Apple's new iPhone 18 Pro features a variable aperture and a huge battery life upgrade

Published Sep 9, 2026, 1:12 PM EDT Patrick O'Rourke is XDA's News Editor and Entertainment Segment Lead. Previously, he was Pocket-lint's Editor-in-Chief, the Editor-in-Chief of Canadian tech publication MobileSyrup, and earlier in his career, he worked as the technology editor at the Financial Post and Postmedia. He's based in Toronto. Over the past 15 years, he's written thousands of articles. Patrick has also interviewed dozens of tech industry executives and covered GDC, E3, Gamescom, WWDC, Apple keynotes, Samsung Unpacked events and more. Patrick has a BA in journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University. Summary The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max feature Apple's A20 Pro (2nm) chip, which is faster, more efficient, and offers the biggest iPhone battery increase yet. The phone's 48-megapixel main camera features a variable aperture for DSLR-like depth control and improved low-light shots. The overall design is largely unchanged from the iPhone 17 Pro, though there is a smaller Dynamic Island and new colors. At Apple's annual fall hardware keynote, the tech giant showcased the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, the latest versions of its flagship smartphone. While there are notable new features this year, none of them feel as substantial as the iPhone 17 Pro series' design refresh. The new phone is available in Deep Black, Silver, Glacier, and Burgundy, along with color-matched rear glass. Both phones also feature Apple's new A20 Pro chip built on 2nm technology, which the tech giant says is highly power-efficient and offers the biggest battery increase ever for an iPhone. Apple says the A20 Pro features a 6-core CPU with "desktop-class" super cores and 4 efficiency cores. Its GPU features a 7-core design with a "40 percent" jump in performance. Apple says the iPhone 18 Pro features a "next-generation vapor chamber," so in theory, it should run cooler than the iPhone 17 Pro when it's under heavy load. The Dynamic Island is smaller now, too, and can show three different Live Activities, making it far more useful. The iPhone 18 Pro includes several DSLR-like photography features The new variable aperture aims to give you more control over your photos Credit: Apple On the camera front, there's a lot to unpack. The phone features a 48-megapixel main camera with a variable aperture that works a lot like a DSLR. In dark environments, you can open up the aperture to allow in more light. This gives users more control over depth of field and blur, improving night photo performance. It will be interesting to see how much of a difference this physical aperture really makes. Additionally, you can now change the texture and grain of Photographic Styles, adding even more customization to the pro-focused camera feature. Both the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max share overall designs that are very similar to 2025's iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, including an aluminum body and a sprawling camera bar Apple calls the "plateau." With this in mind, if you were hoping this year's iPhone 18 Pro would feature a notable visual refresh, this likely isn't the device for you. Credit: Apple This is Apple's first event led by the tech giant's new CEO, John Ternus, who replaced Tim Cook on September 1st. The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will be available for pre-order on Friday, September 11th, and release on September 18th. The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,200, a $100 increase over the iPhone 17 Pro, while the iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,300. During its keynote, Apple revealed its $129 AirPods 5 with improved ANC, more "natural" sounding Transparency Mode, and better durability. Apple also showed off the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 that feature a new Health Sensing system and S11 chip.