iFixit’s teardown reveals how the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max’s new variable-aperture camera works. A magnetic iris uses six overlapping blades, each roughly as thin as a human hair, to control the amount of light reaching the sensor. While fitting this mechanism into the existing camera footprint is an impressive engineering achievement, its impact on everyday photography is reportedly modest.

The iris is effectively unrepairable without highly specialised equipment and expertise, so a failure would probably require replacing the entire camera assembly. That assembly is easy to access, but Apple has not yet published replacement-part prices; the equivalent iPhone 17 Pro component costs $249, suggesting repairs for the newer models may be more expensive.