Apple has unveiled its latest-generation flagship iPhone models with improved thermal performance, major leaps in battery life and introduced variable aperture to the iPhone camera

Announced during the September 'Surprise and shine' event, iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max retain last years' aluminium unibody redesign, with refinements to the colour of the back glass panel to better match the aluminium finish.

This is one of the only external changes to the device, besides the new colours; Burgundy, Glacier, Silver and Black.

Colours

Burgundy seems to be the flagship colour of the year, appearing prominently in all marketing material and CEO John Ternus even wore a colour-matching top and watch band during the event.

The other new colour, Glacier, is a light icy blue as the name suggests, and seems to be the aluminium rebirth of the Sierra Blue finish that was used on the stainless steel iPhone 13 Pro.

Silver has received some refinements, with a colour-matched back glass panel that is no longer simply white, and Black is back after a one-year hiatus, to popular demand.

What's actually new?

With the same external design and the same version of iOS 27 as other iPhones, what is actually new with this device? It appears to be a lot more than what meets the eye.

Dynamic Island

The Dynamic Island on iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max is smaller as the Face ID sensor has been moved under the display to the top left corner.

This change has allowed for the Dynamic Island to show three live activities at once, whilst every other iPhone with Dynamic Island can only support up to two.

This means you can view the status of your timer, view the music currently playing and see your live workout status all at once in the island.

Variable Aperture

Apple has introduced a mechanical addition to the iPhones camera, Variable Aperture.

This is a feature which physically adjusts the amount of light let into the camera lens by reducing or increasing the size with little blades. This allows for better low-light shots and on the other hand, better shots under brighter lighting conditions.

This can be controlled manually, but adjusts automatically depending on conditions by default.

Battery Improvements

Apple has made major improvements to the battery life of its iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models.

The smaller iPhone 18 Pro model has similar battery life to last year’s iPhone 17 Pro Max, and the larger iPhone 18 Pro Max model has been advertised with up to 45 hours of video playback. Of course, real-world use will not reach as high numbers.

The devices are also fast-charge capable, reaching up to 50% in just 15 minutes.

A20 Pro

The latest A-Series Apple Silicon chip, A20 Pro, is here.

The chip has a 6-core CPU and 7-core GPU. That's the same amount of GPU cores as the base-model M1 MacBook Air from 2020.

Additionally, the A20 Pro has a dual neural engine, doubling cores up from 16 to 32 for AI performance. This means the neural engine in iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max has more cores than the M5 Max chip in the Mac Studio.

Pricing

These new features come at a cost. Both models have received £100 price hikes.

iPhone 18 Pro

  • 256GB, £1,199
  • 512GB, £1,299
  • 1TB, £1,799
  • 2TB, £2,399

iPhone 18 Pro Max

  • 256GB, £1,299
  • 512GB, £1,499
  • 1TB, £1,899
  • 2TB, £2,499

Price Comparison

In 2024, the iPhone 16 Pro started at £999, though it had 128GB of storage. In 2025, the iPhone 17 Pro started at £1,099, with 256GB of storage.

That makes entry to the Pro iPhone lineup £200 higher than two years ago, and £100 higher when compared to last September.

The gap between every other iPhone model remains the same, as Apple hiked older iPhone prices by £100 each following the event.

The full lineup now looks like:

  • iPhone Duo - from £1,999
  • iPhone 18 Pro Max - from £1,299
  • iPhone 18 Pro - from £1,199
  • iPhone Air - from £1,099
  • iPhone 17 - from £899
  • iPhone 16 - from £799
  • iPhone 17e - from £699

Pre-Orders

Pre-orders open on Saturday, 12th September at 1PM BST. This is likely happening on the weekend due to the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on Friday.

iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will then be available in stores and to customers a week later, on Friday 18th September.