Analyst Reports Advanced Lens Orders For iPhone

The trusted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo from TFI Securities has now posted on X about the cost that will come from such a change. Referring to the supply chain and a company called Sunny Optical, Kuo talked about “positive trends in Apple orders.”

“Securing high-unit-price variable aperture lenses for the 2H26 new iPhone model,” he explained, was one of these trends. The 2H26 model, of course, is the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, since the iPhone 18 is expected to be released in spring 2027.

It’s possible the same camera could be in the first folding iPhone, rumored to be called the iPhone Ultra. However, as that phone is designed for every component to be as slim as possible, it is far from certain it would be in the first foldable.

When the key upgrade is to make each half of a folding phone so thin that it’s manageable when shut, some components just won’t fit.

It’s not thought that the new camera will come to the iPhone 18, expected to be released in spring 2027.

How Variable Aperture Changes iPhone Photography

Variable-aperture lenses change the size of the lens opening, which has major implications in terms of length of exposure and, therefore, the depth of field of an image.

Shallow depth of field means only a small part of an image is in tight focus while the greatest depth of field shows every part in pin-sharp detail.

Such a change would offer greater photographic versatility and make the iPhone camera that bit closer to a standalone SLR.

Apple Faces Margin Pressure From Surging Component Costs

“The variable aperture lens for the 2H26 new iPhone 18 Pro/Pro Max has a 50% higher unit price (vs. high-end 7P lens), with Sunny's supply proportion reaching 40-50%,” Kuo went on.

Ouch. Of course, this doesn’t mean that the price of the phone will go up by half as much again, but coming at a time when memory costs and RAM components are high will make it harder for Apple to absorb the price change entirely.

That said, there are already reports that the cost may not be passed on. “To win market share from Android, Apple is reportedly absorbing these expenses rather than raising consumer prices, which is somewhat unusual for Cupertino,” Notebook Check said.

“Traditionally, such a sharp increase in component costs would inevitably trickle down to the consumer in the form of higher retail prices. However, insiders have suggested that Apple intends to absorb these costs, a strategy also reportedly applied to rising memory component prices,” it went on.

While the cost will be a setback if it means the overall price of the iPhone goes up, even if Apple absorbs part of the cost, the perception of what is coming has excited many.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has previously said that the new phones will have some of the biggest camera hardware upgrades ever for the iPhone.

As well as that pricey variable aperture component, the telephoto camera may gain a wider aperture, which should help in low-light zoom shots.

And, of course, Apple pairs hardware with software, so the components only tell part of the story. If, as seems inevitable, the new hardware is matched with steps forward in what Apple has called “computational photography,” then the upgrades could be more considerable than the predicted hardware specs predict.

The full picture will become clear in September when the iPhones are unveiled.