Apple has officially announced the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max at its “Surprise and Shine” launch event. The new Pro models bring several notable upgrades, including a new A20 Pro chip, improved AI capabilities, a variable aperture camera and longer battery life.
The iPhone 18 Pro series comes in four colors: black, silver, light blue and burgundy. Apple has also focused heavily on Apple Intelligence. Most importantly, the new phones designed to handle more AI processing directly on the device.
The iPhone 18 Pro features a 6.3-inch display, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max gets a larger 6.9-inch display. Apple has retained the same screen sizes as the previous generation, with both models using OLED panels with ProMotion support up to 120Hz and an Always-On display. The high refresh rate makes scrolling and animations smoother, while the Always-On display lets users quickly check information without fully waking the phone.
The A20 Pro is at the heart of the new iPhone 18 Pro models. It is based on a 2nm process and features a six-core CPU with two performance cores and four efficiency cores. Apple says the performance cores are up to 20% faster than before. The GPU is also up to 40% faster, while the Neural Engine delivers up to twice the performance of the previous generation.
Apple has added a second neural engine to the A20 Pro, bringing the total to 32 cores. This is designed to improve on-device AI performance and allow more Apple Intelligence features to run directly on the iPhone.
Apple has also improved heat management. The A20 Pro is connected directly to a larger vapor chamber, which has three times the surface area compared to the iPhone 17 Pro. Apple says this allows the iPhone 18 Pro to deliver up to 40% better sustained performance.
The new hardware also powers Apple’s latest Siri AI features. Apple says its foundation models run on-device to make Siri more personal and capable. The company says Siri handles around 2.5 billion requests every day.
The iPhone 18 Pro also supports features such as Expressive Voices and improved dictation. Apple has added more AI-powered editing capabilities, along with generative AI features powered by Image Playground. The camera app also gets AI features, including Siri integration and Smart Focus Tracking, which uses an on-device AI model to track subjects.
The camera system gets one of the more interesting upgrades this year. The iPhone 18 Pro series features a 48-megapixel variable aperture camera. The aperture can automatically adjust depending on the environment, allowing the camera to control how much light enters the lens.
Apple has also added Pro Controls, giving users more control over the camera experience. Users can manually adjust settings such as white balance, aperture and shutter speed. These controls also work while recording videos.
The camera can record 4K Dolby Vision and 4K HDR time-lapse videos. Apple is also upgrading Photographic Styles with additional controls for texture and gain. A new Reference Image feature is designed to help users get a more consistent look in their photos.
Battery life has also improved on the new Pro models. Apple claims the iPhone 18 Pro can offer up to 36 hours of battery life, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max can reach up to 45 hours.
The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at $1,299. Pre-orders will open on September 12, with both phones going on sale starting September 18.
The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max therefore bring upgrades across several areas. The A20 Pro focuses on performance and on-device AI, the larger vapor chamber should help maintain performance for longer, and the new variable aperture camera gives users more control over photography and video.
Apple has also made AI a bigger part of the camera and overall iPhone experience. While the foldable iPhone Ultra may be the biggest new addition to the iPhone lineup this year, the iPhone 18 Pro series still gets some meaningful hardware and camera upgrades.
