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Variable Aperture Rumored to Bring Major Camera Upgrade to iPhone 18 Pro

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Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models will feature an upgraded main rear camera with a variable aperture for the first time, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

iPhone-17-Pro-Max-Smaller-Notch-Feature.jpg

Apple has gradually expanded new camera technologies, such as sensor-shift stabilization, 48-megapixel sensors, and the tetraprism 5x telephoto camera, across its iPhone models in recent years. It now appears that after completing the rear camera array's transition to 48-megapixel sensors by bringing one to the telephoto camera on next year's iPhone 17 Pro models, the next significant camera upgrade will be the introduction of a variable aperture.

The information comes from Kuo's latest post on Medium, where he outlined how upcoming products such as the iPhone 17 "Slim," M5 MacBook Pro, and iPhone 18 will affect Apple supplier Sunny Optical. Kuo believes that Sunny Optical and Luxshare will be the primary and secondary shutter suppliers for the iPhone 18 Pro's new main camera, while the variable aperture lens will be supplied by Sunny Optical and Largan Precision.

The iPhone 14 Pro, 15 Pro, and 16 Pro's main cameras feature a fixed aperture of ƒ/1.78. A variable aperture on future iPhone models would allow the main camera to control the amount of light entering the lens, allowing it to adjust to different lighting conditions. It also would provide more control over depth of field, enabling sharper focus on subjects or smoother background blur. The iPhone 18 is expected to launch in 2026.

Article Link: Variable Aperture Rumored to Bring Major Camera Upgrade to iPhone 18 Pro
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/11/08/variable-aperture-rumored-for-iphone-18-pro/
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Unggoy Murderer said:
This would be a fantastic upgrade for sure.

Still holding out for a higher resolution telephoto sensor in the near future though, hoping for a 48mp sensor. 48mp would enable a 10x "optical quality" zoom option too, similar to the 2x option now.
Click to expand...

I have a 2018 iPhone XS with the 12mp 2x optical. I use this lens a lot.

I went into an Apple store to check out the 2x “optical quality” on the 16 Pro. I took some photos with the 16 Pro, and the same photos with my XS.

When punching in, details, especially such as text, are garbled on the 16 Pro. All photos looked better on my XS.

This isn’t exactly a shock because while the 16 Pro has a bigger sensor, it isn’t 4x bigger. So when shooting at 2x, the total surface area of the sensor is less on the 16 Pro compared to the dedicated 2x lens on my XS. I suppose I was hoping for some magic but you can’t defy physics.

I’m at a complete loss because my XS is dying yet I can’t justify spending £999 on a phone with a camera that’s worse than 2018.
 
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Idiots. Instead of removing mechanical parts they are adding more of them. What if it breaks in a year or two, whats then, a pricey service fee or straight new iPhone? They surely hope for the latter.

Fun fact: variable aperture was in Galaxy s10 and s9. I had it. I tested it. It was useless, no clarity increase whatsoever. Sold the phone also because I was afraid it will break one day and get stuck in one position or another. True photographers can shoot landscapes even with f0.9, by using higher f values you just lose light and even detail after f9-f11.

Why Apple copies Samsung features they have long removed? Whats next, curved display in iPhone 19?

I would appreciate DEX copy tho but with macOS touch.
 
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jasonsmith_88 said:
I have a 2018 iPhone XS with the 12mp 2x optical. I use this lens a lot.

I went into an Apple store to check out the 2x “optical quality” on the 16 Pro. I took some photos with the 16 Pro, and the same photos with my XS.

When punching in, details, especially such as text, are garbled on the 16 Pro. All photos looked better on my XS.

I’m at a complete loss because my XS is dying yet I can’t justify spending £999 on a phone with a camera that’s worse than 2018.
Click to expand...
Replace the battery at 1/10th cost of a new phone if you mean that by “dying”
 
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I wonder if the disappearance of the pill will be ready for the twentieth anniversary in 2027. Surely they'll come with something big (big not in size but in change) for that year.
 
