Apple Announces the iPhone 18 Pro

Apple has just announced the iPhone 18 Pro at its 'Surprise and Shine' September event.

While last year's iPhone 17 Pro Max had a new chassis, with an improved camera shelf and a new vapor chamber, the iPhone 18 Pro has largely adopted the same design. Instead, Apple seems to be focusing on upping the spec, loading the phone with the new Apple A20 Pro processor, which is built on 2nm technology and the company claims to have 40% faster gaming performance than last year's model – though we'll be putting that claim to the test. It also packs in a second neural engine to effectively double performance in AI workloads.

Apple led the announcement touting the capabilities of Siri AI, showing things like email construction, system dictation, and camera integration, letting you ask questions about stuff you see in the wild, or pulling event details from a flyer and adding them to your calendar.

Apple says the iPhone 18 Pro uses a new vapor chamber for improved thermals. The battery is expected to match the iPhone 17 Pro Max – approximately 36 hours of video playback – while the iPhone 18 Pro Max will be capable of up to 45 hours. Apple claims that 5 minutes of charging will get you 6 hours of video playback.

Apple also discussed the phone's new camera capabilities. The iPhone 18 Pro has a new 48MP main camera featuring a physical shutter, which means that you can adjust the aperture manually beyond what's capable in software effects. In particular, this should make the camera excellent for shooting in low light settings.

This might not be the most exciting followup in Apple's history, so it doesn't help that it also comes with a higher price tag. Apple is charging $1,199 for the iPhone 18 Pro to start, compared to $1,099 for the 17 Pro, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at $1,299. Apple did avoid raising prices on the 17 Pro throughout the ongoing RAM crisis so far, so it seems to have been waiting for this new model. Still, the $100 price jump is less extreme than some other devices, so it seems like Apple is absorbing some of the cost of RAM, at least for now.

Preorders start on September 12, with the phone on store shelves on September 18.