iPhone 18 Pro review: I blame Apple for my pricey taste. It won’t disappoint you either.

Apple iPhone 18 Pro

MSRP $1,199.00

“A refined formula that has only gotten better and is ready for the long haul.”

Pros

• Excellent cameras for everyday photography
• Outstanding battery life and fast charging
• Blazing-fast performance
• Bright, smooth 120Hz ProMotion display
• Premium, compact design with excellent one-handed usability

Cons

• Telephoto photos could be sharper
• 8x zoom struggles in challenging lighting
• Burgundy finish attracts fingerprints and smudges
• Occasional camera freezes under demanding conditions
• Apple’s AI needs more work

Quick Summary

After spending over a month with the iPhone 18 Pro, I can safely say that upgrading from the regular iPhone 17 was a good decision. I love how Apple has packed so much into a compact phone without compromising the overall experience. The Burgundy finish looks absolutely gorgeous, the 120Hz ProMotion display is as smooth and bright as ever, and the A20 Pro chipset handles everything I throw at it without breaking a sweat. With the familiar iOS experience and seamless integration with my MacBook, I have very little to complain about.

The cameras have been one of my favorite upgrades. I take hundreds of pictures whenever I’m out, and the iPhone 18 Pro has rarely disappointed me. Whether it’s portraits, selfies, or photos in challenging lighting, the results have been excellent most of the time. Of course, the telephoto camera could be sharper, especially at 8x zoom, but I can live with that. Battery life has been another highlight. I’ve managed up to 7 hours and 10 minutes of screen-on time, and the phone charges fully in about 45 minutes. For someone who’s constantly switching between work apps, social media, photography, and everything else, that’s a pretty sweet combination.

Now, is the iPhone 18 Pro perfect? Not quite. The Burgundy finish picks up fingerprints easily, auto-brightness still gets on my nerves, and the camera has occasionally hiccuped. But none of these issues has made me regret my purchase. In fact, the more I use this phone, the more I appreciate the little improvements over my iPhone 17. Do I absolutely need all that Pro power? Probably not, but I love having it anyway. If you want excellent cameras, dependable performance, great battery life, and a premium iPhone that doesn’t feel enormous in your hands, I’d easily recommend the iPhone 18 Pro.

iPhone 18 Pro specs: The little beast under the hood

iPhone 18 Pro design and build quality: Beauty meets my butterfingers

Coming from the iPhone 17, the iPhone 18 Pro’s overall design and in-hand feel haven’t changed much for me. I’ve always loved how premium iPhones feel, and the iPhone 18 Pro is no exception. It feels just as comfortable to hold and use every day, which is exactly what I wanted. Yes, the phone is slightly heavier than my iPhone 17, but honestly, I barely notice the difference in everyday use. What does stand out, though, is the much larger, raised camera module on the back. It’s quite different from what I’ve been used to, but I actually like the new look.

I’ve always loved how premium iPhones feel, and the iPhone 18 Pro is no exception.

This time, I went with the all-new Burgundy color, and I absolutely love how it looks. Now, as much as I love Burgundy, keeping it clean is a bit of a struggle. It picks up fingerprints, smudges, and dust pretty easily, so I find myself wiping the back more often than I’d like. But does that make me regret choosing this color? Not one bit. It looks incredibly classy, and even though the Glacier variant caught my eye, I’d still pick Burgundy any day.

In fact, if I were a little braver, I’d happily use the iPhone 18 Pro without a case because it feels that good in the hand. Unfortunately, I’m also incredibly clumsy, and my phone has already taken quite a few tumbles in less than a month. Thankfully, I’ve had a case on every time, and it’s saved my phone more times than I’d like to admit. So, as much as I’d love to show off that gorgeous Burgundy finish, I think keeping a case on is the smarter choice for someone like me.

Score: 8.5/10

iPhone 18 Pro display: Sometimes bigger really isn’t better

Moving on to the display, I honestly don’t have much to complain about. My iPhone 17 already had an excellent screen, especially since Apple finally brought its 120Hz ProMotion technology to the regular model last year. So, switching to the iPhone 18 Pro hasn’t felt like a massive upgrade in this department, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Everything still looks and feels just as smooth as I remember. And I do pretty much everything on this screen. Whether I’m gaming, endlessly scrolling through Instagram, replying to messages on WhatsApp and iMessage, or jumping between apps all day, the display has been an absolute pleasure to use.

