature. Some of my best photographs were made with iPhones.

I suspect other photographers would also like this feature.

 

[gummybear2026]

iPhone 18 Pro $1,499 pricing incoming.

 

[rattler]

Can’t really think of any good reason for a variable aperture here. Phone camera sensors need every last bit of light they can get due to their small size.. what would be the point of restricting it further? Shallower depth of field? It’s already deep enough that we have to artificially enhance it with portrait modes. Doesn’t make any a sense for a smartphone camera.

 

[AL2TEACH]

Using that 2.5x multiplier, the additional retail cost, if passed onto the consumer, would be about $17 x 2.5 = $43.

Rounded out to eh $150. lol

 

[soundweave]

Apple can improve the hardware all they want, but unless they provide an option for minimal to no photo/video processing, the end result will still look like taken from a smartphone and not in the levels of dedicated cameras that professional photographers look for.

All we need is an option for reduction in sharpening / texturing and it already looks so much better. ProRAW does this now, but at huge hassle with handling the files. I hope with the camera focus this year they allow us to adjust more professional settings like sharpening / texture in the default camera app finally.

 

[louis^]

Apple can improve the hardware all they want, but unless they provide an option for minimal to no photo/video processing, the end result will still look like taken from a smartphone and not in the levels of dedicated cameras that professional photographers look for.

And still pushing Smart HDR 5

 

[Black Magic]

A better camera experience is a big deal to a lot of people. I for one like to be able to take the best pictures I can with my phone. Most people don't move beyond being amateur level photographers. I have a passing interest in it but it never took hold. Like most people, I like to take snapshots on vacation and of nice things I see. My phone is choked full of vacation pictures, baby pictures, and more than anything else. Cat pictures. So many cat pictures.

Anyway, to be blunt. Camera improvements drive upgrades. More than processor improvements, more than RAM, more than wacky colors or brighter screens.

You can pick up a new iPhone in the Apple store, take some pictures with it, or have the salesperson take some pictures and show you on the spot how much better it is. Tech sites like Tom's Guide and C NET run side by side camera comparisons of smart phones constantly.

For people who aren't tech savvy, it's a quick comparison or deal maker/breaker. You don't have to know anything about 2 nanometers or gigs of ram or nits to see something takes a better picture.

And the secret to life is better cat pictures, as we all know.

I do believe camera upgrades do tend to lead in increased sales. Everyone likes to document their life journey with the best possible camera available to them.

 

[theorist9]

You can, in fact, set it manually. Long press the Flash symbol and you’ll see three options: ‘Auto’, ‘On’ and ‘Off’ (plus similar options when taking Night shots and Live ones, too).

View attachment 2633539

Neat, thanks!

How do you get the "Live row? Is there a live mode you need to switch to before you see that option?

I'm confused about Live shots, since sometimes when I take a pic it does it statically (which is what I want), and sometimes it does it Live. I'll need to research what causes it to do one vs. the other, and how one controls this.

 

[tennisproha]

A COB ultra-wide module could be thinner or smaller, leaving more room for other components, or simply deliver better image quality from the same physical footprint.

or finally make an iPhone with a flat back?

 

[vi2867]

I don't know if it costs more, because Apple probably has already purchased the iPhone hardware and they usually start putting them together 3 months before launch.

 

[capamac]

I do believe camera upgrades do tend to lead in increased sales. Everyone likes to document their life journey with the best possible camera available to them.

Yeah but I can't see an adjustable aperture as being an upgrade.

Perhaps in a marketing sense it could be sold as an upgrade:

"The new iPhone! Now with an adjustable aperture! <whisper>That does literally nothing to benefit your photos!</whisper>"

Marketing as above would probably work, coz most people with iPhones are snapshooters and don't understand the technical aspects of photography, thus providing Apple a bogus means of hyping up a fairly useless camera feature as a means of boosting iPhone sales.

 

[capamac]

This proposed adjustable aperture presumably adjusts the aperture so that it's smaller. So if the current iPhone has a fixed aperture of f/1.7, say the new adjustable aperture closes the lens down to f/2.8 (smaller aperture hole).

This does little to nothing to improve a phone camera. What this does is provide about a stop more depth of field on a phone camera tha already has very deep depth of field due to the very tiny sensors used in phone cameras. So as a result you'll see no change at all in most photos. But in macro photos (very close up shots) you'll have the ability to get 1 stop or so deeper depth of field, which can be a good thing if you're into that.

A smaller aperture also allows use of a slower shutter speed, which might be something some people are into, probably not. Most of the time especially with indoors shots in lower light, the problem is the shutter speed is not fast enough. So giving the shutter the option to go a little slower isn't super helpful to most people. If you're an arty person who wants to experiment with motion blur panning shots, for example, then it will be a little helpful. But most people don't do this.

Now there's the flip side: make the aperture LARGER. So suppose the next iPhone, instead of having a f/1.7 maximum aperture lens, has a, say, f/1.2 maximum aperture. This means you can have shallower depth of field. More light so better in lower light. And say the adjustable aperture allows you to to select f/1.7 as an option.So you can choose f/1.2 or f/1.7 let's say.

Here's teh problem with that:

1) iPhone already has the ability to do "fake shallow depth of field" via software, thus negating much of the benefit of having a lens with a greater ability to create natural shallow depth of field.

