Apple has officially unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, introducing major upgrades to the camera system, performance, battery life and Dynamic Island alongside the new A20 Pro chip.
The announcement confirms several of the biggest changes rumored ahead of Apple’s September event, including a smaller Dynamic Island, 2nm processor and variable-aperture camera, all of which now form part of Apple’s new Pro lineup.
At the center of the camera upgrade is a new 48MP Fusion Main camera with variable aperture. Apple has fitted the system with six blades that can adjust the aperture depending on lighting and depth of field, while users who want more control can manually select from four aperture settings.
Apple is also adding a new Pro controls interface to the Camera app, giving photographers direct access to aperture, shutter speed and white balance alongside a histogram for checking exposure. Photographic Styles gains texture and grain controls, while Cinematic effects can now be applied after recording to footage captured at up to 60fps.
A new Apple Reference Image feature is designed to help verify the authenticity of photographs. When Reference mode is used, signed sensor data is used to create an unalterable reference version that can be compared against an edited image.
The Dynamic Island has also been redesigned. The smaller area can display as many as three Live Activities simultaneously while retaining Face ID.
Inside, both models use A20 Pro, Apple’s first Pro iPhone chip produced using a 2-nanometer process. The chip combines a six-core CPU with a seven-core GPU that Apple says is up to 40 percent faster than the GPU in A19 Pro. A Dual 16-core Neural Engine provides 32 cores dedicated to AI workloads.
Apple has paired A20 Pro with a redesigned vapor chamber offering three times the surface area of the system used in iPhone 17 Pro. The company says the combination can improve sustained performance by as much as 40 percent compared with the previous generation.
Connectivity includes Apple’s N1 wireless chip with Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread, while the new C2 cellular modem promises faster uploads than C1X while consuming 15 percent less energy. C2 also supports mmWave in the United States.
Battery life receives a significant boost. Apple rates eSIM-only versions for up to 36 hours of video playback on iPhone 18 Pro and up to 45 hours on iPhone 18 Pro Max. The Pro can reach 50 percent charge in around 15 minutes using a wired connection.
Both models ship with iOS 27 and support Siri AI, which begins rolling out in beta on September 14. Apple’s new Siri can use personal context across apps and onscreen awareness, while Siri mode in Camera can answer questions about objects in front of the user.
iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are available in black, silver, glacier and a new burgundy finish, with storage choices of 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB.
Pricing starts at $1,199 for iPhone 18 Pro and $1,299 for iPhone 18 Pro Max in the United States. Pre-orders open at 5 a.m. Pacific Time on Saturday, September 12, with both models arriving in stores on Friday, September 18.