That said, one thing still annoys me: the auto-brightness feature. I don’t particularly enjoy my screen randomly brightening or dimming when I least expect it, so I’m not a fan of leaving it enabled. Thankfully, brightness itself isn’t much of an issue. Even outdoors in direct sunlight, the screen gets bright enough that I can comfortably read messages, check notifications, or use my phone without squinting or constantly adjusting the brightness.

If I were choosing an iPhone purely for its display, I’d probably pick the iPhone 18 Pro Max without thinking twice.

Now, if I were choosing an iPhone purely for its display, I’d probably pick the iPhone 18 Pro Max without thinking twice. That massive screen is incredibly tempting, especially for watching videos. But then I remember why I love my iPhone 18 Pro so much. It’s compact, comfortable, and easy to use one-handed, and I’m not willing to give that up for a bigger screen. And that’s really what it comes down to. Whether you choose the iPhone 18 Pro or the Pro Max, you’re getting an excellent display either way. For me, the Pro strikes the right balance between screen size and everyday comfort, even if the Pro Max occasionally makes me a little jealous.

Score: 9.5/10

iPhone 18 Pro performance: More power than I need, and I love it

The iPhone 18 Pro runs on Apple’s A20 Pro chipset, and after a month of use, I can confidently say it’s an absolute beast. But here’s the funny part: I don’t think my everyday usage is particularly demanding. In fact, my partner keeps telling me I don’t even need a Pro iPhone, and honestly, I can see why. 

For starters, I’m constantly switching between WhatsApp, Slack, Teams, and iMessage to keep up with work and personal conversations. Then there’s YouTube, Instagram, X, and the occasional Reddit rabbit hole that somehow eats up most of my day. I also take an absurd number of photos whenever I’m out, record 4K videos at the gym for social media, and spend more time playing Sudoku than I’d like to admit. I’ve actually reached the expert level now, which I’m probably a little too proud of. So, while I’m not exactly pushing my iPhone to its limits every minute, I’m certainly keeping it busy.

And through pretty much all of this, the iPhone 18 Pro has been fantastic. Apps open quickly, switching between them feels effortless, and I can jump from recording a video to replying to a work message without the phone slowing down. However, one occasion reminded me that even Pro iPhones have limits. I was outdoors in bright sunlight, trying to capture a photo at 8x zoom, when the phone suddenly froze for around 15 seconds. I thought something had gone wrong, but it eventually recovered and went back to normal. Thankfully, that’s been the only noticeable hiccup I’ve experienced so far.

Of course, I also wanted to see what would happen if I pushed the A20 Pro a little harder, so I ran Geekbench, AnTuTu, and 3DMark. Benchmarks are a completely different story, and I expected the phone to get noticeably warm. Interestingly, I only felt real heat around the camera module while running AnTuTu. Even then, it wasn’t uncomfortable to hold. I followed that up with Geekbench 7 and 3DMark back-to-back, and the phone handled both without any noticeable trouble.

What surprised me most was how well it managed the heat.

What surprised me most was how well it managed the heat. I’ve tested plenty of smartphones that get noticeably warm during demanding tasks, including the Google Pixel 11, which I reviewed recently. So I expected something similar, especially after running multiple benchmarks back-to-back. But the iPhone 18 Pro stayed relatively cool throughout, and I never felt the need to put it down to rest.

This consistency is what I appreciate most. My iPhone 18 Pro is my primary phone, so I take it everywhere, whether I’m heading to the gym, stepping out for work, or traveling. On trips in particular, I’m constantly pulling it out to take photos, record videos, check directions, and respond to messages, often while spending hours outdoors. With my iPhone 17, it would sometimes slow down or struggle to keep up, especially when I used the camera a lot. The iPhone 18 Pro, on the other hand, has been noticeably more dependable.

It’s also made me appreciate the Pro upgrade a little more. Having that extra power means I rarely have to think about what my phone can or cannot handle — I can pick it up, do whatever I need, and move on with my day. After experiencing those occasional slowdowns on my iPhone 17, I’m really happy to have that difference.

Score: 9/10

iPhone 18 Pro software: Once you’re in, it’s hard to leave

Okay, I’ll just say it: nothing beats the iOS experience for me. And I say that as someone who uses Android phones regularly, too. Don’t get me wrong, I love how much freedom Android gives you, especially when it comes to customization. But there’s something about iOS that keeps bringing me back to the iPhone. It’s smooth, easy to understand, and everything feels so well put together. I just pick up my phone and use it, which is exactly how I like my technology. And I think that’s one of Apple’s biggest strengths.

It’s smooth, easy to understand, and everything feels so well put together.

