If you are one of those who have been waiting for years for Apple to make the definitive leap in photography, this is your moment. According to reports from ETNews, a Korean media outlet with solid sources in Apple’s supply chain, production of the iPhone 18 Professional has already started.and the first parts that are being manufactured make it very clear to us what Cupertino’s big bet will be this year: the camera, again, but with a twist that we have never seen in an iPhone.
And no, we are not talking about more megapixels. That’s already resolved. The leap comes from something deeper: the very mechanism with which the camera controls light. Something that any photographer with a SLR has been using for decades without thinking about it. A diaphragm that opens and closes. Finally on an iPhone.
Production has already started and the timing is right with a launch in September
It’s not a vague rumor. Sunny Optical, a Chinese company that supplies Apple, has begun manufacturing the actuators which will make possible the variable aperture mechanism in the popular camera of the iPhone 18 Professional and Professional Max. These actuators are the component that will physically move the sensor diaphragm, and manufacturing is already underway.
Starting in June or July, LG Innotek will take over at its plant in Gumi, South Koreawhere it has already installed specific machinery to assemble the complete camera module. The timing fits perfectly with Apple’s historical calendar: camera modules typically go into production two or three months before the product is unveiled. With the iPhone 18 Professional aiming for a presentation in September 2026everything fits.
And it is no coincidence that LG Innotek is the one carrying most of the supply. Something similar already happened when Apple introduced the iPhone 15 Professional Max zoom: the technical complexity was so high that LG Innotek was the only supplier capable of manufacturing it at first. This new variable aperture technology has a similar difficultyand the Gumi plant is already preparing to repeat that role.
The oldest trick in professional photography, finally on an iPhone
Controlling the aperture is the first thing any photography student learns. In a reflex or mirrorless camera it is completely standard. You can open the aperture to let in more light in dark environments, or close it to prevent image burn-in when there is too much light. It also gives you a sense of depth of field: how much of the scene is in focus and how much is out of focus. That, in smartphones, had always been the great pending issue.
He iPhone 17 Professional has a fixed aperture of f/1.78 in your popular camera, always at maximum, without possibility of adjustment. So in bright conditions, the system has to compensate with instrument. With variable aperture, the iPhone 18 Professional You could close the aperture in brightly lit scenes to avoid overexposure and open it in the dark to capture more detail without triggering noise or abuse the night mode.
Is this something new? Not at all. Samsung tried it with the Galaxy S9 in 2018 and repeated it with the S10but he ended up abandoning it. The problem was not the idea itself, but the execution: the module made the product too expensive and users did not find all the value in it. Sony, with its Xperia Professional line, has been more faithful to technology, but without the impact that an iPhone has. Six years have passed since that Samsung experimentenough time for manufacturing costs to drop and Apple to come with its full marketing weight so the world understands why it matters.
More news in the camera that points to a very complete iPhone 18 Professional
The variable aperture is not the only thing expected from the iPhone 18 Professional’s photographic system. According to the most recent reports, The front camera would make a significant leap: from 18 MP on the iPhone 17 Professional to 24 MPwhich practically doubles the resolution compared to the model from two generations ago. Better selfie quality, clearer video calls, and improved low-light performance.
Furthermore, there is talk of a forty eight megapixel telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom and the possibility of recording video in 8K quality at 60 frames per second, a leap that would be enormous compared to what the current generation offers. To all this we must add the new A20 Professional chipmanufactured in a 2 nanometer process, which would provide up to 15% more speed and 30% energy efficiency, all of which will directly impact image processing.
The iPhone 18 Professional is expected to arrive in September, along with the Apple’s first foldable iPhonewhich is expected to be another of the great protagonists of the Cupertino fall. There is still summer ahead, but the pieces are literally already in place. And if Apple manages to execute the variable aperture well, we could be looking at one of the most important photographic leaps in the history of the iPhone.
Keep reading:
• Leaking ensures that the iPhone 18 will incorporate a key change in its design
• Will the iPhone 18 Professional be saved from increases in 2026? Apple has a strategy to contain costs
• iPhone 18 Extremely on the horizon? Apple could surprise in 2026
