Apple iPhone 18 Pro & iPhone 18 Pro Max review

The question has never been whether or not the iPhone is good, but whether it’s good enough to be worth the pricey premium. 

Some years, that question is easier to answer. Sometimes, it’s the opposite. The new iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro might be light on changes, but the foundation they inherit from last year’s iPhone 17 Pro still puts them in a fairly competitive place when it comes to premium smartphones. 

At the same time though, this year has seen more than a few major handset manufacturers hike their prices in response to broader economic trends and the ongoing components crisis. Apple is no exception, with the cheapest iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models creeping upwards by $100 or so while the more expensive models reach higher still. 

With the absence of the standard models from this year’s iPhone lineup, the higher RRP here is even harder to ignore. Still, if you’re already over the line when it comes to spending this much on a new smartphone, the case for the iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone 18 Pro Max is very easy to make. 

These are still Apple’s best iPhones yet, though that usual sparkle is dulled by the higher price and the presence of the new and shinier iPhone Duo this time around. 

While the iPhone 18 Pro is technically the cheapest option on the menu this year, it's got all the bells and whistles you'd expect from a premium device. Compared to last year's iPhone 17 Pro, it's built around a 6.3-inch LTPO OLED screen and – all told – it’s more evolution than revolution.

As usual, the main difference between the iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone 18 Pro Max is the size. The latter weighs in with a 6.9-inch LTPO OLED screen, so it’s going to be a better fit for those with larger hands or larger appetites when it comes to content consumption. 

As with iPhone Pro’s past, the Super Retina XDR panels found on both the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are bright, colorful and easy to work with. Aside from the smaller Dynamic Island, the exterior design on both devices is very much in line with last year's iPhone 17 Pro. There's Ceramic Shield 2 on the front, the standard action and camera control buttons on the sides, and then some more Ceramic Shield glass on the back. As usual, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are also IP68 rated for water and dust resistance. 

While the overall form-factor is slightly heavier and thicker than last year’s iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, two out of the three big design advantages that this year's Pro grade iPhone offer aren’t visible from outside. On the inside, both the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max come with a slightly larger battery and a new vapor chamber. Then, on the back of the devices, the 48MP main camera has been sidegraded for a new setup that features a sensor with the same number of megapixels but can now toggle between different apertures to suit the situation.

In practice, I was pretty satisfied with what the iPhone 18 Pro’s camera could offer in terms of daylight situations. Its low-light performance was similarly accomplished. Similar to its competition, it does a great job of doing the work and making it more difficult to take bad photos while also surfacing a lot of the tools that more advanced users can use to get even more out of the hardware here. 

The variable aperture isn’t a game changer, but it does add an extra level of versatility that helps this iPhone justify its otherwise-exorbitant price. If you’re buying an iPhone, chances are the camera is a big part of the reason why and so it’s good to see Apple push that specific envelope a little further this time around. 

To see what the camera on the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max can do fresh out of the box, check out the image gallery below.

While the vapour chamber inside the new iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max does prime Apple’s latest to deliver a 40% increase in sustained performance when compared to its predecessors, the reality is that there isn’t that much to really say about the new A20 Pro processor otherwise. 

When it comes to multitasking and more graphically-intensive experiences like Destiny: Rising, the iPhone 18 Pro delivered best in class results. The gulf in gaming performance between the hardware here and what the Android-powered competition can do is notable, but it’s not new. Apple has held onto their lead, but that spec bump doesn’t feel like all that much of an upgrade. 

Meanwhile, when it comes to the software side of things, the iPhone 18 Pro also comes with the new Siri AI assistant, Pro Camera controls and a Dynamic Island that supports more activations at once. These are all nice to have. However, I can’t necessarily say that any of them were necessarily transformative. 

Siri AI is still in beta, so that’s more of a promise than a perk at this point. The minor enhancements made to the Dynamic Island are more tangible, but easy to overlook because of how hands-off the feature is by design. The Pro Camera controls fall in the opposite direction. They are useful if you’re looking to get the most out of the impressive optics found on the back of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. However, they’re buried behind just enough menu friction that I am skeptical that this feature will get much play from those outside the smartphone photography enthusiast niche.

Fortunately, for all this tinkering around the edges, the battery life offered by the iPhone 18 Pro provides much more meaningful reminders of just what you’re paying the premium for. 

According to Apple, the iPhone 18 Pro can deliver around 34 hours of continuous video playback while its big brother ups the ante to 43 hours. In practice, I had no issues making it through two days of typical usage on a single charge. 

It’s not uncommon for a high-end Android device to offer the same sort of longevity as what the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max bring to the table. However, those devices come with various compromises and fall short when it comes to Apple’s offering when it comes to things like performance and camera hardware. 

Put another way, it’s not impossible to find something with comparable battery life, performance, and camera quality. Finding something that offers a best in class experience across all three fronts though, is much easier said than done though. Unless iOS itself is the dealbreaker, then you’re probably better off just paying the premium attached to Apple’s latest pro-grade smartphone and its sibling.