Apple launches iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max: Brings upgraded performance, camera, and more

Apple finally launched the new generation of iPhones at the “Surprise and Shine” event, bringing new models: the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. With these new models, Apple brings meaningful upgrades across camera, performance, software, and AI, offering a more powerful and intelligent iPhone experience.

This year, Apple has brought a significant upgrade to the iPhone 18 Pro camera with a variable aperture that gives users control to adjust the amount of light that passes through the camera's lens. In addition, smartphones get performance boosts with the new A20 Pro processor, bringing refinements across camera processing, gaming, multitasking, AI processing and overall system performance. Know what Apple’s new iPhone 18 Pro models look like and what it offers.

iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max: Specifications and features

Design and display: The iPhone 18 Pro series has a similar design to its predecessor, but with new and refined colour options that include Black, Silver, Glacier, and Burgundy. It also gets a smaller and upgraded Dynamic Island that can now show three live activities.

The new iPhone models retain a similar screen size of 6.3 inches for the iPhone 18 Pro and 6.9 inches for the iPhone 18 Pro Max.

Performance and battery: The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are powered by Apple's newest silicon, the A20 Pro chip, built using the new 2-nanometer manufacturing process. It consists of a 6-core CPU with 4 efficiency cores, which is claimed to deliver a 20% improvement, and a 7-core GPU with 40% performance gains. Apple said that the A20 Pro is "the ultimate chip for running advanced on-device models," and it ships with "the widest memory interface we've ever shipped in an iPhone.

It also comes with a next-generation vapour chamber that has three times the surface area. It also consists of an added copper layer for heat, which is said to bring a 40% sustained performance improvement.

Battery life also gets a boost, with the iPhone 18 Pro offering up to 24 hours and the Pro Max stretching that up to 30 hours. Wired charging is faster as well, taking the phones to 50% in about 15 minutes. Even a quick five-minute top-up can offer up to six hours of video playback.

Camera: The iPhone 18 Pro series features a new 48MP fusion main camera with variable aperture for creative and light control. Apple says, “To create variable aperture, we developed a system of six laser-cut blades, each thinner than a human hair. The blades are made of a specialised polymer composite for the right balance of mass, flexibility and durability."

“When you're in a darker environment, the aperture opens to let in around 50% more light, like in this portrait with impressive detail and colour range,” it added. Apple also introduced a new camera feature called “Pro Controls,” which lets users adjust white balance, aperture and shutter speed.

Software: The iPhone 18 Pro models will run on iOS 27, bringing major upgrades to Apple Intelligence and Siri. The company will roll out Siri AI in beta, bringing features like personal context understanding, cross-app actions, and more. Furthermore, the update brings a set of improvements, making the iPhone more responsive, reliable, and easy to use. Apple is also making it easier to switch between iPhones with iOS 27. The new iPhone Handoff feature allows users on supported carriers to move between two iPhone models while using the same phone number.

iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max price and availability in India 

The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1199 and Rs 1,64,900 for the 256GB variant, and the iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at $1299 and Rs 179900. The sale of the new iPhone starts on September 18, 2026, globally, and pre-order starts on September 12.

This is a developing story.