Apple iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max: A20 Pro chip, variable aperture camera, and the biggest price jump in years
Apple has officially unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, its flagship smartphones for 2026 — and the price tag is the headline as much as the hardware. The base 256GB iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199, a $100 jump over last year, driven by memory costs that have reportedly surged from $13 to $51 per unit, per MyMobiles. UK buyers can expect an estimated £1,299–£1,399 for the Pro, with no official pricing confirmed yet.
The chip
The A20 Pro is built on a 2nm process — currently the most advanced available in mass production. It pairs a 6-core CPU with a 7-core GPU that delivers 40% better graphics performance, plus a 32-core Neural Engine that doubles AI processing throughput versus the A19 Pro. That last point matters because Apple Intelligence and Siri are leaning harder on on-device AI with every iOS release.
Thermal management gets a major overhaul too. The vapor chamber is three times larger than in the iPhone 17 Pro, which Apple says lets the 18 Pro sustain peak performance 40% longer — a real-world improvement for gaming sessions and AI workloads that push the chip hard.
The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max in all four launch colors: black, glacier, blue, and the new burgundy.
The camera
Variable aperture on the main 48MP Fusion camera is the standout camera upgrade, and it's available on both Pro models — not just the Max. A manual f-stop and shutter control system called ProControls appears in the Camera app alongside a customizable interface. Night mode is faster and sharper at wide apertures; stopping down increases depth of field for daytime shots. Photographic Styles now include texture control. A new Apple Reference Image feature embeds metadata to verify a photo's authenticity and confirm it wasn't AI-generated.
The 48MP Fusion camera with variable aperture is available on both the Pro and Pro Max.
Battery and design
Battery life takes a meaningful step forward. The iPhone 18 Pro matches the endurance of last year's Pro Max; the 18 Pro Max reaches 30 hours of video playback. Wired charging hits 50% in 15 minutes. Design changes are subtle — the Dynamic Island is reportedly 20% smaller, the camera plateau looks identical to the 17 Pro generation, and four colors are on offer: black, glacier silver, blue, and a new burgundy.
Apple's A20 Pro chip on a 2nm process, paired with a vapor chamber three times larger than the iPhone 17 Pro's.
Both phones run iOS 27.
iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max color lineup.
Pre-orders and availability
Pre-orders open Saturday, September 12. Retail availability begins Friday, September 18. US pricing starts at $1,199 (256GB Pro) and $1,299 (Pro Max). If UK prices track the historical conversion plus VAT, expect to pay significantly more than the £1,099 the iPhone 17 Pro launched at — the £1,299–£1,399 estimate looks realistic given the memory cost pressure baked into this generation.
