I spent a week with the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max and theyre better in
all the right places

Date:
Wed, 16 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Description:
The iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max aren't a reinvention of the flagship iPhone formula, but they are the best iPhones Apple has ever released.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Apple iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max: Two-Minute Review If the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max were a reinvention of the flagship iPhone, the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max see Apple carrying the flagship-iPhone baton forward with few, if
any, missteps.

Ive spent the last week with a Glacier iPhone 18 Pro Max and a Burgundy
iPhone 18 Pro both colors are striking new additions to Apples iPhone color palette and Apple has mostly stuck to last year's winning formula, while updating key aspects of the experience to push things forward. While the main camera array still carries the same 48-megapixel count across the telephoto, ultra-wide, and main lenses, the arrival of Pro controls in the Camera app breathes new life into the photo-taking experience, letting you get seriously creative whenever you want to. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here:

You can also take advantage of the new variable aperture on the main 48-megapixel Fusion camera to shoot across /1.48, /1.8, /2.8, or /4.0, and capture unique visuals, including starburst effects from lights. Of course, you can also choose to let the Camera app take control, and in general itll capture a well-balanced shot that you can still edit after the fact.

All in all, after taking hundreds of photos and shooting dozens of videos, Im impressed with the level of detail the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max can deliver. Some images match what youll get from the previous-generation Pros, but these iPhones can also deliver even better-looking images and video, especially when you take control.

Under the hood is Apples first 2-nanometer chip in an iPhone, the A20 Pro,
and while it doesnt run laps around the previous A19 Pro, or the chip before that one, its CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine do an excellent job of handling general iOS tasks, as well as more advanced AI features, including keeping Siri AI chugging along where it's available and powering Apple Intelligence features in Photos, such as Clean Up and Reframing. It also ensures that third-party experiences run well, and Ill be shocked if you encounter noticeable slowdowns anywhere.

The iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max can easily keep pace with any of the other best modern smartphones, and I suspect theyll keep doing so for years. You
can again choose between a punchy, vibrant, and crisp 6.3-inch or 6.9-inch Super Retina XDR display, and thats the main difference between the two Pro iPhones, as Apple maintains feature parity across the lineup. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Another meaningful improvement is in battery life, with the iPhone 18 Pro lasting longer than the 17 Pro Max according to Apple, while it says the 18 Pro Max establishes a new iPhone battery-life record. Add in the improved thermal management, smaller Dynamic Island, and arrival of Siri AI, and
theres a lot of refinement here beyond the cameras and processor.

And thats ultimately what the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max feel like to me: a refinement of an already excellent Pro iPhone, rather than a reinvention. If the iPhone 17 Pro generation was about Apple changing the formula, the iPhone 18 Pro is about taking that formula and making it better across the board, without messing with what worked.

Its not night and day across the board, and if youre coming from an iPhone 17 Pro or 17 Pro Max, you probably dont need to upgrade. The A20 Pro feels largely neck and neck with the A19 Pro in daily use, the displays remain familiar, and the overall design is essentially unchanged. But I would bet that some iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max owners will want to make the jump anyway, particularly for the camera improvements. The combination of the variable aperture and, finally, a genuinely customizable Camera app with Pro controls enables a level of user input that Ive wanted Apple to bake into the iPhone for years.

If youre holding onto an iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, or anything older, the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max represent a much more substantial generational leap. Youre getting bigger and better displays, way-improved cameras, better battery life, a faster and more future-ready chip, improved thermals, and a modern, durable design that Apple has now had a year to refine.

And thats the thing about the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max: you dont need any one of these upgrades to completely reinvent how you use an iPhone. Taken together, though, they make for a seriously capable flagship that feels ready for the next several years. Apple iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max review: Price and Availability Starts at $1,199 / 1,199 / AU$2,099 for 256GB Both Pro
models now offer 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB options On sale September 18, with preorders open now Apple made the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max
official at its September 9, 2026, Surprise and Shine special event;
preorders are open now, with an on-sale date of September 18.

The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 in the US, 1,199 in the UK, and AU$2,099
in Australia, and the iPhone 18 Pro Max at $1,299 / 1,299 / AU$2,299, respectively. That means they come with a $100 / 100 / AU$100 increase in starting price over the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, while, like last years Pros, starting at 256GB of storage. Both can be configured with 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB of storage, with the latter now an option on both Pro models. You can choose from Burgundy, Glacier, Silver, and Black.

