iPhone 18 Pro Reviews Find Iterative Upgrades, Variable Aperture and Modest Battery Gains

The most discussed hardware change is the main camera's variable aperture. Apple added a six-blade moving aperture with settings at f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8 and f/4.0, according to Engadget and 爱范儿. The Verge reported that the wider f/1.48 maximum aperture lets in more light than the previous f/1.8, while smaller apertures can extend depth of field and produce sunstars. The Verge said image quality gains are generally marginal, though Night Mode can use a slightly shorter capture. 爱范儿 said the f/1.48 setting produces optical bokeh closer to larger cameras and f/4 can create star effects, but lens ghosting remains and small-aperture shooting can produce irregular glare.

Apple also added manual exposure controls to the native camera app. The Verge called the arrival of manual controls overdue but noted they are tiny. 爱范儿 said the Pro controls allow manual adjustment of aperture, shutter, white balance and histogram, and that Photographic Styles 3 adds film-like looks and skin smoothing. Engadget listed other camera features including cinematic effects on regular videos, Apple Reference Image and Audio Mix for music. Engadget said the Pro still has the best camera performance of any iPhone, but its Portrait and Night shots still trail Google's Pixel series.

Design changes are limited. Engadget and 9to5Mac reported that the Dynamic Island is about 25% smaller because Apple moved the Face ID infrared camera under the display and used brighter pixels to let infrared light through. The smaller cutout allows three Live Activities at once and more information in the second activity. 9to5Mac said the phone is available in burgundy, glacier, silver and black, and that the new color-matched back improves the two-tone look of the iPhone 17 Pro. The phones retain the same 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch displays, Ceramic Shield 2, ProMotion up to 120Hz and IP68 rating.

Internally, Apple added a revamped thermal management design and the A20 Pro chip. The Verge said the new thermal system allows sustained full performance for longer. 爱范儿 described a VC vapor chamber and said the 18 Pro and Pro Max are the most powerful and durable iPhones currently. The phones are heavier: 9to5Mac measured the 18 Pro at 211 grams and the 18 Pro Max at 249 grams, up from 206 grams and 233 grams. ZDNet said the Pro Max's weight, before a case, is one reason it now recommends the smaller Pro. ZDNet also cited feature parity between the two models, including the same triple-camera system and, for the first time, a 2TB storage option on the smaller Pro.

Battery claims are the clearest point of disagreement. Apple has touted 'the largest increase in battery life ever' for the Pro Max, according to TechRadar. TechRadar's lab test, which cycles websites over cellular until the battery dies, found the 18 Pro lasted 16 hours and 17 minutes versus 15 hours and 21 minutes for the 17 Pro, about 6% longer. The 18 Pro Max lasted 18 hours and 27 minutes versus 17 hours and 54 minutes, about 3% longer. Apple's video-playback ratings are higher: TechRadar cited 36 hours for the 18 Pro and 45 hours for the 18 Pro Max, up 9% and 15%. ZDNet listed the 18 Pro at up to 34 hours of video playback, or 36 hours on eSIM-only models, and the 18 Pro Max at 43 to 45 hours. ZDNet said the smaller Pro's rated battery life now exceeds older Pro Max models. The Verge said the 18 Pro costs $100 more than last year and that higher storage tiers are quite pricey.

Apple is also using the 18 Pro to introduce Reference Image, a camera authentication feature. Engadget reported that the mode creates a protected copy of a photo and evidence of when it was taken. The first digital signature is generated inside the camera sensor using a private cryptographic key created at manufacturing. Apple's Private Cloud Compute service checks the signature and produces a digitally signed photo. The evidence is stored in DNG format. Reference Image uses signed timestamps from Apple's cloud, roughly every 15 minutes on average, and can work offline using the last timestamp. If the earlier timestamp fails verification, Apple falls back to March 31, 2026, a date chosen because the feature did not exist before then. The mode is opt-in and is not enabled by default.

The reviews' practical advice is that the 18 Pro and Pro Max offer welcome but incremental gains. Engadget said the Pro remains the standard setter among candybar iPhones, while The Verge said there is no compelling reason to upgrade from a 17 Pro unless the buyer is a committed smartphone photographer. ZDNet said it would choose the smaller 18 Pro over the Pro Max for the first time in a long time, citing ergonomics, weight and battery life.

Editor's Summary

Apple's iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are iterative updates centered on a variable-aperture camera, manual Pro controls, a smaller Dynamic Island and modest battery improvements. Reviews say the phones remain capable but offer limited reasons to upgrade from the iPhone 17 Pro, while Apple's battery claims are stronger in video-playback ratings than in lab web-browsing tests. The new Reference Image feature adds sensor-level cryptographic authentication to photos, extending the Pro line's appeal into content verification.