Apple's iPhone 18 Pro line to feature mechanical aperture camera and upgraded cooling

Apple is slated to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max on September 9, with new hardware upgrades that include a mechanical, or variable, aperture camera system. The feature is intended to allow finer control over lighting and depth of field, and may appear on both the Pro and Pro Max models.

The devices are also reported to offer longer battery life and a second-generation vapor-chamber cooling solution, building on the technology introduced with the iPhone 17 Pro.

In addition, Apple is expected to equip the new iPhones with its own C2 modem, a detail that counters earlier speculation that the company might continue using Qualcomm chips.

"The mechanical aperture will be for fine-tuning light adjustments and depth control," the Bloomberg analyst noted.

"In-house C2 modems are coming to iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max," he added.