The variable aperture isn’t the cool part of the iPhone 18 Pro’s camera

<figure> <img alt="A closeup of the cameras on an iPhone 18 Pro." data-caption="The iPhone 18 Pro’s triple camera setup with a variable aperture in the main (bottom) camera. | Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge" data-portal-copyright="Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/268734_iPhone_2026_event_handson_ADiBenedetto_0023.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> The iPhone 18 Pro’s triple camera setup with a variable aperture in the main (bottom) camera. | Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge </figcaption> </figure> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Apple always makes a big show of the latest cameras in its phones, and the major talking point of the iPhone 18 Pro is about the new variable aperture. Both the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max have an adjustable mechanical iris in their main camera modules to let more or less light into the sensor, allowing users to shoot at f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8, and f/4. You can, of course, let the camera select your aperture automatically, but the manual aperture control comes along with other new pro controls allowing you to dial in shutter speeds, manual white balance, and even manual focusing.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">As a whole, this is a wealth of new controls for an iPhone camera …</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/993155/variable-aperture-iphone-18-pro-photography">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>