Apple iPhone 18 Pro

What reviewers agree on

• +Camera · praised by 4 of 5 sources
  Which sources said this

  • ZDNET — mixed: Variable aperture and Pro controls allow more creative shots, but image quality in dim light is about the same as the iPhone 17 Pro and there is still a noticeable flare when shooting into the sun.
  • Engadget — positive: Variable aperture (f/1.48 to f/4.0) paired with manual shutter speed control; the most capable camera in an iPhone, though portraits and night shots still trail Google's Pixel.
  • GSMArena — positive: Solid photo quality across the board and great video capture, with the main lens running from f/1.5 to f/4.0; their one camera criticism is that the hardware barely changed from last year.
  • The Irish Times — positive: The physically adjustable aperture allows better depth of field and improved low light, and manual control will please photography fans.
  • Tom's Guide — positive: Variable aperture from f/1.48 to f/4.0 takes brighter images and adds creative control; at 40x zoom it falls behind the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

• +Battery life · praised by 5 of 5 sources
  Which sources said this

  • ZDNET — positive: Long battery life even on the 6.3-inch model, matching what the iPhone 17 Pro Max delivered last year.
  • Engadget — positive: About a day and a half to two days of use, matching what she gets from an iPhone 17 Pro Max.
  • GSMArena — positive: Battery life is the best the site has seen from a regular Pro model, and charging is a little faster.
  • The Irish Times — positive: Apple improved battery life by a few hours and improved how the phone handles heat.
  • Tom's Guide — positive: 16 h 17 min in the 5G web-surfing test for the 18 Pro and 18 h 27 min for the Pro Max; Apple rates 36 and 45 hours of video playback.

• +Performance · praised by 5 of 5 sources
  Which sources said this

  • ZDNET — positive: The A20 Pro and the larger vapour chamber make the phone very reliable: two-nanometre architecture with 50% more memory bandwidth than the A19.
  • Engadget — positive: Kept up with rapid video recording, photo edits, Genmoji and long gaming sessions; it ran hot once and dissipated the heat within a minute.
  • GSMArena — positive: Calls the new chipset's performance perhaps the biggest surprise of the year, a true generational upgrade.
  • The Irish Times — positive: The A20 chip, built on 2nm with a seven-core GPU and dual neural engine, works faster and more efficiently, though not enough to justify leaving an iPhone 17 Pro.
  • Tom's Guide — positive: Calls the A20 Pro the fastest chip it has tested in a phone, with Geekbench 6 single-core results in the 4,700 range.

Common criticisms

• −Software · criticized by 3 of 5 sources
  Which sources said this

  • Engadget — negative: Siri AI was still in beta and answered inconsistently during the review period.
  • GSMArena — negative: European users are not getting Siri AI for now, if ever.
  • The Irish Times — negative: In the EU the smarter Siri is not available while Apple negotiates with regulators, leaving a still-irritating assistant.
  • Tom's Guide — positive: Lists Siri AI as an improvement, while noting it is not yet ahead of Gemini or ChatGPT.

• −Value · criticized by 5 of 5 sources
  Which sources said this

  • ZDNET — negative: The $100 price increase across the lineup is not ideal for anyone.
  • Engadget — negative: Starts at $1,199, $100 more than the iPhone 17 Pro did; she does not believe buyers get more phone for the money.
  • GSMArena — negative: More expensive than its predecessor at $1,200 in the US and $1,450 in Europe, and "certainly not the best deal out there".
  • The Irish Times — negative: The changes are incremental, so an upgrade from an iPhone 16 Pro or 17 Pro is not warranted; it is a good upgrade from an iPhone 15 Pro or earlier.
  • Tom's Guide — negative: Lists the $100 price rise as a con on both models.