Whether it’s someone like me, who spends most of the day surrounded by gadgets, my parents, who mainly use their phones for calls, WhatsApp, and watching videos, or even my grandparents, iOS is fairly easy to get comfortable with. The menus are straightforward, the animations feel polished, and once you get used to how everything works, there’s very little reason to change your habits.

The little things also make me appreciate iOS more. Take Dynamic Island, for example. I love being able to glance at the top of my screen to see what’s happening without constantly opening an app. Whether I’m playing music, keeping an eye on a timer, or checking an ongoing activity, it’s useful. However, the exclusivity factor is gone. Android 17, for example, has taken wholesale inspiration from these ideas, and actually done some impressive iterative work on it.

But what really has me hooked is Apple’s ecosystem. I use a MacBook Air for work, and I’ve grown incredibly dependent on how it works with my iPhone. Universal Clipboard is probably one of my favorite examples. I can copy a link, a paragraph, or even an image on my iPhone and paste it straight into something I’m working on my MacBook. And that’s just one example. AirDrop makes moving photos and videos between my iPhone and MacBook incredibly convenient, especially when I’ve captured something on my phone and want to edit or share it from my laptop.

I also love being able to pick up calls and reply to iMessages on my MacBook without reaching for my phone every few minutes. That’s what makes the iPhone 18 Pro such a pleasure to use every day. The hardware is excellent, but the software and the conveniences make the experience feel complete. After years of using iPhones, I’ve reached a point where I don’t even realize how much I rely on these features until I pick up another phone and find myself looking for them.

And for me, that’s probably the biggest compliment I can give iOS. Once again, the ecosystem walls are breaking around some of the stickiest features. AirDrop is the best example. Quick Share on Android now lets you seamlessly send and receive files between Android and iOS (and macOS, too) devices. I use this feature every single day, and it’s a huge sigh of relief.

The pairing restrictions are also slowly easing. Vivo, for example, now offers Apple Watch and AirPods connectivity on a select few phones with the OriginOS 7 update. There are also a handful of open-source tools that let you pair an Apple Watch or AirPods with an Android phone. Apple might close these connectivity doors, so I won’t recommend you confidently buy a Vivo-branded Android phone if you already own AirPods or Apple Watch.

Siri, in its current shape, has grown by leaps and bounds, but Gemini on Android still has the edge in a few core areas. For example, Gemini is a lot more conversational, especially in Live mode. Having open-ended conversations with it is far more natural, and thanks to its knowledge bank (courtesy of seamless Google Search integration), you are less likely to run into a wall, something Siri often struggles with when the topic is open-ended or requires deep research.

Siri is smarter, but it’s still noticealy slower against the rivals

There are plenty of functional holes, as well. For example, in the Siri app, you only get two modes — text and voice chat. In the Gemini app, you get one-tap access to options like attaching a photo, file, taking a picture with your phone’s camera, accessing Google Drive, or just launching the video mode where Google’s AI can access the whole screen or see the world through the rear camera. In this mode, you can ask it anything relevant, and the AI does an admirable job of answering them.

Another crucial pitfall is the connected ecosystem woven around the AI. Gemini is tightly integrated with Google’s core ecosystem of products (such as Gmail, Photos, Search, and YouTube) and can answer questions based on information it pulls from your Workspace files, photos, or the broad internet.

Siri is limited to what’s stored on your iCloud or what it can glean through Safari. All of this comes to life courtesy of Personal Intelligence for Gemini. Yeah, the name is a riff on Apple Intelligence. (Insert joke about imitation being the best form of flattery). Then we have third-party connectors, which dramatically boost the practical appeal of Gemini AI or ChatGPT, one area that hobbles Siri AI.

From Adobe and Instacart to WhatsApp and Spotify, you can summon Gemini and get work done across these services without ever opening these apps or their web-based platform. Apple has a similar framework ready. It’s called App Intents, but it hasn’t been implemented as widely as the third-party connectors for Gemini, ChatGPT, or Anthropic’s Claude.

Gemini’s toolkit is dramatically vast, and if you have a high-end Android phone, it can perform plenty of chores fully offline, as well. There are a few other day-to-day chores where Siri continues to struggle. Siri’s transcription and voice typing capabilities are still ridden with errors, especially if you’re someone with a thick accent or whose native language is not English.

When I spoke “Khmer Rouge,” Siri identified it as a contact named “Sourav,” while Gemini pulled up the appropriate information about the tragic event. Voice typing with Rambler on a Pixel phone is also far more accurate than what you get with the built-in iOS 27 keyboard, and some of its mistakes are jokingly absurd.

