A Chinese leaker with alleged Apple supply chain-sourced information reveals that the iPhone 18 models are anticipated to have lens with variable aperture. Digital Chat Station, an account on Weibo, reports that the variable-aperture system will be seen on the 48MP Fusion camera for both models of the iPhone 18 Pro.
This would be a first for iPhone models. The variable aperture lens basically adjusts its opening to allow for more light to pass in low-light shots, and narrows the lens opening to give you a brighter scene.
The iPhone 15, 16, and 17 Pro models’ main cameras have an ƒ/1.78 aperture fixed camera that permanently sets the lens to the widest possible settings. A variable lens would let users of the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro to adjust the aperture manually like a DSLR cam and have more control on things like sharper focus and depth of field of the photo.

