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It’s been almost a month since the iPhone 18 Pro hit the market, and the new burgundy finish is already showing up everywhere. I spotted quite a few of them while traveling last week. But if you’re still holding off on buying one, whether for the new looks or because you think the specs are worth upgrading, you might want to read what’s new one last time.
At first glance, the iPhone 18 Pro looks almost identical to its predecessor, with the new colors and a smaller Dynamic Island being the most noticeable differences. There are more changes under the hood, though, including the A20 Pro chip and a larger cooling system. The catch here is that these upgrades come with a $100 price increase. iPhone 18 Pro now starts at $1,199 in the US versus $1,099 for its predecessor.
So is paying more worth it? Here’s how the iPhone 18 Pro compares with the iPhone 17 Pro and whether the upgrades justify the higher price.
1. The camera
Let’s start with the hype for the iPhone 18 Pro. Every model from the iPhone 14 Pro through the iPhone 17 Pro used a fixed f/1.78 aperture, meaning the lens opening could not physically change. The iPhone 18 Pro introduces a 48MP Fusion Main camera with a mechanical aperture that adjusts between f/1.48 and f/4 using six laser-cut blades. It is the first iPhone with a physically adjustable aperture.
You can let the Camera app choose the aperture automatically or select from four settings yourself. Apple has also added manual controls for aperture and shutter speed, along with white balance and a histogram.
The wider f/1.48 aperture lets in about 45% more light than the previous f/1.78 lens, based on the difference in aperture area. This can help in dim environments and produce a shallower depth of field for portraits. At f/4, the smaller opening keeps more of the scene in focus, which can be useful for landscapes, group photos, and shooting in bright daylight. The iPhone 17 Pro relied on software to approximate some of these effects.
Apple has made a few other camera changes on the newer phone:
- Smart Focus tracks your subject while you shoot.
- Night mode works faster.
- Cinematic effects now support up to 60 fps.
- 4K Dolby Vision HDR time-lapse recording is available.
- Apple Reference Image saves an untouched original with verification data, allowing a photo to be verified as a real capture rather than an AI-generated image.
Apple didn’t bother to meddle with the ultrawide and front cameras, while the telephoto camera retains the 4x and 8x optical-quality zoom options introduced with the iPhone 17 Pro. Which is to say, the main camera is the sole major camera upgrade on the iPhone 18 Pro.
2. Performance
The iPhone 18 Pro runs on Apple’s A20 Pro, built on a 2nm process, compared with the 3nm A19 Pro in the iPhone 17 Pro. Both phones have 12GB of RAM, but the newer chip pairs a six-core CPU with a seven-core GPU. Apple says the GPU is up to 40% faster than the previous generation, while memory bandwidth has increased by 50%.
The A20 Pro also has two 16-core Neural Engines, which doubles the AI processing capacity of the previous chip. This extra hardware supports Apple’s next generation of on-device AI features, including the new Siri AI.
Cooling is another important part of the upgrade. The iPhone 17 Pro introduced a vapor chamber, but the iPhone 18 Pro uses a newer version attached directly to the chip, with three times the surface area of the earlier design. Apple says this improves sustained performance by up to 40%.
Benchmark scores back Apple’s claim, and this means better performance on demanding tasks, such as extended gaming sessions, 4K video exports, and intensive AI processing. These workloads can heat a phone and cause its performance to drop over time, so better cooling can help the iPhone 18 Pro maintain its speed for longer.
For everyday use, however, the difference is likely to be smaller. The A19 Pro is already powerful enough to handle current apps and games, so the A20 Pro’s biggest advantage is the extra performance headroom it provides for future software and more demanding tasks. This will be useful if you plan to keep the phone for four or five years.
3. Battery and charging
Apple says the iPhone 17 Pro can last for up to 33 hours of video playback, while the eSIM-only iPhone 18 Pro is can go up to 36 hours. The newer model also charges faster, reaching 50% in about 15 minutes compared with around 20 minutes for the iPhone 17 Pro using a 40W adapter.
There are two things to keep in mind, though. First, the 36-hour rating applies to the eSIM-only version sold in the US, Canada, Japan, Mexico and eight other markets. Buyers elsewhere should check the specifications of the version available in their region. Second, Apple’s battery figures are estimates rather than independent test results.
The iPhone 18 Pro also includes Apple’s C2 modem, which the company says consumes 15% less energy than the C1X and supports mmWave 5G in the US. Its N1 wireless chip adds Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread support.
4. Design and display
There is little difference between the two phones’ displays. Both have a 6.3-inch OLED panel with 120Hz ProMotion and up to 3,000 nits of peak brightness, along with an aluminum unibody. The iPhone 18 Pro weighs 211 grams versus 206 grams on its predecessor, while the overall dimensions are mostly the same—you can use your iPhone 17 Pro’s case, if you wish to use.
A noticeable hardware change is that the Dynamic Island is smaller on the newer model and can show up to three Live Activities at once, up from two. Also, Apple hid the Face ID camera under the screen and relocated it to the top left, and the rear glass panel now matches the color of the surrounding camera area.
The available colors show a more noticeable visual difference. The iPhone 18 Pro comes in Black, Silver, Glacier, and Burgundy. Black returns after being absent from last year’s lineup, while iPhone 17 Pro’s signature Cosmic Orange is no longer available.
Apple has also added a 2TB storage option, the first for an iPhone.
5. iOS 27 and Siri AI
The iPhone 18 Pro ships with iOS 27 and the latest generation of Apple Intelligence, including the new Siri AI. But the software alone is not a strong reason to upgrade, since iOS 27 became available as a free update on September 14, four days before the phone went on sale.
The hardware difference is in how much AI processing the phone can handle locally. The A20 Pro’s Neural Engines and higher memory bandwidth give it more capacity for on-device tasks. Apple’s May roundup of expected iPhone 18 Pro upgrades had already pointed to the camera, performance, battery, and AI as the main areas of change.
6. Price: what the extra $100 gets you
The iPhone 17 Pro launched at $1,099 for the 256GB model, while the iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 for the same storage capacity. Apple’s installment plan puts the newer model at $49.95 per month over 24 months. The price increase is smaller than some buyers expected after an IDC forecast in June suggested the price could rise by $200.
For the extra $100, you get the variable-aperture main camera, the A20 Pro chip, improved cooling, a higher battery rating, and faster charging. The display, overall design, and zoom range remain largely the same.
The iPhone 17 Pro is now a generation old, which could make it a better deal as retailers and carriers reduce its price. Check current offers before deciding, since a discount could make the price difference between the two models considerably larger than Apple’s original $100 gap.
7. Who should upgrade?
iPhone 17 Pro owners: Most can stick with their current phone. The display, size, zoom range, and everyday performance remain similar, so the camera is the main reason to upgrade. It may be worth the cost if you regularly shoot in low light or want the new aperture and manual controls. People who play demanding games or edit 4K video on their phones may also benefit from the improved cooling.
iPhone 16 Pro owners: The upgrade makes more sense because you get two generations of changes. The iPhone 17 Pro introduced an aluminum design, a vapor chamber, 48MP resolution across all three rear cameras, and 4x and 8x telephoto zoom. The iPhone 18 Pro adds the new chip, larger cooling system, adjustable main camera, and longer battery rating on top of those changes.
iPhone 15 Pro owners or anyone with an older model: The iPhone 18 Pro brings more substantial improvements in camera capabilities, performance, battery life, and storage. If your current phone is starting to feel dated, moving to the newer model could be more worthwhile than upgrading every year to get one set of changes at a time.
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