Technology and Science25 September, 20262 min read
iPhone 18 Pro Review Highlights New Chip, Better Battery Life, Improved Thermals
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Crazy-fast performance with notably better cooling than previous generation. Pro camera remains top-tier among 2026 smartphones.
A20 Pro and cooling
The iPhone 18 Pro keeps a function-over-form design while shifting the most important changes under the hood, including a new chip, better battery life, and much-improved thermals. The phone is described as "absurdly fast, full-featured" and the improved thermals give it better sustained performance and make it cooler to the touch. The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 and the iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at $1,299, and the 2nm A20 Pro chip sits attached to a larger vapor chamber for better heat dissipation.
The iPhone 18 Pro includes a main camera with a new variable aperture and a smaller Dynamic Island, and the phone also delivers "more battery life than ever before." The review spent about a week with a 512 GB iPhone 18 Pro in Glacier and a 512 GB iPhone 18 Pro Max in Burgundy, using both at home in London and on a trip to Maui.
Durability and cases
A review by Mahmoud Aytani for Macworld evaluated durability after using an iPhone 17 Pro Max without any protective case from day one for a year. The review concluded that the conclusions were also applicable to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max because both generations use similar aluminum frames and Ceramic Shield glass. The review used both phones without a case and that neither has a mark on it, while it said the aluminum unibody is slightly less forgiving and that the iPhone 18 Pro uses the same material as the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
The review said the iPhone 17 Pro Max, which will be released in September 2025, would undergo significant changes internally and externally, including a second-generation Ceramic Shield, increased battery capacity, and an improved cooling system. The review said the iPhone 18 Pro Max screen may be the most durable component ever, and it said the camera control button has some cracks along its edge.
Display specs and pricing
The iPhone 18 Pro display is a 6.3-inch OLED panel at 2,622 x 1,206 resolution, while the Pro Max has a 6.9-inch panel at 2,868 x 1,320 resolution. Both displays run at 460 pixels per inch with ProMotion up to 120 Hz, always-on mode, and up to 3,000 nits of peak brightness outdoors. The iPhone 18 Pro is built around the A20 Pro, which is described as Apple’s first chip built on a 2nm process, and the A20 Pro system uses a new packaging technique that puts the RAM off to the side of the chip for better cooling.
The A20 Pro’s vapor chamber is "also for better cooling" and the GPU is 7 cores, up for 6 in the A19 Pro. Apple sells both the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max in Black, Silver, Glacier, and Burgundy, and it said Burgundy is its favorite of the four.