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Engadget Says iPhone 17 Pro Owners Have Little Reason to Buy the iPhone 18 Pro

Engadget argues the iPhone 18 Pro's 2nm chip, smaller Dynamic Island and new main camera are not enough to justify an upgrade from the iPhone 17 Pro.

AI News Feed · 2026-09-23 02:01

On design, Engadget said the phones are hard to tell apart apart from color. The iPhone 18 Pro adds a deep Burgundy and a light Glacial finish, along with a black model that many buyers had requested after its absence from the iPhone 17 Pro lineup. Otherwise the design is nearly identical, and the iPhone 18 Pro is a few grams heavier than its predecessor. The Dynamic Island is smaller because of a new infrared sensor hidden beneath the display, a change Engadget described as nice to have rather than necessary, since the earlier arrangement works fine.

The iPhone 18 Pro runs the A20 Pro chip, the first built on a 2-nanometer architecture. Its extra GPU core compared with the A19 Pro delivers up to 40 percent better graphics performance, and a second Neural Engine handles AI tasks. In ordinary use, Engadget said, the gap is hard to notice; the A19 Pro in the iPhone 17 Pro still handles apps such as Instagram and Apple Music without trouble, and remains capable for editing RAW photos or running intensive games.

Cameras changed less than the keynote suggested, according to the report. The main camera on the iPhone 18 Pro is Apple's first wide-angle lens with a variable aperture, letting users adjust light intake and depth of field the way they would on a DSLR, which also helps in low light. The ultra-wide, telephoto and front-facing sensors are the same as those on the iPhone 17 Pro, so photos from those lenses will not change. Some of the photographic styles Apple demonstrated are expected to reach certain older iPhones through a software update.

Software features also overlap. Owners of the iPhone 17 Pro already have Apple Intelligence and the Siri AI built into iOS 27, including the new Siri app, contextual conversations, enhanced voice adjustments, improved dictation and the ability to extend and reframe photos, Engadget said. The report allowed that Apple may add features exclusive to the iPhone 18 Pro later, possibly using the extra Neural Engine, but said that prospect means little to most users now.

Engadget framed the iPhone 18 Pro as an upgrade for people on older devices such as the iPhone 15 Pro, who would pick up three years of changes including a vapor chamber, a new design and improved zoom. For those already on a recent model, it advised holding on to the phone they have and waiting for next year's iPhone, or considering the iPhone Duo instead.