Longer battery life, better screen, upgraded Siri and new variable aperture camera in refreshed design from last year’s model
Apple’s smaller Pro iPhone gets the best kind of spec bump for 2026: longer battery life, faster chips and a fancy new variable aperture for the main camera.
The iPhone 18 Pro is one of a pair of slab phones launched alongside Apple’s first folding phone, the iPhone Duo, and is the cheapest of the new phones, with a regular iPhone 18 yet to be announced.
It isn’t exactly low cost, priced from £1,199 (€1,449/$1,199/A$2,099), with a £100 or equivalent rise over previous models courtesy of RAMageddon.
Having fully revamped the design of the body for the iPhone 17 Pro, the new model is a modest refinement. It is 7g heavier and the back glass now matches the colour of the aluminium body, which is available in a handful of new shades.
The dynamic island at the top of the screen can now show three live activities at once, such as music playback, a timer and maps navigation. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
Apple has shrunk the amount of the screen taken up by the Face ID camera, allowing the dynamic island to show three continuing tasks, up from two on previous devices. It also now shows the 3/4/5G indicator next to the signal level when playing music, which is a most appreciated feature for public transport commuters sorely missed on previous models.
Otherwise, the 6.3in screen is one of the very best on a phone: super bright, crisp and smooth, while being big enough without making the phone enormous. An anti-glare coating makes it much easier to see outside, too.
Specifications
- Screen: 6.3in Super Retina XDR (120Hz OLED) (460ppi)
- Processor: Apple A20 Pro
- RAM: 12GB
- Storage: 256GB, 512GB or 1TB
- Operating system: iOS 27
- Camera: 48MP + 48MP UW + 48MP 4x, 18MP front-facing
- Connectivity: 5G, wifi 7, NFC, Bluetooth 6, Thread, USB-C, Satellite, UWB and GNSS
- Water resistance: IP68 (6 metres for 30 mins)
- Dimensions: 150 x 71.9 x 8.75mm
- Weight: 211g
Faster chip and longer battery life
A full charge takes 59 minutes, hitting 80% in 33 minutes, using a 60W or greater USB-C adaptor. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
The 18 Pro has Apple’s new A20 Pro chip, which is about 27% faster than the A19 Pro in last year’s model, with about 45% faster graphics performance. Since the A19 Pro was no slouch, that’s quite the leap and puts it miles ahead of the competition, ready to handle anything.
The phone has a redesigned cooling system for longer peak performance, too, which is especially useful for running games on top settings.
The battery lasts a solid six hours longer than the iPhone 17 Pro, managing to stretch to about two days between charges with more than six hours of active screen use across apps, browsing, messaging and photos. Even with the heaviest of use while out and about, the 18 Pro managed to end the day with 40% left in the tank. Most people will only need to charge it every other day.
iOS 27 with new Siri
The new iOS 27 is familiar but faster and debuts Apple’s attempt to catch up to the competition on AI. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
The 18 Pro ships running iOS 27, which was released for the rest of the iPhone line on 14 September. It refines the relatively controversial Liquid Glass redesign from last year and speeds up the system, including app launches. But the big new addition is Apple’s revamped Siri, backed by Google’s AI technologies.
Siri AI, as the new system is called, is significantly more capable of understanding and answering questions than previous iterations. It is a chatbot like most other AI assistants, but it is less chatty and sycophantic than others, being more likely to just get the job done. As well as a choice of voices, there are sliders to control how fast it talks and how expressive its responses are. It has its own app where you can review previous interactions, but it is accessible anywhere on the phone via the side button, is built into Spotlight search and can see what’s on your screen, including when using the camera.
It can also offer suggestions, such as adding an event to your calendar from the messages or mail apps, and attempts to display relevant information from your emails in the phone app when you call a business. But Siri can only do so if you use Apple’s apps, so if you use WhatsApp for texting and Gmail for your email, none of it works.
Sustainability
The battery will last more than 1,000 full-charge cycles with at least 80% of its original capacity and can be replaced for £119. Out-of-warranty screen repairs cost £349. The specialists iFixit awarded the phone a seven out of 10 for repairability.
It contains more than 40% recycled material. The company breaks down the phone’s environmental impact in its report. Apple offers trade-in and free recycling schemes, including for non-Apple products.
Camera
The camera app has new customisable shortcuts to your most used tools and settings, as well as aperture, shutter speed and exposure controls. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
The 18 Pro has a similar camera system to last year’s 17 Pro with one big addition, a variable aperture for the main camera.
skip past newsletter promotion