Both phones officially go on sale on September 18, 2026. Value score: 4 / 5 Apple iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max review: Design (Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol) The 18 Pro keeps the 17 Pros aluminum body and camera plateau Burgundy and Glacier colors bring some welcome personality to the Pro lineup A new vapor chamber and Nanotwin copper help keep things cooler under load With the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, Apple chose to dramatically reinvent the Pro-series iPhone's design. It swapped the left-side bump that housed the
main camera system for a plateau that stretches across the back, went back to aluminum, and focused heavily on durability.

Given that, the odds of a major redesign for the next-gen Pro phones were slim, and the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max stick with a design that not only scored well in our reviews, but also won over a wider audience. I've been switching between the iPhone 17 Pro Max in Cosmic Orange and the iPhone Air for the last year.

The iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max stick with the aluminum body and camera plateau from last year's models. That might seem like a safe choice, considering that the iPhone Duo is launching alongside these candy-bar-style phones in October, but it also shows Apple pushing forward with a working design essentially the same trajectory it took from the iPhone 16 to the iPhone 17.

Still, to help the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max stand out from the crowd and just
to let people know youre rocking one of Apples new phones, rather than a 17 Pro or 17 Pro Max there are two entirely new colors, and I can't decide
which is my favorite, and luckily I've been testing both. Burgundy is sort of a dark-red wine color that evokes a sense of high-class sleekness, while Glacier, which the event invite teased, is a mix of blue and silver that
looks decidedly fresh. These are the two colors that pop, both much more
muted than Cosmic Orange, but also a bit more vibrant than the Dark Navy from 2025. Those two join silver and the first true black Pro model. It shows that Apple is listening, and I'm all for more Pro colors. (Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol) The dimensions are the same year over year. The iPhone 18 Pro measures 150 x 71.9 x 8.75mm, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max comes in at 163.4 x 78 x 8.75mm exactly the same footprint as their predecessors. The button placement is also identical, so if you've spent the last year with an iPhone 17 Pro or 17 Pro Max, there's nothing new to learn here: power and Camera Control are on the right, with the Action Button, and volume up and volume down on the left. Both phones are a little heavier than last years:
the 18 Pro weighs 211 grams, up from 206 grams, while the 18 Pro Max jumps to 249 grams from 233 grams.

Even with the slight weight increase, both the 6.3-inch Pro and 6.9-inch Pro Max feel comfortable in the hand and are pretty well balanced. The Pro Max is still very much a two-handed phone for me, especially for texting, while the Pro is still the smaller, more portable option.

Then there's Ceramic Shield 2, which is sticking around. Judging by the coatings on my iPhone Air and 17 Pro Max, it's done wonders at preventing micro-abrasions and front-screen scratches, and even means that drops dont elicit a gasp, since after a year my screens are still unblemished. In my few days testing the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, I haven't seen a scratch on the front or abrasions on the back, which is both aluminum and glass. (Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol) The iPhone 17 Pro Max was known for getting warm, or at least warmer to the touch, during more intense activities such as gaming or long content shoots, and Apple has looked to address that issue with some new cooling tech under the hood. There's a new thermal architecture inside, which consists of a vapor chamber, the positioning of which has been tweaked, and which offers three times the surface area to better dissipate heat. Apple has paired this with an industry-first Nanotwin copper material, which is baked into the display plate to help keep that surface cool.

For the most part, this has kept the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max cool during my testing. They can still get warm, but nowhere near as warm as the 17 Pro
or 17 Pro Max, and the heat is more spread out when it does become
noticeable. I noticed it mostly heating up during longer capture sessions, especially when swapping between photo and video, but even then the heat felt more spread out and better regulated, and dissipated more quickly.

It's a subtle change, but one that matters when you're using the phone heavily. And that's really the story of the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max design: Apple hasn't reinvented the wheel this year. Instead, it's taken the design it introduced with the iPhone 17 Pro and refined the parts that matter
durability, thermals, finishes, and how the phone feels during sustained
use. Design score: 5 / 5 Apple iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max review: Display (Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol) Two sizes, same experience across both A
new anti-reflective coating joins 3,000 nits peak brightness and120Hz ProMotion Smaller Dynamic Island with room for three Live Activities Your
main decision when choosing between the 18 Pro and the 18 Pro Max comes down to size, as theres feature parity between the two, and thats a good thing.
The iPhone 18 Pro features a 6.3-inch display, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max
has a 6.9-inch display. Both are punchy, vibrant, and a joy to look at and
use for any task, be it FaceTiming with friends or loved ones, typing out comms, reading an email, browsing the web, scrolling your photos, watching video, or just navigating iOS elements.

