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iPhone 18 Pro adds variable-aperture main camera and manual pro controls in familiar body
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The Verge reports hands-on impressions of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max from Apple Park, noting a design carried over from the iPhone 17 Pro but with a new variable-aperture main lens, manual camera controls, and a smaller Dynamic Island.
For engineers building camera-dependent iOS apps, the variable-aperture lens with selectable stops and manual controls in the native camera app changes what capture parameters are user-adjustable at the hardware level. The smaller Dynamic Island supporting three simultaneous Live Activities affects how background-task UI should be designed. Only one feed carried this story, so details are limited to a single hands-on account.
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The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max retain the iPhone 17 Pro's aluminum body and screen sizes while adding color-matched back glass in black, silver, glacier, and burgundy.
The main camera now has a variable-aperture lens with four selectable stops (f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8, f/4.0) plus manual shutter speed, white balance, and focus controls with peaking in the native camera app.
The Dynamic Island is smaller and can display three Live Activities simultaneously, with preorders starting September 12th and release on September 18th at starting prices of $1,199 for the Pro and $1,299 for the Pro Max.
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