Apple, however, deserves some praise for the universal search system in iOS 27. The onboard AI does a fantastic job of contextually analyzing your natural language query (like “Hey, find me photos when I visited Leh”) and surfacing the results, which are a combination of results pulled from the internet (via Safari) and other on-device apps such as Mail, Messages, and Photos. In particular, Siri search in the Photos app works amazingly well.

Now, any discussion about software in 2026 will be incomplete without AI. Apple gave a massive upgrade to Siri’s AI brain with iOS 27, from the interface to the actual intelligence. Siri is smarter, and it now commands a wider set of tricks that go from merely answering mundane questions to letting you pull off some impressive image editing tricks.

Siri AI, however, still hasn’t caught up to what Google’s Gemini AI (both, on-device and cloud-linked) can pull off on a rival Android phone like the Google Pixel 11 Pro or the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.

One genuinely useful trick is putting Siri in the camera app. All you need to do is point the camera at anything around you, and ask it contextual questions based on what appears on the screen. There’s also a chance that Siri can take actions from the same screen, as well. ‘Chance,’ mind you!

Take, for example, the image above. In the first go, Siri correctly identified the frame as an espresso served with water (though it’s actually soda). When I gave it a second try, from the same angle and distance, the AI fumbled and misidentified the same setup as “cold brew coffee infused with nitrogen gas” to get a “creamy velvety texture.” In reality, the drink is just an espresso with ice, and the texture is watery, far from the creamy and velvety texture that Siri thinks it is.

There are a handful of Siri features that sound genuinely impressive on paper, but they still need some polish. Spatial Reframing is terrific and works pretty well. The AI-powered CleanUp tool, on the other hand, still feels half-baked compared to what Gemini can do. In a recent test by my colleague, the tool gave him an entirely new face in the edited photo instead of doing its intended job. On the contrary, the Extend photo trick works amazingly well.

Overall, Siri and AI still come out as the weakest link in the broad iOS discourse. Otherwise, iOS continues to be the template for smartphone software, and it is evident in the fact that nearly every major Chinese smartphone maker copies the design and features on their respective Android skins. In many cases, the rip-off is so blatant that it’s laughable. The iPhone’s software continues to win when it comes to reliability and simplicity, and most smartphones will be happy with the status quo instead of demanding more native AI-powered experiences. AI is a weak link, but even without the cutting-edge bells and whistles, iOS 27 continues to be a fantastic experience.

Score: 8/10

iPhone 18 Pro cameras: I’ve got 99 problems, but a bad photo ain’t one

If there’s one reason I was particularly excited to move from the regular iPhone 17 to the iPhone 18 Pro, it’s the cameras. I take an absurd number of photos. Whether I’m traveling, out with friends, at a restaurant, or just walking around and spotting something interesting, it doesn’t matter. My first instinct is usually to pull out my iPhone and take a picture. Since I also record plenty of videos for work and social media, a reliable camera matters a lot to me.

After spending over a month with the iPhone 18 Pro, I can safely say I’ve really enjoyed its cameras. The biggest change this year is the new variable aperture on the main camera, which essentially gives you more flexibility over how much light enters the lens. Now, I’m not someone who wants to fiddle with camera settings every time I take a picture. Most of the time, I just want to point my phone at something, tap the shutter button, and get a great-looking photo. Thankfully, the iPhone 18 Pro does exactly that.

I’ve particularly enjoyed shooting with the main 48MP camera. In good outdoor light, the photos look fantastic, with plenty of detail, pleasing colors, and a nice balance between bright and dark areas. Even when I zoom in later, there’s enough detail to appreciate the small things I might not have noticed while taking it. Portraits have been another highlight for me. I particularly enjoy shooting at 2x because it gives me a nice, natural-looking frame without having to stand uncomfortably close to someone. Skin tones generally look warm and pleasing, faces retain plenty of detail, and the camera keeps brighter backgrounds under control. 

The telephoto camera, though, is where things get a little more interesting. At 4x zoom, I’ve captured some really nice photos, especially in bright light. The colors look great, and the camera handles bright skies and shadows quite well. However, when I start looking closely at the finer details, the pictures aren’t always as sharp as I’d like. They don’t immediately jump out on my iPhone, but they become noticeable when I zoom in or view them on a larger screen.