LV426 said:
Maybe the iPhone 42 will remove the ungainly camera bump from the back of the phone.
Click to expand...
I would gladly trade this feature and much of the existing multi-lens stuff for a phone that sits flat on a run of the mill wireless charging cradle. I love the convenience of having the camera anywhere but I’m never inspired to engage creatively in the same way I am when I use my camera gear anyway because of basic ergonomics.
 
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jasonsmith_88 said:
I have a 2018 iPhone XS with the 12mp 2x optical. I use this lens a lot.

I went into an Apple store to check out the 2x “optical quality” on the 16 Pro. I took some photos with the 16 Pro, and the same photos with my XS.

When punching in, details, especially such as text, are garbled on the 16 Pro. All photos looked better on my XS.

This isn’t exactly a shock because while the 16 Pro has a bigger sensor, it isn’t 4x bigger. So when shooting at 2x, the total surface area of the sensor is less on the 16 Pro compared to the dedicated 2x lens on my XS. I suppose I was hoping for some magic but you can’t defy physics.

I’m at a complete loss because my XS is dying yet I can’t justify spending £999 on a phone with a camera that’s worse than 2018.
Click to expand...
Not really sure I've observed the same as you, I've had an iPhone X, 12 Pro, 14 Pro Max and currently on a 15 Pro Max.

I'd say that the telephoto (at 5x) image quality on the 14 and 15 devices has been exceptionally good, and a huge upgrade on what was available on previous devices I've owned. I do use the telephoto lens often on the 15 Pro, and the images I get off it, while not high resolution, are definitely of a decent quality. Sure, you lose detail when you zoom in, but that's down to sensor resolution. If the sensor resolution is improved, things like text and detail will obviously get sharper.
 
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jasonsmith_88 said:
I have a 2018 iPhone XS with the 12mp 2x optical. I use this lens a lot.

I went into an Apple store to check out the 2x “optical quality” on the 16 Pro. I took some photos with the 16 Pro, and the same photos with my XS.

When punching in, details, especially such as text, are garbled on the 16 Pro. All photos looked better on my XS.

This isn’t exactly a shock because while the 16 Pro has a bigger sensor, it isn’t 4x bigger. So when shooting at 2x, the total surface area of the sensor is less on the 16 Pro compared to the dedicated 2x lens on my XS. I suppose I was hoping for some magic but you can’t defy physics.

I’m at a complete loss because my XS is dying yet I can’t justify spending £999 on a phone with a camera that’s worse than 2018.
Click to expand...
It sounds like you like actual photography. In that way, you likely would be disappointed with the new cameras. Not just because of the 2x. In actual usage, it’s actually a fairly close approximation of the old 2x lens. But everything else seems over done. HDR and computational photography that combines many images that you can’t turn off. It makes most images look pretty impressive, but in a clarity slider and saturation turned up to 11 kind of way. It’s not subtle nor good at capturing the mood of what you’re trying to capture. I found the old XS to be way nicer at that, and actually think the 7 (whatever the big sized 7 was called) was the best balance between some minor help from “computational” photography while still looking pretty natural and balanced. The resolution and overall quality was rubbish, but on an iPhone screen size it looked quite ok.
 
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oldwatery said:
Just make a damn camera. This is getting really stupid!
Click to expand...
I’d buy that over any current iPhone. Provided it was thick enough and had a 4 inch display and phone app. Like a pebble. Make it ceramic white with a white nano texture display or even plastic if ceramic is too heavy. iPhone3gs like but curved all around. With a revolutionary camera for the size.
A multi trillion corporation should be able to provide this too to fill both the photography enthusiast and small phone niche at once.
 
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I'm still convinced Apple are doing a single variable aperture prismatic telephoto lens that ranges from 28-140mm for their iPhone Air thereby joining all the cameras together into one. Wouldn't be cheap but it would look cool.
 
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Now, we’re introducing the world’s first aperture button—the third button on an iPhone with a plethora of possibilities that people rarely utilize.
 
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