iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max Once Again Reported To Adopt Variable Aperture Technology In 2026 With A Dutch Firm Said To Supply The Blades For This Upgrade

Variable aperture technology was introduced when Samsung attempted to pursue a bold experiment by adding the upgrade to its Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ several years ago. Unfortunately, the lack of positive reception meant that the feature never found its way to another one of the Korean giant’s flagships again, but Apple reportedly wants to bring this technology to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, with one analyst reporting that a Dutch semiconductor company is expected to make the Cupertino firm’s ambitions come true.

Analyst mentions that Dutch semiconductor manufacturer BESI has witnessed some decline in 2024 but is expected to rebound with several key drivers boosting its growth

Previously, we reported that Sunny Optical was going to be the primary supplier of the variable aperture lens for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, with TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo mentioning that Largan will be the secondary manufacturer to cover up the remainder of the shipments. However, a lens is not the only component that goes into developing variable aperture technology for a smartphone, with BESI said to supply the blades that contract and expand to adjust the aperture value.

These blades happen to be a crucial upgrade and will give the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max newfound imaging capabilities. It is typical of Apple to adopt technological standards much later than the competition, particularly in the camera category, when it introduced the tetraprism telephoto lens exclusively for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, then branching it out to the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max this year. While critics can be judgmental of Apple being late to the party when it comes to hardware updates, it does have its reasons.

After all, Samsung never bothered to maintain a variable aperture lens after just a single smartphone lineup’s release, suggesting that the masses likely dismissed the feature as nothing more than a gimmick. Also, at the time, flagships were shipping with just a single rear camera, so there was not a whole of versatility going on that augmented the camera experience for users. Now, with a combination of wide-angle, ultrawide-angle, and telephoto units all present on the same rear side of a premium smartphone, it makes sense to bring back variable aperture technology to add another depth to the portable photography arsenal.

News Source: Ming-Chi Kuo