Tyler Stalman Reviews iPhone 18 Pro Camera, Calls Variable Aperture a Step Toward a 'Serious Camera'

The variable aperture system is the largest camera change on this year's model, which according to 9to5Mac also adds a 2nm A20 Pro chip, a vapor chamber and a smaller Dynamic Island, along with updates to Cinematic mode, expanded Photographic Styles with new texture controls, Apple Reference Image and further improvements to the Camera app's pro controls. Stalman said the wider f/1.48 aperture lets more light reach the sensor, which can help keep ISO lower in low-light conditions and reduce the need for Night mode. He pointed out that Apple's implementation is somewhat unusual: the aperture blades sit above the primary lens element rather than deeper inside the lens, as they typically are on traditional camera lenses. The review includes close-up footage of the iris mechanism opening and closing.

On zoom, Stalman said the new 4x zoom is a nice improvement over last year's 5x zoom, which could at times feel a little too tight. He also advised photographers to think about color. Having used last year's Cosmic Orange finish on his iPhone 17 Pro, he said the color tended to appear in reflections when shooting through windows, and suggested that pro photographers might want to stick to Burgundy or Black to avoid casting unwanted color into photos or videos. He noted at the outset that his review compares the iPhone 18 Pro's cameras to those of the iPhone 15 Pro, while the video itself was shot almost entirely on an iPhone 17 Pro.

Turning to the new AI-powered editing tools, including Clean Up, Extend and Reframe, Stalman said they are technically impressive and quite convincing, but can make such significant changes that the resulting image no longer feels entirely authentic to the original photo. For the new texture options, he demonstrated each effect by moving its intensity from 0 to 100. In his assessment, Soft Skin does a subtle job of reducing skin detail without simply blurring it, while Glow adds a diffused highlight effect similar to a black mist filter. He was also impressed by the Film effect's grain and halation, though he wished Apple offered more control over the amount of grain.

The review also touches on Apple Reference Image, the iPhone's Cinematic mode, for which Stalman still recommends Apple Log for truly cinematic footage, and the new Apple Log 2. 9to5Mac has also published its own review of the iPhone 18 Pro, which includes multiple photo comparisons between the new device and the iPhone 17 Pro.