iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max hands-on: Sneaky awesome upgrades, but worth the price hike?
The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max boast a variable aperture camera, powerful A20 Pro chip and extra-long battery life. Here's the pros and cons based on my first impressions.
The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max boast several upgrades, despite their $100 price increase. The main camera features a variable aperture for the first time, and new pro controls allow users to adjust settings like aperture and shutter speed. Other improvements include a faster A20 Pro chip, better cooling, and extended battery life.
The camera setup uses six laser-cut blades for variable aperture control, and users can manually change aperture settings from four ranges for optimal photos. The A20 Pro chip, Apple's first 2nm chip in a phone, promises a 20% faster CPU and a 40% faster GPU. The larger vapor chamber cooling system should deliver up to 40% better sustained performance.
The iPhone 18 Pro Max offers even longer battery life, rated for 45 hours of video playback compared to the iPhone 17 Pro Max's 39 hours. Charging times have also improved with a 50% charge achievable in just 15 minutes with a 60W charger. While Siri AI has been improved, it still lacks a live conversation feature similar to Gemini Live or ChatGPT Voice mode. Some drawbacks include the higher price and a heavier design compared to previous models.
Written by urgent.news from Tom's Guide's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
