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Variable Aperture Lens

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iFixit gives iPhone 18 Pro a 7/10 repairability score, same as last year's model

iFixit tore down Apple's new iPhone 18 Pro and awarded it a 7/10 repairability rating, matching the iPhone 17 Pro's score. The teardown found the camera and battery assemblies relatively easy to remove, though the phone's new variable aperture lens—its first in an iPhone—uses tiny rotating blades that iFixit says are nearly impossible to repair individually.

iFixit teardown reveals iPhone 18 Pro's variable aperture camera is unrepairable if broken

iFixit's teardown of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max exposes the new variable aperture lens, which uses six overlapping blades thinner than a human hair to control light via a magnetic mechanism. The site praises the engineering that fits this system into the same camera footprint as last year's model, but warns the mechanism is essentially impossible to repair if it fails.

Apple's iPhone 18 Pro adds variable aperture and manual camera controls

Apple's iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max retain the design and aluminum build of last year's models but introduce a variable-aperture main camera with four selectable stops plus manual controls for shutter speed, white balance and focus. The phones also ship in four colors including a new glacier blue and burgundy, with color-matched glass backs, and a smaller Dynamic Island that can now display three Live Activities simultaneously.