iPhone 18 Pro hands-on: Variable aperture and stunning new colors
It doesn't fold, though.
Apple just unveiled a ton of new devices, including the AirPods 5, the Apple Watch Series 12, Ultra 4 and, the show stealer, the iPhone Duo. But the iPhone 18 Pro is probably something more people are looking to buy. I was just able to check out the iPhone 18 Pro in person here at Apple Park in the delicious new burgundy color option and play with some of its latest features, particularly the variable aperture in the camera app. I was mostly enthralled as I watched the blades in the camera move.
The variable aperture controls are in the camera app, and you can access the settings at the top of the viewfinder. In addition to the aperture sizes, you can also change shutter speed. white balance and ISO light sensitivity. While most of them offer a fairly wide range of settings to choose from, the aperture options were limited to just f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8 and f/4.0. I found it slightly tricky to use with just one hand, as I was holding my camera in my other hand. But the system is intuitive, and when an Apple rep asked me to look at the main camera sensor while he jumped between these different options, I could see the blades moving. It's certainly behaving as advertised, so far!
Other iPhone 18 Pro updates that I could see from this early preview are the smaller dynamic island, which certainly seems neater than the one on my iPhone 17 Pro. I like the idea that it can accommodate one more live activity, because I hate having to give up, say, my timer controls when I have Spotify and an active delivery going on in the background.
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