Long before Apple launched the iPhone 18 Pro with a variable aperture on its main camera, several Android manufacturers walked the exact same path before eventually phasing out the hardware. Samsung kicked off this trend with the 2018 Galaxy S9 and S9+, followed over the years by Huawei with the Mate 50 Pro, Sony with the Xperia Pro-I, and Xiaomi with its 14 Ultra phone.
Smartphone makers originally pursued variable aperture hardware to differentiate their high-end and mid-range offerings from devices with similar specifications. Despite these creative advantages, companies ultimately abandoned the technology to avoid extra hardware complexity and costs.
Samsung Galaxy S9 Pioneers Dual Aperture
Launched in March 2018, the Galaxy S9 was the first smartphone to feature a variable aperture, offering a dual f/1.5 and f/2.4 option that Samsung likened to the human eye adjusting to light.
Samsung carried variable aperture capability into subsequent releases such as the Galaxy S20 and the Galaxy Note 10. However, hardware complexity and costs ultimately forced the company to ditch the technology, leaving rumors regarding a feature return on the Galaxy S27 unrealized.
Sony Released the Xperia Pro-I with a Variable Aperture
In 2021, Sony introduced the Xperia Pro-I in partnership with Zeiss as the brand’s sole smartphone featuring a variable aperture. Utilizing an f/2.0 to f/4.0 aperture range, Sony promised high dynamic range, beautiful bokeh, and outstanding low-light performance, alongside launching it as the first smartphone capable of recording 4K video at 120fps.
The device featured a triple-camera setup led by a 12MP 1.0-inch Exmor RS primary sensor with 24mm Zeiss Tessar T optics, a 12MP telephoto lens, a 6.5-inch 4K HDR OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G processor paired with 12GB of RAM. When the PRO-I failed to inspire a second-generation variable aperture model, Sony transitioned instead to true continuous optical zoom utilizing telephoto lenses that shift glass elements between 85mm and 125mm focal lengths.
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