Samsung's variable aperture revival: just following apple's lead, as usual

Samsung's Galaxy S9 flagship, released in 2018, was notable for featuring a variable aperture camera capability.

Variable aperture returns in the s27 ultra, thanks to apple's rumored iphone 18 pro plans.

In recent years, Samsung has consistently followed Apple's design and feature lead, with the latter often setting trends that the former adopts. This pattern is set to continue with the rumored inclusion of variable aperture in the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro series, prompting Samsung to revive this capability in the Galaxy S27 Ultra.

The variable aperture feature allows the camera to adjust its aperture size, opening up to let more light in for low-light shots or closing down for sharper images in brighter conditions. While Samsung was one of the first to popularize this feature on modern Android devices with the Galaxy S9, it subsequently dropped the variable aperture in favor of thinner designs with the Galaxy S20 series.

However, with Apple reportedly poised to bring back variable aperture on its iPhones, Samsung has no choice but to match this feature to maintain parity between its flagship devices and Apple's.

This move highlights the profound influence Apple wields over the broader smartphone industry, with Samsung and other manufacturers feeling compelled to keep up with the tech giant's decisions, even when it means revisiting and refining older features. As a result, Samsung's adoption of variable aperture on the Galaxy S27 Ultra is less a bold innovation and more a predictable response to Apple's lead.