Apple CEO John Ternus has teased the upcoming Variable Aperture camera feature on the iPhone 18 Pro, set for launch in just four hours’ time, in a new post on X.
The video shows a bright light that suddenly reduces, and shows what appears to be the lens of the upcoming iPhone.
If Apple does introduce Variable Aperture to the iPhone 18 Pro, it would be a mechanical addition to the camera system that physically adjusts how much light it lets in.
This works in a similar way to the human eye, where the pupil grows bigger to let more light in when it's dark and shrinks in brighter light.
The camera would open wider when in night mode to let in more light, reducing the darkness and grainy effect of the photo.
This will reduce the iPhones reliance on software and AI image processing, providing a more authentic camera experience.
Here's a few screenshots from the video:
Will Variable Aperture be Pro Max exclusive?
This new feature is expected to launch on both the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, but some rumours are circulating that this could be a Pro Max exclusive feature.
Apple has given additional features to the camera on the Pro Max model before. In 2023, the iPhone 15 Pro Max reached a higher digital zoom than its smaller counterpart.
However, the previous 16 Pro and 17 Pro models have had the same camera systems, with Apple's Greg Joswiak saying in a 2024 interview about iPhone 16 Pro that it's great that the smaller model has all the capabilities. He even highlighted that John Ternus was a Pro user, and that he can now take advantage of the additional camera features.
A different approach
Today’s post from John Ternus is already a different approach to his predecessor Tim Cook.
Cook would often post sunrise pictures of Apple Park on event day, with no hint as to what’s to come. Ternus has taken a different approach, teasing an unannounced product.
It will be interesting if this approach becomes the norm from Apple, which has historically given the public very little information until the keynote itself.