2) The camera bump gets a _lot_ bigger. Because an f/1.2 lens is going to be much larger. So the bump gets larger.

I don't think Apple will put an adjustable aperture on a phone camera. There's basically zero benefit. And you increase cost.

If you want to experiment with adjustable aperture, get a real camera like a Canon or Nikon which have aps-c or FX format large sensors, and fast lenses, where adjustable apertures are actually super useful, with a wide range of aperture choices per lens e.g. f/2, f.2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f22 all one one lens, even adjustable in 1/2 or 1/3 stops if you want that degree of granularity. These lenses are so much faster than iPhone lenses is why having an adjustable aperture is practical on pro cameras. But iPhone basically starts at f/11 (equivlent to pro cameras). So imagine having a Nikon or Canon lens that *starts* at f/11 as the widest possible aperture, and then you can optionally choose f/16 or f/22. Not very exciting is it? No it is not. But a Nikon lens can be as wide as f/0.95. You're never going to see this on a phone, coz the required phone camera bump would turn off too many users.

 

[Astuces iOS]

A better camera experience is a big deal to a lot of people. I for one like to be able to take the best pictures I can with my phone. Most people don't move beyond being amateur level photographers. I have a passing interest in it but it never took hold. Like most people, I like to take snapshots on vacation and of nice things I see. My phone is choked full of vacation pictures, baby pictures, and more than anything else. Cat pictures. So many cat pictures.

Anyway, to be blunt. Camera improvements drive upgrades. More than processor improvements, more than RAM, more than wacky colors or brighter screens.

You can pick up a new iPhone in the Apple store, take some pictures with it, or have the salesperson take some pictures and show you on the spot how much better it is. Tech sites like Tom's Guide and C NET run side by side camera comparisons of smart phones constantly.

For people who aren't tech savvy, it's a quick comparison or deal maker/breaker. You don't have to know anything about 2 nanometers or gigs of ram or nits to see something takes a better picture.

And the secret to life is better cat pictures, as we all know.

This variable aperture is pretty useless… majority of people won’t care and will not even know what an aperture is… As I say, if you want something better, get a camera !

I would say if you want like aperture, get an ND filter or some type of filter… Btw the camera app as it is right now, you wont benefit from the variable aperture…

 

[Astuces iOS]

This proposed adjustable aperture presumably adjusts the aperture so that it's smaller. So if the current iPhone has a fixed aperture of f/1.7, say the new adjustable aperture closes the lens down to f/2.8 (smaller aperture hole).

This does little to nothing to improve a phone camera. What this does is provide about a stop more depth of field on a phone camera tha already has very deep depth of field due to the very tiny sensors used in phone cameras. So as a result you'll see no change at all in most photos. But in macro photos (very close up shots) you'll have the ability to get 1 stop or so deeper depth of field, which can be a good thing if you're into that.

A smaller aperture also allows use of a slower shutter speed, which might be something some people are into, probably not. Most of the time especially with indoors shots in lower light, the problem is the shutter speed is not fast enough. So giving the shutter the option to go a little slower isn't super helpful to most people. If you're an arty person who wants to experiment with motion blur panning shots, for example, then it will be a little helpful. But most people don't do this.

Now there's the flip side: make the aperture LARGER. So suppose the next iPhone, instead of having a f/1.7 maximum aperture lens, has a, say, f/1.2 maximum aperture. This means you can have shallower depth of field. More light so better in lower light. And say the adjustable aperture allows you to to select f/1.7 as an option.So you can choose f/1.2 or f/1.7 let's say.

Here's teh problem with that:

1) iPhone already has the ability to do "fake shallow depth of field" via software, thus negating much of the benefit of having a lens with a greater ability to create natural shallow depth of field.

2) The camera bump gets a _lot_ bigger. Because an f/1.2 lens is going to be much larger. So the bump gets larger.

I don't think Apple will put an adjustable aperture on a phone camera. There's basically zero benefit. And you increase cost.

If you want to experiment with adjustable aperture, get a real camera like a Canon or Nikon which have aps-c or FX format large sensors, and fast lenses, where adjustable apertures are actually super useful, with a wide range of aperture choices per lens e.g. f/2, f.2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f22 all one one lens, even adjustable in 1/2 or 1/3 stops if you want that degree of granularity. These lenses are so much faster than iPhone lenses is why having an adjustable aperture is practical on pro cameras. But iPhone basically starts at f/11 (equivlent to pro cameras). So imagine having a Nikon or Canon lens that *starts* at f/11 as the widest possible aperture, and then you can optionally choose f/16 or f/22. Not very exciting is it? No it is not. But a Nikon lens can be as wide as f/0.95. You're never going to see this on a phone, coz the required phone camera bump would turn off too many users.

It’s just to take photos of waterfalls or type of photos like that but even the iPhone has a long exposure mode with Live Photos that do a similar effect… so yeah I agree

 

[rog]

Camera is the only reason I bother upgrading. Sounds like a progress jump rather than the usual slow, iterative improvements. Now just give us better optical zoom.

 

[Downundermac]

Still rocking a 14PM (with a replaced battery) as it’s a great device and they haven’t meaningfully upgraded the iPhone Pro for a few years, so this talk is at least a bit promising…

 

[svish]

The rumored camera improvements are nice. 256GB versions should cost the same but the higher storage variants will most likely be costlier than similar 17 Pro/Pro Max models.