Much of that comes from the fact that these are Super Retina XDR displays, which are OLED and always-on, meaning that even when the phone is locked, the screen dims down to still show you the time, widgets, and even notifications. Like the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max before them, the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max have a buttery-smooth 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate and top out at a maximum brightness of 3,000 nits. Its unlikely the phone will always run at that brightness, but suffice to say that even on a bright, humid, sunny day and I mean it was really beating down in Orlando, Florida, enjoying the sights, sounds, and rides of Disney World, I had no issues viewing content on the screen. Theres also a new anti-reflective coating on the display, and while this isnt a full Nano-texture coating like youll find on some of Apples other displays and the folding iPhone Duo, its a noticeable step up when it comes
to reducing reflections and smudges. Its particularly useful outdoors, where fewer reflections mean less fighting with the screen to see whats actually on it. Compared to older iPhones, like the iPhone 16 and earlier models, this feels like a much bigger display upgrade. (Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol) There is one thing that really did catch my eye, though, and its the key change with the display: Apple has shrunk the Dynamic Island down on the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max. Its about the size of an extra-strength Tylenol liquid gel, and much less of a distraction at the top, if you could even call it that. In addition to the reduced size, the other big change is to Live Activities the Dynamic Island can now support three, rather than two. So maybe its directions, music playback, and a timer, or if youre on a flight, maybe its United Airlines showing the seat number, Flighty counting down your arrival time, and music playing in Music or Spotify.

Im not saying you need to rush out to upgrade just for this if you have a 17 Pro or 17 Pro Max although that might be the case for the cameras or battery life but if youre a fan of using this space, its definitely a super-functional quality-of-life upgrade. Display score: 5 / 5 Apple iPhone
18 Pro and 18 Pro Max review: Cameras (Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol) Pro controls finally arrive to let you adjust aperture, shutter speed, white balance, and more. The 48MP Fusion main camera aperture is adjustable from /1.48 to /4.0 Better detail, strong low-light performance, and excellent 4x and 8x zoom Alright, buckle in, because while the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro
Max still boasts 48-megapixel main, 48-megapixel ultra-wide, and a 48-megapixel telephoto camera similar to the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max setup things are a bit different across the board, and especially in one specific area.

For starters, if youve been wanting Apple to bake more controls into the Camera app, your wish has been granted. There are now Pro controls that let you adjust the aperture, shutter speed, and white balance for the main
camera, alongside a host of other tools, including improved Photographic Styles, with more granular controls, and the ability to bring up a histogram.

You can also customize which of these controls live at the top of your
screen, in a similar fashion to designing your perfect home screen or Control Center. Changes to shutter speed and aperture are persistent if you have that enabled in Settings for preserving camera settings, but you cant design exact presets with a specific aperture or shutter speed, although hint, Apple
that would be a nice upgrade. (Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol) Photographic Styles are also getting more flexible. You can still pick from the expected presets, but Apple now gives you more granular control over things like texture, including adjustments specifically aimed at skin. Push it in the right direction, and you can get smoother, more glowy-looking portraits, though there are times when that comes at the expense of some detail, particularly in lower-light areas of the frame.

Thats where I think Apples approach makes sense: the default Auto processing generally aims to strike a balance between detail, exposure, color, and skin tones, so you dont have to think about any of this. But if you want to get more creative, the tools are there and you can still make adjustments after the fact, rather than having to nail everything before you hit the shutter button. (Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol) Heres a look at the camera specs, right before the big change that has to do with the main lens: 48MP Fusion main with variable aperture of /1.48, /1.8, /2.8, or /4.0 48MP Fusion ultra-wide at /2.2 48MP Fusion telephoto at /2.8 With these, you can still shoot at 0.5x, 1x at 24mm, 28mm, or 35mm, 2x for a digital crop with optical-quality results, 4x (as a digital sensor crop), or an optical 8x, and stretch all the way up to 40x digital zoom.

