Your iPhone Lets You Pick 4 Camera Openings, Other Apps Allow 10

Apple's own camera app only lets you pick four lens openings by hand on the iPhone 18 Pro: f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8 and f/4. The same four choices apply in Auto mode, when the app changes the opening itself, according to The Verge.

That limit is software, not hardware. Aperture works like the pupil of an eye. It opens and closes to let in light. Apple's SDK, the tools outside developers use, allows finer control than Apple's own app shows.

Apple introduced the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max with a 48MP Fusion Main camera, according to Apple. Apple said that Main camera can widen intelligently to ƒ/1.48 for low-light shots.

Moment Pro Camera II offers smaller steps. It moves from f/1.48 to f/4.0 in small 1/3-stop clicks, for 10 choices in total. Blackmagic Camera for iOS also offers 10 choices, including openings that sit between Apple's four settings.

The difference is step size. Four choices mean big jumps in brightness and background blur. Ten small steps allow gentle fixes. That helps with video controls like shutter angle and ISO, which shape motion and sensitivity, and with keeping the same look without pushing gain, electronic brightening that adds noise.

Looking at what this means in practice, the split is plain. Apple keeps the normal controls short and predictable. Apps for advanced users open the full range underneath. The phone still handles white balance, tone mapping and fusion, the automatic color and brightness work, but a skilled user can lock the opening too.

In my view, the benefit is smooth control rather than just more light. People coming from a mirrorless camera expect the opening to change smoothly. Four fixed stops feel stepped. Smaller steps bring back that smooth feel for matching brightness and background blur.

Worth flagging for video work is consistency. A real opening changes more than brightness. It changes background blur, flare and sharpness at small sizes. Smaller steps make those changes easier to handle shot to shot. They also cut down on auto exposure hunting during a take.

The broader context here is hopeful for phone photography. A real moving aperture gives software something physical to work with. Other apps now give you precise controls to use it. For pros who already carry an iPhone as a B-camera or scout camera, more can be planned and shot on the phone.