I'm surprised that in no reviews of the iPhone 18 camera there is mention of the bad quality bokeh, it has heavy ring shapes that looks like what you'd get from a cheap catadioptric lens.
Edit: e.g. the tree in one of the images in the page: <a href="https://www.dxomark.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/PoleHDR_Deep_AppleiPhone18Pro_DxOMark_05-00.jpeg" rel="nofollow">https://www.dxomark.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/PoleHDR_D...
Specular light sources always like ornamental balls in out of focus areas. What's wrong with it here is they are much brighter along the outside than the middle, and they have a funny shield like shape.
That said, I can't see this with the image open filling my 27" monitor, I can only see it zooming in. Perhaps if you are printing a wall sized photo, use a real camera.
Zoom in on the tree leaves, it's very visible on those. They appear as green rings, slightly lighter on the edge, giving it the appearance of a ring. You can also see it very clearly in the spots of sky between the leaves, they appear grey with an almost white outline.
A good video from a pro going through why someone might deliberately choose characteristics like this: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0zH7J_Vmg4" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0zH7J_Vmg4 (4:47)
matja · · focus · HN ↗
Edit: e.g. the tree in one of the images in the page: <a href="https://www.dxomark.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/PoleHDR_Deep_AppleiPhone18Pro_DxOMark_05-00.jpeg" rel="nofollow">https://www.dxomark.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/PoleHDR_D...
baxtr · · focus · HN ↗
computomatic · · focus · HN ↗
Gigachad · · focus · HN ↗
That said, I can't see this with the image open filling my 27" monitor, I can only see it zooming in. Perhaps if you are printing a wall sized photo, use a real camera.
xn7 · · focus · HN ↗
tern · · focus · HN ↗