The big change, though, is that the main lens the one your iPhone is set to by default has a variable aperture for the first time ever on an iPhone.
With a fine eye, or another camera pointed at it, you can actually see the lens aperture adjusting, getting wider or narrower to let more or less light in. It also swaps the previous main aperture of /1.78 on 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, as the 18 Pro now offering /1.48, /1.8, /2.8, and /4.0. (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) You can choose to ignore this new control, as well as the ability to adjust white balance or shutter speed, and let the iPhone and its image-processing pipeline automatically engage what it believes are the optimum settings to capture a great shot. And in my testing so far, it succeeds here, offering on-par quality with the iPhone 17 Pro or 17 Pro Max, but mostly punching above those phones with better details, more natural blurring and focus points, and excellent highlights.

The image-processing pipeline has also been updated. Performance still feels very much in line with what Ive come to expect from an iPhone, but images are more detailed and sharper throughout, though at times they can pack a little more punch with colors thanks to some update on the image pipeline.
Especially for 4x and 8x shots, Ive found that these preserve more details generation over generation. Its not a dramatic departure from the iPhone
look, but theres a clear refinement here in how the phone handles detail and brings a scene to life. The 4x and 8x zoom continued to surprise me with how much detail they can deliver, namely with the former being a sensor crop and the latter being optical. Whether Im picking out details around Disney Worlds parks or zooming in on something far away, the results stay impressively detailed without looking like a processed digital crop.

The variable aperture gives the main camera more flexibility, especially when you want to control how much light comes in, or how much of a subject is separated from the background. The wider maximum aperture also helps make
this excellent main camera even more versatile in lower-light scenarios, and because its the camera your iPhone defaults to, its likely the one youll navigate to first.

The Most Magical Place on Earth deserves the best camera on a phone on Earth, right? So Ive done the bulk of my iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max camera testing around the Disney World parks in Orlando, and taken plenty of additional
shots in New Jersey, California, and even up in the sky from the windows of planes. That means Ive tested the cameras in just about every condition I could throw at them, from the beating Florida sun to nighttime attractions, indoor spaces, moving subjects, and everything in between. Image 1 of 6
(Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) Image 1 of 6 View Original Image 2 of 6 View Original Image 3 of 6 View Original Image 4 of 6 View Original Image 5 of 6 View Original Image 6 of 6 View Original Ive been putting the low-light performance to the test around Disney World, too, including taking plenty of shots after the sun went down. Even in Auto mode,
I found the iPhone 18 Pro could deliver detail-packed, appropriately lit
shots in less time, with Night mode often requiring less time to capture a shot than on previous generations. This comes down to about one to three seconds, versus five to eight seconds for processing. And that means less waiting around for the camera to finish its exposure and, more importantly, less chance of a moving subject turning into a blurry mess. You can
accomplish longer exposures if the iPhone detects its in a tripod as well.

When I wanted more control, though, I could jump in and adjust the shutter speed and aperture when shooting at 1x or 2x zoom, letting me decide how I wanted to capture the scene, rather than leaving it entirely up to the
iPhone. If youre willing to take the time to dive into the controls, you can really customize how the iPhone captures a scene, and get much more creative with your shots. Image 1 of 3 (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image
credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) Image 1 of 3
View Original Image 2 of 3 View Original Image 3 of 3 View Original For instance, I shot the Magic of Disney Animation building at night at /1.48 and 1/30s, deliberately opening up the aperture and slowing the shutter to let in more light. The result is a detail-packed shot with rich colors and a
dramatic nighttime look, as you can see above. Its still an iPhone, so you
can absolutely leave everything on Auto and get a great photo, but when you want to take more control, the tools are there to help you capture the shot you have in your minds eye.

The same Pro controls carry over to video, giving you more control over how you capture moving footage. Theres also a new auto-tracking feature, and Ive found it particularly useful for fast-moving subjects.

I put it to the test at Disney World with Slinky Dog Dash, capturing the coaster as it came down the sloping track. The iPhone did a great job of keeping the front of the coaster in focus while the people blurred with the speed of the ride, and the lighting on the track moving alongside the
vehicles stayed remarkably clear. The shot came out incredibly well, and it really shows what the iPhone can do with a fast-moving subject. The 18-megapixel front-facing camera is essentially unchanged from last year, but thats not necessarily a bad thing, as the Center Stage camera still uses that clever square sensor, letting you rotate between portrait and landscape framing without physically turning the iPhone. Better yet, it will still automatically adjust to fit more people in the shot.

