Apple Unveils iPhone 18 Pro With Variable-Aperture Camera

A camera feature aimed at more control

Apple announced the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max on September 9, putting a new variable-aperture main camera at the center of its latest premium-phone lineup. U.S. prices start at $1,199 for the iPhone 18 Pro and $1,299 for the Pro Max, both with 256GB of storage.

Both phones have a 48-megapixel Fusion Main camera, Apple says. Its six-blade variable aperture changes how much light enters the lens, giving photographers another way to balance brightness and background blur before taking a picture.

Apple also says the phones offer manual settings for aperture, shutter speed, and white balance, plus a histogram. A histogram is a visual chart of light and dark areas in an image; it can help users avoid photos with lost detail in very bright or dark sections.

The upgrade comes with a higher entry price

The Verge and TechCrunch report that each new model’s starting price is $100 above its corresponding prior-year Pro model. That makes the purchase decision less about a routine annual update and more about whether the new camera controls, storage level, and other announced changes meet a buyer’s needs.

Apple says both phones use its A20 Pro chip, made on a 2-nanometer process, with a six-core central processing unit and seven-core graphics processor. A smaller chip-manufacturing process refers to more tightly packed components, though Apple has not supplied independent performance results in the material provided.

Battery figures and release schedule remain Apple claims

For eSIM-only versions, Apple says the iPhone 18 Pro can provide up to 36 hours of video playback, while the Pro Max can provide up to 45 hours. Those are company test figures, not independent real-world battery results, so actual endurance will depend on how each phone is used.

Apple plans to begin preorders September 12 in the United States and more than 65 other countries and regions. Initial availability is planned for September 18, followed by 20 additional countries and regions on September 25. Independent testing will be needed to show how the camera and battery claims hold up outside Apple’s own measurements.

AI-assisted article checked through automated editorial review.