BlackMagic and Moment apps unlock more aperture control on iPhone 18 Pro

Third-party camera apps are offering iPhone 18 Pro users more granular aperture control than Apple’s native camera app allows. Both BlackMagic Camera and Moment Pro Camera II have been updated in September 2026 to support the iPhone 18 Pro’s variable aperture with 10 preset stops — more than double the four settings available in iOS’s built-in camera app.

Apple’s native camera app restricts manual aperture selection on the iPhone 18 Pro to just four settings: f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8, and f/4. The same four-stop limit applies when the app adjusts aperture automatically in Auto mode. However, Apple’s SDK does allow third-party developers to implement finer control, and two apps have now taken advantage of that capability.

BlackMagic Design’s BlackMagic Camera app for iOS — which remains free — was among the first to add support for the iPhone 18 Pro’s adjustable aperture. Version 3.5 of the app introduced 10 presets, with additional options between the stops available in iOS. The iPhoneographers YouTube channel tested the feature and described it as “pretty buggy,” though a subsequent update to version 3.5.1 addressed “general performance and stability improvements.”

Moment followed with an announcement on X that its $12.99 Moment Pro Camera II app has also been updated to support variable aperture on the iPhone 18 Pro. The app allows adjustment from f/1.48 to f/4.0 in 1/3-stop increments, matching the 10-preset approach used by BlackMagic and consistent with how most digital cameras handle aperture control.

Given the iPhone 18 Pro’s small sensor size, differences in background blur or depth of field between f-stops that are just 1/3 of a stop apart may be difficult to detect in practice. Still, the updates demonstrate that Apple’s hardware supports more precise aperture control than the native app currently exposes to users.