The cameras are easily the most exciting part of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, and as in years and generations past, its a big reason why folks go Pro. You get three capable shooters, and the ability to step back or step closer, depending on what youre trying to capture. This year, Apple is giving you more control, and adding a genuinely neat upgrade to the main camera. The choice is ultimately yours: you can stick with Auto and still capture great shots, or make your mark with adjustments and shoot more intentionally.

Yes, third-party apps have offered many of these controls before, but having them baked right into the native Camera app can make a big impact, in my opinion. You dont have to download another app or learn another interface to take advantage of them theyre right there when you open the camera. Camera score: 5 / 5 Camera samples Image 1 of 44 (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) Image 1 of 44 View Original Image 2 of 44 View Original Image 3 of 44 View Original Image 4 of 44 View Original Image 5 of 44 View Original Image 6 of 44 View Original Image 7 of 44 View Original Image 8 of 44 View Original Image 9 of 44 View Original Image 10 of 44 View Original Image 11 of 44 View Original Image 12 of 44 View Original Image 13 of 44 View Original Image 14 of 44 View Original Image 15 of 44 View Original Image 16 of 44 View Original Image 17 of 44 View Original Image 18 of 44 View Original Image 19
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of 44 View Original Image 44 of 44 View Original Image 1 of 2 (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future) Image 1 of 2 View Original Image 2 of 2 View Original Apple iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max
review: Software, Siri AI, and Apple Intelligence (Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol) Siri AI is here, in beta, and works across apps and personal context It can use your current on-screen context to help answer questions It's a major step forward, but it still makes mistakes and has rough edges The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max ran iOS 26 out of the box, and it's no surprise
that iOS 27 is preloaded on the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. It runs really well here, and the A20 Pro under the hood keeps things gliding along more on that processor below.

Much of iOS 27 is about under-the-hood changes that speed things up, which is especially helpful for older phones, along with more ways to customize the Liquid Glass interface, including adjusting how much of that glass effect you want to see.

The real story, though, is that the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max come with the new, AI-powered Siri out of the box, in beta, in specific regions. Its available now in the United States, though youll need to join a waitlist, and it arrives alongside some new Apple Intelligence features. (Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol) For starters, Siri AI is much faster, and shows its work
as it goes, which makes the experience feel more transparent. For instance, Ive asked for details on my last flight and watched Siri AI dive into the right app whether thats Calendar, Flighty, United, or even Mail to pull up the information Im looking for. Ive also used it to confirm my departure
time, and ask how long it might take to get to the airport. It really does work, and it feels natural, and easy to get the hang of.

That doesnt mean its perfect. Siri AI diving into some apps can cause mistakes, and at times it can pull up the wrong dataset or make the wrong assumption about what Im asking for. But given how delayed this upgrade has been, and how limited the existing Siri has felt, overall it finally feels like Apple has delivered on the promise of a more capable assistant, while still putting privacy at the center as it works with your personal data and whats on your device.

Siri AI can even be cued to see whats on your screen, adding another layer of usefulness. Rather than having to explain everything youre looking at, you
can let Siri understand the context of whats in front of you and go from there. Its one of those features that sounds small on paper, but once you start using it, it feels like the direction Siri should have been heading in all along. (Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol) Apple Intelligence also brings a handful of other updates, including new ways to work with images,
improvements to Photos and other apps, and more ways to put on-device intelligence to work. But Siri AI is easily the headline for me. After years of Siri feeling like an assistant that was increasingly behind the times, it finally feels like Im actually talking to an AI assistant on an iPhone,
rather than simply giving commands to a voice interface.

And while its still in beta, and there are clearly some kinks to work out, thats an important distinction. Apple isnt just talking about what Siri will be able to do anymore on the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, Im actually using it. Its faster, more conversational, understands more context, and can work across the apps and information already on my phone.

For me, that makes iOS 27 feel less like a flashy annual software update, and more like the foundation for where Apple wants the iPhone to go next. The A20 Pro gives it the horsepower to keep everything moving, while Siri AI finally starts making good on the Apple Intelligence promise. And because its built into the iPhone, and designed around the information already on your device, it feels like a much more natural extension of how I already use my phone, rather than another AI chatbot I need to remember to open. Software score: 5
/ 5 Apple iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max review: Performance (Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol) A20 Pro is seriously fast The biggest gains over the A19 Pro come in specific workloads and future headroom Improved thermal
management helps keep the phone cooler under heavy use It might be no surprise, but the A20 Pro chip inside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max is, as Apple claims, the fastest chip its put in an iPhone. And its actually more similar to an M-Series-powered SoC that Apple might opt for in a Mac
than previous A-series chips.

