Cameras of iPhone 18 and 20: Aperture ring and Apple sensor on the horizon?
Year after year, Apple refines the photo and video technology of its smartphones. Special plans are likely in store for the next two years.
Camera of an Apple mobile phone – here iPhone Air.
(Image: heise medien / Sebastian Trepesch)
According to rumors from Asia, Apple is working on innovations in iPhone photography. These apparently concern both the iPhones of the coming year and those of the 2027 model year. While 2026 primarily features planned functional improvements, a small revolution in iPhone photo and video technology is said to be coming the year after next.
The Aperture Topic
For 2026—likely in the usual September timeframe—Apple is reportedly planning a type of aperture ring for the image sensors of its Pro models, which would then be the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max. This is according to the Chinese Apple leaker Digital Chat Station on Weibo, who has been correct on numerous occasions in the past. The plan is said to be a DSLR-like mechanical adjustment option for the aperture opening—specifically for the main camera of both Pro models, the 48-megapixel “Fusion Camera,” as Apple calls it.
Videos by heise
The iPhone 15 Pro to 17 Pro models each come with an f/1.78 aperture for the main camera. Rumors that Apple's adjustable mechanical aperture would be integrated into the image sensor of its Pro models have circulated even before the iPhone 17—but nothing came of it then. Previously, other observers, such as the usually well-informed analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities, had claimed that the iPhone 18 Pro would receive the feature. A variable aperture could, for example, help to work with bokeh effects outside of Apple's portrait mode and allow for more creative photography.
iPhone 20 alias XX
For the iPhone 20 in 2027, a very special innovation seems to be planned: Apple intends to use a completely in-house image sensor for the first time—and not just one from supplier Sony. This is a LOFIC (“Lateral Overflow Integration Capacitor”) component built by contract manufacturers, claims, among others, Leaker yeux1122 on Korea.
LOFIC sensors promise significantly more dynamic range, among other things, with a novel storage technology for each pixel. Apple has also applied for a corresponding patent, although LOFIC technology is also said to come from various other manufacturers. Who will ultimately build Apple's sensor is unclear. At one point, it was said that Samsung could become the new supplier. However, they apparently are not as far along with LOFIC technology as the competition. The iPhone 20 is Apple's anniversary device for the 20th birthday of the smartphone series. The company is reportedly skipping the upcoming iPhone 19—similar to how it jumped from the iPhone 8 directly to the iPhone X in 2017. Recently, the name “iPhone XX” has also been circulating as a designation.
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