Apple has unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, its new flagship smartphones, with the main upgrade being a camera featuring a physically adjustable aperture. The company also boosted device performance, extended battery life, and introduced new AI-powered Siri capabilities.

The presentation took place on September 9 at Apple’s fall event, “Surprise and Shine.” Sales of the new models will begin on September 18, while preorders open on September 12. The starting price of the iPhone 18 Pro will be $1,199, and the iPhone 18 Pro Max will start at $1,299. That is $100 more than last year’s models.

The camera is the biggest upgrade

Externally, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max retain the design of the previous generation, but Apple has significantly redesigned the main camera. It now features a 48-megapixel Fusion sensor with a physically adjustable aperture.

The aperture consists of six thin blades that allow the amount of light reaching the sensor to be adjusted. This gives users more control over depth of field and low-light shooting. Apple notes that the mechanism uses laser-cut components thinner than a human hair.

The camera software now includes new professional settings. Users will be able to manually control white balance, shutter speed, and aperture, as well as use a histogram to evaluate exposure. In addition, Apple has added new photographic styles with the ability to adjust image texture and grain.

Another update concerns video. The new Pro models will be able to record 4K video in Dolby HDR Vision format, and cinematic effects can be applied after shooting.

Apple also introduced the Apple Reference Image feature. It adds signed data to a photo, making it possible to verify exactly what was captured in the image.

A20 Pro and a new cooling system

Both smartphones run on the new Apple A20 Pro chip. The company says it was designed with artificial intelligence tasks in mind, including the new Siri capabilities that will arrive with iOS 27.

To improve performance, Apple also completely redesigned the cooling system. The iPhone 18 Pro uses a new vapor chamber, which should dissipate heat more efficiently and help the devices maintain high performance for longer.

According to Apple, the capabilities of the new model significantly surpass those of GPT-6 Astra, the company’s most advanced AI model at the time of the presentation.

More battery life

Apple says the iPhone 18 Pro can provide up to 36 hours of video playback, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max offers up to 45 hours. For the Pro Max, the company describes this as the biggest battery life increase in iPhone history.

At the same time, the presentation materials separately list battery life on a single charge: up to 24 hours for the iPhone 18 Pro and up to 30 hours for the Pro Max. Apple also promises that the iPhone 18 Pro will be able to charge up to 50% in 15 minutes, and that five minutes of charging will be enough for another six hours of video playback.

Siri will gain contextual understanding of the screen

One of the main software innovations is the new Siri with contextual understanding of on-screen content. Apple presented it as part of the evolution of Apple Intelligence and iOS 27.

At launch, the new Siri will support English in beta. In October, the company plans to add French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Alongside iOS 27, the iPhone Handoff feature will also debut. It will allow users to use two iPhones with one eSIM and switch between them.

A new color and a smaller Dynamic Island

The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max will be available in four colors: black, silver, burgundy, and light blue, which Apple calls Glacier.

The company has also brought back a rich black color that, according to Apple, users of the previous generation had been missing.

Another change affects Dynamic Island, the interactive area at the top of the screen. In the new models, it has become smaller while also gaining additional functionality: it can now display three active activities at once instead of two.

Price and release date

The iPhone 18 Pro will start at $1,199, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max will start at $1,299. Preorders will begin on September 12, and official sales will start on September 18.