With the A20 Pro, the SoC actually sits next to the DRAM, rather than having the memory stacked on top, as it has been in previous generations. Its also built on a 2-nanometer process, just like the M6.

Inside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, the A20 Pro is broken up into a 6-core CPU two performance cores and four efficiency cores a 7-core GPU, and a dual 16-core Neural Engine.

What does all of that mean for real-world use? Well, pretty much what youd expect from a new Pro iPhone: everything is fast. Apps open quickly, jumping between them is fluid, games run smoothly, and even more demanding tasks dont really give the A20 Pro much pause. Take video exports, for example. Ive been exporting 4K videos with graphics, text, and transitions in both Edits and CapCut, and the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max handle them quickly. Its the
kind of task where you can really feel the combination of the new chip and
all that processing power, especially when youre working with more
complicated edits.

Gaming is another area where the A20 Pro flexes a bit. Real Flight Simulator runs smoothly, with environments rendering quickly as Im flying around. The same goes for Wuthering Waves and Genshin Impact , both of which seemingly
put a pretty serious load on the phones, which they seemingly handle without issue.

Multitasking has also been a non-issue. Ive had plenty of apps open, jumped into FaceTime while playing a game, and bounced between multiple text conversations without the iPhone 18 Pro or 18 Pro Max missing a beat. Thats probably the less exciting side of performance, but its also where you notice the power of the A20 Pro day-to-day you dont really have to think about
whats running in the background.

Photo Clean Up is a bit faster than it was on the iPhone 17 Pro, for example, so removing an unwanted object or person from a shot takes less time. Its not a massive difference, but when you use these tools frequently, those little speed improvements add up.

Additionally, the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max handle heat better, so sustained performance doesnt come with the same uncomfortable warmth I experienced with the 17 Pro generation. The heat isnt magically gone, but its distributed better, rather than sitting in one spot on the back, and dissipates faster.

Its worth keeping some perspective here, though. The A20 Pro isnt night-and-day faster than the A19 Pro in the iPhone 17 Pro or the chip in the iPhone Air, and youll likely only see more meaningful gains over something like the iPhone 16 Pro in specific scenarios. Thats not really the point.

The A20 Pro gives the iPhone more headroom for the future, especially as we run more and more AI-powered tasks on our phones, and, increasingly, other Apple devices. After spending this much time with it, the A20 Pro gives me no pause about getting several years of strong performance out of the iPhone 18 Pro or 18 Pro Max.

If youre coming from an iPhone 15 or older, though, thats where I think youll really notice the difference. Youre not just getting a faster chip; youre getting a phone with considerably more processing headroom for demanding games, video editing, Apple Intelligence, and whatever Apple adds over the next few years.

Additionally, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will both feature the new Apple-made C2 modem globally. On my Burgundy iPhone 18 Pro connected to AT&T's network, I scored over 900MBps down in a jam-packed park, but the
story is a little different with the 18 Pro Max in the US. The larger Pro iPhone in the States opts for a Qualcomm modem, but I didn't notice much of
an issue with performance. I was connected to the Visible network and
averaged about 350MBps to 500MBps down while in the parks and around New Jersey. Performance score: 5 / 5 Apple iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max review: Battery (Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol) I averaged around 30 hours, with
the Pro Max stretching further 50% charge in 15 minutes means you can get
back in action quickly with wired charging Alongside variable aperture on the main camera and the faster A20 Pro inside, Apple is making big promises about battery life with its latest Pro iPhones. In fact, the Cupertino giant notes that the iPhone 18 Pro will last longer than the iPhone 17 Pro Max, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max offers the longest battery life ever in an iPhone.

More specifically, its up to 36 hours of video playback on the iPhone 18 Pro, and up to 45 hours on the iPhone 18 Pro Max. These figures are based on
Apples video-playback testing, and real-world battery life will vary
depending on what youre doing. Also keep in mind that these devices will need some time to index and get their bearings.

