Here’s an up-close look at the iPhone 18 Pro series variable aperture

The iPhone 18 Pro series feature the first variable aperture cameras on Apple devices, and that’s been one of the main talking points. The team over at iFixit have now posted their signature teardown of the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, which goes over all of the new components and devotes plenty of detail on the new variable aperture system.

You can skip to the 7:25 mark in the video where the host begins poking away at the camera. The system is driven by its own magnets, and the six “leaf-shaped” blades that make up the aperture are extremely small.

camera aperture blade next to human hair (left) and next to 2mm screw (right)

To give you a better idea, the iFixit team put them under a microscope, and Apple wasn’t kidding when it said they are as thin as a human hair. The aperture blades are placed on an intricate ring which has tiny electromagnets driving the whole system.

iPhone 18 Pro camera aperture in action

The rest of the teardown is pretty straightforward for an iPhone, but there are some neat observations. The 18 Pro (and Pro Max) have much larger vapor chambers that span almost the entire back of the devices.

The US model of the 18 Pro Max uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon X75 modem, making it the only device in the range to do so. All other iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max variants use Apple’s in-house C2 modem.

In the end, the 18 Pro series earns a 7/10 repairability score, which matches the 17 Pro series.

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