The built-in iOS camera app on the iPhone 18 Pro limits the variable aperture to just four fixed settings: f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8, and f/4. That exhausts the menu entirely. Third-party apps, however, offer more control over the aperture.
Two apps have shown how Apple’s SDK opens up camera controls for outside developers, letting them adjust the aperture with greater precision. Moment Pro Camera II and Blackmagic Camera both provide ten preset stops, along with intermediate choices, which gives photographers much more freedom to experiment.
Blackmagic’s Free App Leads the Way
Blackmagic Design’s Blackmagic Camera app for iOS was one of the first third-party options to support the iPhone 18 Pro’s adjustable aperture. Instead of four settings, it offers ten presets with additional options in-between the stops available in the native app.
Last week, the iPhoneographers YouTube channel put the new feature from version 3.5 of the app through its paces and called it “pretty buggy.”. Since then, the app has moved on to version 3.5.1, which includes “general performance and stability improvements.”.
“pretty buggy”
The app remains free.
Moment Follows With Its Own Update
Yesterday, Moment announced on X that its $12.99 Moment Pro Camera II app has been updated to support the iPhone 18 Pro’s variable aperture. You can adjust the aperture from f/1.48 to f/4.0 in 1/3 stop increments, giving you the same ten presets as Blackmagic’s app.
That is the same approach most digital cameras take. Given the small sensor size of the iPhone 18 Pro, you may find it hard to see a difference in background blur and focus depth when comparing photos with f-stops different by just 1/3 of a stop. But more control is never a bad thing.
Why This Matters
Third-party apps can now give users finer command over the aperture setting, thanks to Apple’s SDK. That fills the gap for anyone wanting to take full advantage of the variable aperture feature. A ten-preset selection compared to four makes a real difference, particularly for photographers trying to match a shot to the lighting conditions they’re working with.
Moment has followed Blackmagic’s example, and both apps now give users more control than the native app does. That extra control is always worth having.
Source material: “These camera apps give you more control over the iPhone 18 Pro’s aperture,” The Verge.
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