iPhone 18 Pro review: What has changed from the iPhone 17 Pro?

At Apple’s event last month, the new iPhone Duo stole the limelight, and the company dropped the new iPhone 18 Pro series, but without a regular iPhone 18 model. I’ve had the iPhone 18 Pro for a fortnight now, and I’ve tried to decode what changed, what hasn't and what has really improved in experience.

The phone starts at ₹1,64,990 for the 256GB model and ₹1,89,990 for the 512GB variant. The iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max seem to be the most popular in the new Burgundy colour option. However, I prefer these in Glacier, which looks nice to me and isn't a fingerprint and smudge magnet like the Burgundy and Black. There's also the safe option of Silver like last time.

The iPhone 18 Pro weighs about the same and looks as expected, like last year's 17 Pro except for the colours. The aluminium frame gets the glass edges flowing into it, while the phone itself stays a bit on the heavier side, weighing about 211 grams (slightly more than its predecessor). It features a similar button arrangement: power/lock (or side) button and camera control on the right side. The Action button and volume buttons sit on the left side. It's an IP68 dust- and water-resistant device with the a Ceramic Shield 2 on the front for added protection and a Ceramic Shield at the back.

The biggest change in the 18 Pro over its predecessor is in the camera department. Apple has added variable apertures to the 48MP main camera, counting up to 4 aperture stops. And it doesn't stop there.

With new manual options and upgraded photographic styles, you choose the best option for your scene. Apart from the main 48MP camera with those multiple variable apertures, you have the 48MP (f/2.2) ultra-wide camera, and the 48MP (f/2.8) telephoto camera sitting on that raised plateau at the back.

The low-light as well as portrait shots seem to have improved here - with better edge detection and less grainy shots outdoors at night. I liked the new photography styles when taking shots of still objects outdoors, getting to play with the light and angles a little bit. The camera app is snappy and not too complicated with the different features and options, if you're already used to iOS. The front-facing 18MP (f/1.9) is a larger 1:1 sensor with wider angles. It delivers detailed shots and doesn’t falter without optimal lighting. This includes video calls.

The 6.3-inch Super XDR (2622x1206) OLED display has up to 120Hz ProMotion refresh rates. As expected, the display is really good here. It's got good colour calibration and viewing angles, but its colour temperature is slightly cooler than the last generation of devices. One thing worth noting is the smaller Dynamic Island. Apple has moved the Face ID camera below the display, visible under bright sunlight near the left corner. The texture of the display is also a little different in that area compared to the rest of the display.

A20 Pro chip (6-core processor and 7-core GPU with Neural Engine) sits under the hood, along with 12GB of RAM. It comes in 256GB (base model), 512GB (which I tried), 1TB, and 2TB storage. It's running on iOS 27.0.1, which Apple seeded just a few days earlier. I didn't encounter the widget bug where the home screen freezes when you try to adjust a widget across home screens.

The phone has been really smooth and responsive so far. Both pre-loaded and third-party apps have been fluid to use. The only hiccup I have noticed is with Face ID, which can take a little longer than usual to unlock the device. This happened quite frequently. The device handled games like Genshin Impact at the highest settings, with smooth playback at 60 FPS.

The phone did get a bit warm after around 20-30 minutes of gaming, but it isn't anything like the 15 or 16 Pro series. According to Apple, the 18 Pro has the biggest vapour chamber cooling on an iPhone so far, including for sustained performance. It's definitely better than last year, but I think there's still room for cooling for intensive gaming. You can now customise how much of the Liquid Glass effect you prefer throughout the OS; I set it around the halfway mark. In general, the performance of the device has been mostly trouble-free in my experience. Regarding iOS changes, Siri and Apple Intelligence are a little more contextually aware now. For example, you can ask Siri to make a calendar entry based on your messages.

The iPhone 18 Pro also comes with Apple's in-house C2 modem. Network performance was satisfactory. I can't say I noticed any huge improvements in usage here. WiFi and GPS performance didn't really show any glitches either. The phone’s loudspeaker is loud with good depth for multimedia playback and indoor gaming.

The 4,056mAh battery lasted me a day, with the 45 watts charging allowing it to charge from 1 per cent to full in a little over an hour. It would be nice if Apple took it up a notch, but Samsung and even Google are not exactly doing it either.

The iPhone 18 Pro series does come across as an S series upgrade (though Apple doesn't do that anymore). There are upgrades in the battery department, the chip is more efficient with AI-related tasks, and the rear cameras are significantly better. If you have an iPhone 17 Pro, you are not missing out on much. But if you have an earlier device, or are looking for an iPhone, the iPhone 18 Pro has many options that have been covered.