The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max were announced along with the iPhone Duo at Apple’s fall 2026 event. I haven’t tested the 18 Pro or 18 Pro Max, so the next few weeks will include a lot of testing. But my first impressions of the device are quite positive – although that may be due to my frequent use of the iPhone 17 Pro Max over the past year.
Burgundy
First, let’s talk about flowers. Previous rumors had us seeing a dark, cherry-like purple color, but the Burgundy we ended up with is very nice. It’s muted compared to last year’s Cosmic Orange, but elegant and reminiscent of red wine on a nice day. And instead of a two-tone design like the 17 Pro series, Apple combines the color of the glass back and aluminum, offering a more consistent design. I think this will appeal to a lot more people than the two-tone design. I can’t decide which I like better, but if you present the 18 Pro Burgundy in a two-tone color like the Cosmic Orange 17 Pro, I think it cheapens the look. The Black model is also surprisingly good, and even the Glacier model looks amazing, but the burgundy is in its place – at least for me.
The iPhone 18 Pro also has a Ceramic Shield back and Ceramic Shield 2 bezel, so it should be able to withstand some damage. The 17 Pro has the same protection, I literally drop this phone all the time and the screen is fine, although it is quite frayed around the edges. The 18 Pro is also a little heavier than the 17 Pro, but I didn’t notice a difference.
Another design element I liked about the iPhone 18 Pro was the updated Dynamic Island, which is even smaller than the iPhone 17 Pro and you can see up to three active actions at once. I haven’t seen this in action, but I like that the 17 Pro gives you two live action, and three is better than two.
But that’s pretty much my entire experience with the 18 Pro. I was shown demos of Apple Intelligence in Photos, such as the ability to expand and reframe images, but it’s not exclusive to the iPhone 18 Pro and you’ll be able to use it with any iOS 27 smartphone next week when the OS update arrives on September 14th.
Variable aperture
What I’m most excited about about the iPhone 18 Pro is the variable aperture, which automatically switches between f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8 and f/4.0 apertures depending on the scene.
It’s pretty cool; Apple wasn’t the first to introduce variable aperture into smartphones. The Galaxy S10 had one too, but it could only switch between f/1.5 aperture and f/2.4 aperture, while the 18 Pro has twice as many options. Honestly, it’s very cool and you can see the aperture change in real time. However, capturing this on video in the practical area was almost impossible.
A variable aperture like this is clutch and can really make a difference in how your photos turn out. This will affect group photos or any images where you really want to control the depth of field. A large aperture, such as f/1.48 or f/1.8, can create bokeh and highlight the person in the foreground. A smaller aperture like f/4.0 allows you to keep more of the entire scene in focus, so you can get perfectly sharp photos even if they’re in the background.
The larger aperture can also capture more light, which helps in dark environments, and Apple says the iPhone 18 Pro can capture 50 percent more light than the 17 Pro. The ability to automatically change the main camera on the fly is impressive and I’m excited to test it out and see how well it can work.
However, that’s not all that’s interesting about the 18 Pro series camera, as Apple has now added Pro controls to the camera. Nowadays, I generally avoid the Pro camera features. However, I definitely need to try this because now you can control the shutter speed, white balance and see the histogram before you even take the photo. This is very cool and I want to try it myself. This can help a lot with motion blur, detail in a photo, and even lighting. It’s worth noting that the Pro controls aren’t exclusive to Apple, and the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is another option if you’re looking for Android with Pro camera controls.
Powerful and full battery
iPhone 18 Pro is powered by the A20 Pro processor, the company’s latest and most powerful processor. In terms of battery, the iPhone 18 Pro Max offers up to 6 hours more video playback than the iPhone 17 Pro Max. The 18 Pro Max also has a 20 percent faster processor and 40 percent faster GPU, which should help with AI, gaming, processing speed, and more.
Essentially, you should have the best experience. The 18 Pro shouldn’t get too hot during use; it needs to be faster, the AI experience needs to be faster, and gaming needs to be top-notch while still maintaining great battery life.
Apple usually delivers on battery performance, so I have a lot of faith in what the company says, but I still need to test the phone before coming to any final conclusions.
Contender for GOAT
With variable aperture, professional camera controls, a larger battery, a better processor, and a beautiful burgundy finish, the 18 Pro is worth a look.
The 18 Pro starts at $1,749 CAD and the Pro Max at $1,899 and will release on September 18th.
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