Apple’s 2026 iPhone 18 Pro models will for the first time boast an improved main rear-facing camera with a variable aperture, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Looking forward to 2025, thanks to the ultra-thin iPhone 17 and more mature Apple Intelligence, iPhone shipments in 2025 are expected to grow by about 5% to 230 million units, which will have a more significant impact on the recovery of Sunny Optical’s market share.
Kuo’s comments come in his latest post on Medium, where he discussed how upcoming products such as the M5 MacBook Pro, iPhone 17 “Slim,” and iPhone 18 will affect Apple supplier Sunny Optical. Kuo said he believes that Sunny Optical and Luxshare will be the primary and secondary shutter suppliers for the iPhone 18 Pro’s new main camera, while Sunny Optical and Largan Precision will supply the variable aperture lens.
One of the major upgrades of the high-end iPhone 18 in 2026 is that the wide-angle lens will be upgraded to a variable aperture camera. This specification upgrade will significantly enhance the user experience. Photography experience. My latest industry survey shows that Sunny Optical will be the number one supplier of shutters (number two is Luxshare) and the number two supplier of variable aperture lenses (number one is Largan).
Apple traditionally improves the iPhone’s camera system each year. Improvements in the last few years include 48-megapixel sensors, sensor-shift stabilization, and the tetraprism 5x telephoto camera
The iPhone 14 Pro, 15 Pro, and 16 Pro’s main cameras all boast a fixed aperture of ƒ/1.78. A variable aperture on future iPhone models would allow the main camera to control the amount of light entering the lens, allowing it to better adjust to different lighting conditions, providing better control over depth of field. The iPhone 18 is expected to launch in 2026.