The iPhone 18 Pro is set to arrive this week with a variable aperture lens on the main camera, but a fresh leak indicates the hardware upgrade is only part of the story. Apple is expected to pair the new handsets with a substantial software overhaul, bringing several professional-grade tools to the Camera app.
The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are both launching alongside a wider Apple line-up, and the rumoured camera improvements suggest Apple is targeting photographers who want greater manual control over their images.
Five advanced features hidden in iOS 27
Apple may release a major update for the Camera app on iOS 27 at the same time as the iPhone 18 Pro models. The new capabilities were reportedly discovered within the latest beta of the company’s mobile operating system, though they are not yet accessible to users.
The features most likely to arrive with iOS 27 are repeated self-timer shots, manual focus, exposure scopes, focus peaking and highlight warnings, and aperture-based image correction. Some of these, such as manual focus and repeated self-timer shots, could reach older models as well. However, aperture-based image correction is expected to remain exclusive to the iPhone 18 Pro, as it alters how photos are processed depending on the aperture setting, which is adjustable only on the new Pro devices.
What the new camera tools offer
Several of these features are not necessarily complex, but they have never appeared in the stock Camera app before. Repeated self-timer shots allow users to capture several timed photos in a row. After each timer completes, the countdown restarts automatically, enabling back-to-back images without pressing the shutter again.
Focus peaking and highlight warnings have previously been available only through third-party apps and are likely to appeal to advanced users. Focus peaking creates a coloured outline around objects that are in sharp focus, while highlight warnings add an overlay to areas of the image that are overexposed. Both work on the live preview, allowing adjustments before the photo is taken.
The manual focus feature is comparable to the option found in Apple’s own Final Cut Camera app. This tool appears to be restricted to devices that shipped with iOS 27, suggesting it may be exclusive to the iPhone 18 Pro.
Perhaps the most sophisticated addition is exposure scopes, which display a waveform or histogram representing the exposure of the image during shooting. Histograms show which portion of the pixels fall into shadows, mid-tones and highlights, while a waveform presents the same information aligned with the horizontal pixel position. This makes it easier to assess the specific area in the frame where the exposure sits, giving photographers finer control over their shots.
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Image: phonearena.com
