‘It may not fold in half' – but the iPhone 18 Pro is still Apple’s best
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Apple’s latest iPhones have landed, but are the iPhone 18 Pro and its larger sibling, the iPhone 18 Pro Max, worth the money? Do they offer significant upgrades over the 17 Pro, or just more of the same? As a tech editor, I’ve been testing the iPhone 18 Pro since its announcement.
While Apple’s first foldable iPhone, called the iPhone Duo, may have grabbed headlines, most people will choose the iPhone 18 Pro or the larger iPhone 18 Pro Max for everyday use.
This September, there is no base iPhone 18 – it’s thought that model will arrive in the spring. The new phones look similar to the iPhone 17 Pro, with design tweaks, new colours and significant changes under the hood.
These include a powerful new processor and, for the first time on an iPhone, a camera with variable aperture. Apple has also improved battery life on both sizes of phone, with the Pro Max boasting the longest life of any iPhone yet.
By the way, I’ve tested both sizes of the iPhone 18 Pro – apart from screen size, battery life and price, the two handsets are identical. Everything here about one phone applies to the other, unless stated otherwise.
I’ve been using the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max since before they went on sale and have studied the complexities (or simplicities) of set-up. I looked into how easy it was to transfer details, apps and content from an older iPhone or Android phone to the new one. Then, I tested performance and tried out the new camera. And, of course, I looked at battery life to see if it really lived up to Apple’s promises.
What we love: Super-fast performance, exceptional battery life, and great new camera feature
Take note: The price has gone up, and there are limited design changes
Key specs
6.3in OLED, 120Hz, 2,622 x 1,206 pixels, 460ppi
256GB / 512GB /1TB / 2TB
150mm x 71.9mm x 8.75mm
Main camera: 48MP with variable aperture
Telephoto camera: 48MP
Selfie camera: 18MP
You could be fooled into thinking the iPhone 18 Pro is the iPhone 17 Pro, especially if you’re looking at the silver model – the only colour carried over from last year.
Featuring the same large cameras and all-screen front, the cut-out where the front-facing camera sits is now much smaller. That’s because the infrared sensor that powers the Face ID unlock is now under the display, pushed to the corner, where it sits invisible.
This not only means a smaller cut-out overall but that the Dynamic Island can handle three, not two, activities alongside. This means you simultaneously see album art for the music you’re playing, a timer and more.
The design change on the rear of the phone is mostly down to colour. The eye-catching Cosmic Orange is gone (hero colours are rarely kept in the Pro range for two consecutive years), and the range this year is Burgundy, Glacier (a pale blue), silver and black.
Like last year, the rear of the Pro models uses two materials: an aluminium frame with glass panel insets. Unlike last year, the colours create a more seamless look. Though more muted, the Burgundy is already winning favour among the fashion-inclined.
Under the hood, Apple has introduced a more effective vapour chamber system to disperse heat. The processor functions at full speed without the phone getting hot – useful for playing games or running power-hungry apps.
While the look is familiar, it’s still a handsome, persuasive design that is worth seeing again. Storage capacity is also improved, with a 2TB option, previously restricted to the larger Max model.
The smaller Dynamic Island is a nice improvement, and moving the infrared sensors under the display is highly effective. Face ID works as snappily as ever, but the sensor is impossible to see when the display is on.
The screen remains attractive and richly detailed, with the colour fidelity and contrast levels that OLED is known for. Dynamic refresh rates mean the display is stutter-free when you’re scrolling through menus; when the refresh rate is at its highest, it can notch down to just 1Hz to power the always-on display, saving battery.
Two of the iPhone 18 Pro rear cameras are the same as last year: the ultra-wide and the telephoto. All three have 48-megapixel resolution. But the main camera has a major upgrade with the introduction of a variable aperture on the lens.
This hardware allows the physical size of the aperture to change, which adjusts how much light gets to the sensor. A variable aperture is usually only found on an SLR camera, not a smartphone.
There are four aperture settings here. A smaller aperture lets in less light, so it is suited to brighter situations, but it can deliver greater depth of field. This means more of what you’re looking at is in sharp focus. Lower light situations benefit from a wider aperture but with less depth of field.
New controls in the Camera app allow users to customise what features they want to prioritise, making it easy to switch between four aperture settings.
You can also leave the aperture on automatic – the iPhone camera is so precisely crafted that results are exceptionally good.
The new processor is fast and efficient, using 2-nanometre technology for the first time on an iPhone – which means more transistors can be crammed into a smaller space.
Modern smartphones are effortlessly speedy, but that’s especially true here, with actions completing instantly, whether that’s everyday procedures like apps that spring open fast or more complex tasks like video editing or advanced-graphics games which run smoothly.
The processor also powers the headline feature of the software: Siri AI. The virtual assistant is now personalised and has contextual awareness so it can search your text messages to find flight numbers, the recipe you were sent, or check your calendar for you.
AI features are available on many phones, but Apple has implemented AI in a way that is helpful, accessible and simple to understand. As new elements are added, it will be better still.
While iOS 27 is available on earlier iPhones, not all features are available. Apple Intelligence, which powers Siri AI, is only supported on recent models. It’s at its best here, with the processor ensuring even complex Siri AI tasks perform quickly.
Apple’s claim that both the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max have longer battery life than predecessors feels correct on testing. The iPhone 18 Pro routinely has 30 per cent in its tank, and the Pro Max more.
Apple claims the iPhone 18 Pro Max has the longest battery yet for an iPhone. While the new features and capabilities are important, nothing beats longer battery life.
Owing to a shortage of memory chips, most smartphones have gone up in price recently, including Apple’s. This seems all the more striking since there’s no entry-level iPhone 18.
Last year’s iPhone 17 Pro cost £1,099 for the model with 256GB storage; that’s gone up to £1,199 this year. The iPhone 18 Pro Max has also had a £100 price increase.
Even so, both look affordable compared to the iPhone Duo: Apple’s first foldable costs £1,999 – another reason why most people will plump for the Pro or Pro Max instead.
The visual differences of the new iPhones are limited to the smaller Dynamic Island, new colours and a now-invisible infrared sensor – changes which are subtle but pleasing. However, the improved performance, all-new Siri AI strengths, and improved camera build on the capabilities of the iPhone 17 Pro – arguably the most successful iPhone already – to become something even better. It may not fold in half, but the iPhone 18 Pro offers the best of Apple, which is to say, the best of any smartphone.