Apple unveiled its new generation of devices last night, with the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and the long-awaited foldable iPhone Duo attracting the most attention. However, anyone who has been following the smartphone market beyond Apple’s ecosystem may be somewhat less impressed.
During its presentation, Apple highlighted several major technological advancements, particularly in cameras, artificial intelligence and the completely new iPhone form factor. However, when these features are compared with what Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, ZTE and other manufacturers have offered in recent years, it becomes clear that some of the technologies now arriving on the iPhone are far from new in the smartphone world.
Apple’s approach, as has often been the case, is different. The company tends to follow its own path rather than closely watching competitors, introducing certain technologies later while trying to integrate them as deeply as possible into its own hardware and software.
The goal, of course, is greater system stability, optimization and refinement. But...
Variable Aperture Comes to the iPhone, but Samsung Had It Back in 2018
One of the biggest new features of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max is the 48-megapixel main camera with a physically variable aperture.
For the first time on an iPhone, Apple allows the camera aperture to physically change. The system uses six mechanical blades and offers four different aperture settings. It can automatically adjust the aperture depending on shooting conditions, while users can also control it manually.
However, a physically variable aperture is not new technology in the smartphone industry.
Samsung introduced a genuine mechanical variable aperture back in 2018 with the Galaxy S9 and S9+. The camera could physically switch between two aperture values, f/1.5 and f/2.4. Users were even able to manually select between the two settings in Pro Mode.
Samsung's implementation did not offer the continuous range found in more modern variable-aperture systems, instead relying on two fixed physical positions.
Four years later, Huawei took things significantly further.
The Mate 50 Pro, launched in 2022, featured a physically variable aperture ranging from f/1.4 to f/4.0, with a much larger number of possible positions in between.
Xiaomi later introduced a similar concept in its own premium devices, further refining the technology across successive generations of flagship smartphones.
So in this case, the "wow" factor is largely new only within Apple's own ecosystem.
Pro Camera Controls Are Not New Either
Apple also introduced a new Pro Controls system that allows users to manually control aperture, shutter speed and white balance, alongside a histogram and other advanced options.
For iPhone users, this represents a significant step forward, but such functionality has existed on Android devices for years.
Samsung already allowed users to manually control the aperture on the Galaxy S9 through Pro Mode, while advanced camera modes offering control over ISO, shutter speed, focus and white balance have been available on flagship smartphones from various manufacturers for years.
In other words, it is clear that cameras were a major focus during the development of the new iPhone generation. Apple has opened the door much wider to users who want more professional camera controls directly inside the native Camera app.
The concept itself, however, is nothing new.
iPhone Duo Arrives Seven Years After the First Galaxy Fold
The biggest hardware announcement of the evening was arguably the iPhone Duo, Apple's first foldable iPhone.
The Duo opens like a book — or perhaps more accurately, like a passport. It is essentially the same basic form factor Samsung has used for its latest foldable phones, and Apple has now taken a similar approach.
The Duo features a 7.6-inch inner display and a 5.4-inch external screen, with Apple placing particular emphasis on multitasking and a version of iOS adapted specifically for the larger internal display.
Its starting price is a massive $1,999.
However, the original Galaxy Fold was introduced all the way back in 2019, and Samsung has since developed multiple generations of Fold devices. Huawei, Xiaomi, Honor and several other manufacturers have also launched their own foldable smartphones in the meantime.
Once again, Apple is not pioneering the technology.
However, the way the device transitions between the inner and outer displays, together with its integration with iOS, apps and Apple's wider ecosystem, could still put the company near the front of the pack.
It is still too early to judge the hinge mechanism, overall durability or how well the internal display will withstand years of repeated folding.
Under-Display Camera? Nothing New There Either
The iPhone Duo also features a front-facing camera positioned underneath the internal display.
By hiding the camera beneath the screen, Apple is attempting to create a cleaner, uninterrupted display without a traditional notch or punch-hole cutout.
But this technology has also existed for several years.
ZTE introduced the Axon 20 5G in 2020, which the company described at the time as the world's first commercially available smartphone with an under-display camera.
Samsung brought the technology to the foldable segment a year later with the Galaxy Z Fold3.
AI That Understands What the User Sees — Something Similar to Gemini
Another area in which Apple is increasingly moving toward functionality already familiar to Android users is artificial intelligence.
Unsurprisingly, much of Apple's presentation focused on AI integration and the new Siri experience — one designed to be more than just a traditional voice assistant.
Google, however, has spent the past several years developing similar capabilities through Gemini, allowing AI to understand what is displayed on the screen and what the user is currently seeing through the camera.
Gemini Live, for example, can hold conversations about what the phone's camera is seeing in real time, while on-screen content can also be used as contextual information for AI interactions.
With the latest generation of Apple Intelligence features, Apple is continuing to develop a similar concept.
The smartphone is no longer simply a device that executes commands. It is becoming a system that attempts to understand the context of what the user is doing.
Once again, however, real-world use will ultimately determine how successful Apple's implementation is.
It is not enough for a feature to simply exist. What matters is how well it works, how fast it is, what it can recognize and, most importantly, how useful it actually becomes in everyday use.
Still, comparing Apple's new devices with Android competitors does not mean the iPhone 18 Pro or iPhone Duo are unimportant.
Apple has a major advantage in controlling both its hardware and software, and the way different technologies are integrated across its ecosystem has long been one of the key factors distinguishing its products from the competition.
Ultimately, it depends on what you want from your phone.
The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max introduce the new A20 Pro chip, a new-generation cooling system, upgraded cameras and numerous AI-powered features. Apple is particularly emphasizing performance, energy efficiency and its own approach to photo and video processing.
With the iPhone Duo, however, one of the most interesting questions will be how Apple tackles the biggest long-term problem facing foldable smartphones: durability.
Apple therefore introduced several major new features last night. But when viewed through the broader history of the smartphone industry, the picture looks somewhat different.
Samsung had a physically variable aperture as early as 2018. Huawei introduced a far more advanced f/1.4–f/4.0 system in 2022. ZTE commercially introduced an under-display camera in 2020, while Samsung entered the foldable smartphone era back in 2019.
Apple is now bringing many of those concepts to the iPhone for the first time.
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