Your iPhone Can Now Shoot Video More Like a Pro Camera
Apple released Final Cut Camera 2.4 on September 29, 2026 as a free update that lets iPhone 18 Pro change aperture. Apple
The change uses the Fusion Main camera. Apple says this is the first aperture control on iPhone. You can set it from f/1.48 to f/4 inside the app. Think of aperture like the pupil of an eye. A wider opening lets in more light and softens the background. 9to5Mac
For video, there are two helper modes. One keeps movement looking smooth while brightness adjusts on its own. The other keeps background blur steady while the camera adjusts movement. The phone can still record ProRes and Apple Log, high-quality video files that keep extra detail for editing.
The app layout was changed to fit the new settings. ISO for light sensitivity, white balance for color warmth, and shutter angle for motion blur are now easier to reach. A two-finger tap hides the buttons for a clear view.
You can add screen guides to help while shooting. They include false color and clipping warnings for exposure, focus peaking that outlines what is sharp with control for how strong that outline is, and a tally light that shows recording is underway.
You can also run the iPhone from nearby. Settings including aperture can be changed from an iPad or Mac through Final Cut Pro. That lets the phone work as a controlled second camera or crash camera without touching it during a take.
Editing gets new options too. Tools once limited to Cinematic mode now work on normal video, including ProRes and Apple Log. Focus points and depth of field can be changed later in Final Cut Pro. Final Cut Pro and Motion can now edit depth of field and focus points for video shot on iPhone 18 Pro. Depth information is no longer locked to Cinematic mode clips.
With iOS 27, there are more tools for live and monitored shoots. Final Cut Camera gains RGB Parade and histogram displays, charts that show color and brightness. It gains clean SDI out, which sends clean video through an HDMI-to-SDI converter for broadcast-quality streaming. It gains genlock offset, which fixes visual issues from filming a screen and timing gaps with other genlocked cameras. The three help with multi-camera sync and outside monitors.
The new camera settings need an iPhone 18 Pro. Older iPhones get the app update without the aperture control, priority modes, or depth-editing tied to the new optics.
Alongside the camera release, Apple updated Pages, Keynote, Numbers, Freeform and Pixelmator Pro for Creator Studio subscribers. Engadget Subscribers get new templates and themes in Pages, Keynote, Numbers and Pixelmator Pro. Keynote can automatically make images to match slide content. Pixelmator Pro on iPad gains Select and Mask tools from the Mac version.
Some changes apply outside the subscription. Pages, Numbers, Keynote and Freeform now let users ask for access to view or edit a shared file. Pages gains a Screen View option for reading and focused writing. Numbers gains new trigonometry, statistics and logic functions. Freeform boards follow dark mode and can be grouped into collections. Freeform supports Apple Intelligence Writing Tools for editing and making text. The new Pixelmator Pro templates need the $13-per-month Creator Studio subscription.
The broader context here is what matters for normal users. Phone lenses are still small and limited by physics next to bigger cameras. In my view, the value is control that carries from shooting to editing, with manual settings, helpers, remote control and live tools working together. That makes a phone more useful on a small supervised shoot, and it leaves the important choice where it belongs, with what you point the camera at.