Ill likely need to come back to this section in the coming weeks as indexing concludes, and Im not shooting hundreds of photos and many minutes of video a day after all, this is a review period. But with both the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, Ive averaged around 30 hours of use before needing to plug in, and that stretches a bit further with the Max.

Even on an endurance day in the Florida heat, with hundreds of photos
captured and nearly an hour of video recorded, the iPhone 18 Pro Max lasted
an impressive amount of time before I needed a pit stop back at the hotel to recharge. It can drain quickly with heavy use, especially when youre doing a lot of content capture, but in my testing thus far, both phones have been impressive.

In Future Labs' battery test, the iPhone 18 Pro lasted 16 hours and 17 minutes, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max ran for 18 hours and 27 minutes. Thats a good chunk less than Apples own video-playback figures, but my daily usage does stretch a bit closer to its claims.

On my last day of testing, I took the iPhone 18 Pro Max off the charger at
6AM and it hit 80% right before 11AM. With lots of app usage and some
capture, it dropped to around 40% around 6PM with heavier use, but on average I got about 30 hours of use.

Apple also has improved fast wired charging, letting you hit 50% in just 15 minutes. I achieved that with both phones using Apples own Dynamic 40W charger, as well as a smaller Anker 45W Nano Cube. That means even if you do drain the battery, you dont have to spend long tethered to an outlet before youre back in business. Battery score: 5 / 5 Apple iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max: Should you buy? Swipe to scroll horizontally iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro
Max scorecard

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

Even with the $100 / 100 / AU$100 price increase, both Pro models deliver enough meaningful upgrades to justify the premium.

4 / 5

Design

A similar design that's now refined with better thermals and two fantastic
new colors.

5 / 5

Display

The Super Retina XDR OLEDs are still punchy, sharp, and smooth with ProMotion and Always-On functionality, and with a smaller Dynamic Island.

5 / 5

Software

Siri AI finally feels like the smarter, more capable assistant Apple
promised, and iOS 27 is plenty smooth.

5 / 5

Camera

Apple finally gives you serious camera controls on the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, plus a genuinely useful variable aperture for the main lens.

5 / 5

Performance

The A20 Pro is incredibly fast, efficient, and ready for whatever comes next.

5 / 5

Battery

Outstanding endurance, with the Pro Max delivering the longest battery life
on an iPhone.

5 / 5 Buy it if...

You want the best cameras

The iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max take their three 48MP cameras to the next level, adding a variable aperture to the main camera and Pro controls across the board. Dont buy it if...

You have an iPhone 17 Pro

The iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max refine last years formula rather than reinvent it, so the upgrade is less substantial, especially if you're not interested in the changes. Apple iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max: Also consider

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

If you're alright with Android and want an excellent mix of performance and hardware, plus far-reaching zoom that can rival the iPhone, Samsung's latest and greatest candybar smartphone is worth a look.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review

Apple iPhone Duo

It won't arrive until October, but if you're after a design revolution from Apple, the iPhone Duo will likely fit the bill as Cupertino's first foldable phone. It offers the same excellent performance as the 18 Pro, plus an extra screen.

Read our hands-on preview of the iPhone Duo Apple iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max: How I tested Ive covered iPhones since the iPhone 8 generation, and the iPhone 3GS was my first personal iPhone. For this review, I spent a week with the iPhone 18 Pro in Burgundy and the iPhone 18 Pro Max in Glacier. Why you can trust TechRadar 100s of smartphones reviewed 15 years of product
testing Over 16,000 products reviewed in total Nearly 200,000 hours testing tech I used both as daily drivers, covering everything from calls and streaming to gaming, work apps, photography, and video. I also ran
performance benchmarks, tested multitasking and demanding workloads, and tracked battery drain across different usage scenarios alongside a standardized battery test.

For the cameras, I captured hundreds of photos and dozens of videos across Disney World including Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and the resorts as well as New Jersey, California, and from airplane windows. I tested every rear camera, multiple focal lengths, variable aperture, Pro controls, Night mode, Portrait mode, and video, along with the 18MP Center Stage camera.

I also compared the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max with the previous-generation Pro models, the iPhone 17, iPhone Air, and other smartphones including the Pixel 11 and Pixel 11 Pro.

First reviewed September 2026. Price comparison: Find the best deal for your next phone Contract Deals Sim Free Recommended Data (high to low) Data (low
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