HONOR Magic 10 Leak Points to Return of Variable Aperture Camera

HONOR may bring back a camera feature that has been missing from its flagship phones for two generations. A new leak suggests the HONOR Magic 10 series could use a variable aperture camera. This would give users more control over how much light reaches the sensor.

The tip comes from Chinese leaker Smart Pikachu and the post really mentions the Magic 10 series, but does not share camera specs or name the models that may get this feature. HONOR has not confirmed anything yet - after all the new phones are expected to arrive in 2027.

A variable aperture lets a camera change the size of the opening in its lens. A wider opening lets in more light, which can help in dark scenes. A smaller opening can keep more of a scene in focus, which is useful for group shots and close-up photos.

HONOR first brought this hardware to the Magic 6 Pro. Its 50MP main camera could switch between f/1.4 and f/2.0. The Magic 7 series kept the feature, but HONOR removed it from the Magic 8. That phone used a fixed f/1.6 aperture instead.

The Magic 9 series then focused on a large 200MP camera sensor and its ARRI video features. A return to variable aperture would give the Magic 10 a different camera upgrade, rather than relying only on more megapixels.

Huawei has kept variable aperture in its top phones since the Mate 50 series. Samsung and Motorola have also used this camera technology in the past, but later dropped it to make room for other hardware.

Its return could give flagship phones another way to improve photo quality. It also shows that camera makers are looking beyond sensor size and megapixel counts.

I would welcome this change to be honest - really. Software can blur a background, but it cannot fully replace the control of a physical lens. Variable aperture can also help with close-up shots, where phone cameras often struggle to keep the whole subject sharp.

Still, the feature needs good tuning to make a real difference. We also do not know if HONOR plans to add it to every Magic 10 model or just the Pro version. For now, this is an early leak, not a confirmed spec, ok guys?