And since this is a Pro iPhone, I was hoping for a bit more improvement. I’ve also been playing around with the 8x zoom quite a bit, especially outdoors when I want to capture something too far away. And honestly, it’s a lot of fun having that extra reach. That said, the results aren’t always perfect. Photos can look a little soft, and you can notice grain up close, especially in poor lighting. But for casual photography or sharing on social media, I’ve still gotten some pretty usable shots.

Low-light photography has also impressed me, and I appreciate it because I take a lot of pictures in the evenings. The main camera captures plenty of light without making everything look artificially bright, which I really like. Colors stay pleasing, and most shots retain good detail. Of course, things aren’t always perfect. If I’m photographing something moving or using the zoom cameras in particularly dark environments, I notice some softness and noise creeping in. But for the most part, I haven’t found myself taking the same picture repeatedly just to get one good shot, and that’s a big win in my books.

And then there’s the selfie camera, which I probably use often. I particularly like how natural the photos look, with pleasing skin tones and enough detail without making my face look overly processed. The camera also handles tricky lighting well, especially when I’m standing in front of a bright background. The iPhone 18 Pro’s cameras aren’t perfect, especially when I zoom in, but they’ve rarely let me down. For someone who takes pictures almost every day, that matters most.

Score: 9/10

iPhone 18 Pro battery and charging: The battery just keeps going and going

Battery life is another area where the iPhone 18 Pro has been a pleasant surprise, especially coming from the regular iPhone 17. I’ve always kept an eye on the battery percentage, especially when I’m heading out for the day, but with the 18 Pro, I’ve slowly stopped worrying about it as much. On days when I’m mostly replying to messages, scrolling social media, watching YouTube, and doing other everyday things, the phone comfortably lasts all day, often with plenty of battery left.

In fact, let me give you an example from the day I’m writing this review. I last charged my iPhone at 10:46 PM yesterday and unplugged it at 92%. It’s now 12:03 PM the following afternoon, and I’m still sitting at 67%. During that time, I’ve mostly used Instagram, Reddit, X, and WhatsApp, so I haven’t been putting the phone through anything particularly demanding. Still, losing just 25% of battery, including overnight standby, is pretty good, and I’ll happily take that any day.

Even better, the battery doesn’t disappoint on a busier day. Between taking photos, recording videos, switching between work apps, and spending far too much time on social media, I’ve managed to get as much as 7 hours and 10 minutes of screen-on time. That’s a fantastic result for such a compact phone, and certainly more than I expected when I first switched from the iPhone 17. Of course, I don’t get that exact number every day, but it’s reassuring to know that the phone can keep up when I need it to.

And even when I do manage to drain the battery, charging hasn’t been much of a headache either. In my experience, the iPhone 18 Pro takes roughly 45 minutes to go from empty to full, which fits rather nicely into my routine. I can plug it in while getting ready to head out, and by the time I’m done, it’s ready to go too. Between the longer battery life and faster charging, I’ve come to appreciate this upgrade more than I expected.

Score: 9/10

Should you buy

A month isn’t enough to tell me how well the iPhone 18 Pro will hold up a year from now, but it’s certainly enough to know whether upgrading from my iPhone 17 was worth it. And for me, it absolutely was. I’ve always preferred compact phones, and the iPhone 18 Pro gives me everything I want without forcing me to carry around something enormous. The cameras have been excellent for my everyday photography; the A20 Pro handles everything I throw at it, and the battery life has been far better than I expected. Of course, I’d change a few things. The telephoto camera could be sharper, the Burgundy finish is a fingerprint magnet, and auto-brightness still drives me crazy. But after using this phone every day for over a month, none of those things have made me question my decision to upgrade.

That said, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that everyone rushing to an iPhone 17 buy the 18 Pro. The regular iPhone 17 is still an excellent phone, and if you’re happy with its cameras, performance, and battery life, there’s little reason to spend more. But if you’re coming from an older iPhone, take a lot of photos, and want better cameras, longer battery life, and more performance without moving to the massive Pro Max, the iPhone 18 Pro makes a lot of sense. I originally upgraded to experience everything Apple’s Pro lineup has to offer while keeping the compact form factor I love. A month later, I’ve stopped thinking about whether I needed a Pro iPhone and started appreciating how well it fits into my everyday life. My partner still thinks I could have happily stuck with the regular iPhone, and maybe that’s true. But would I go back to my iPhone 17 now? I don’t think so.

Why not try

Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus — If you like the iPhone 18 Pro but aren’t particularly attached to iOS, the Galaxy S26 Plus is worth considering, especially if you want a bigger screen without going all the way to an Ultra. You get a 6.7-inch 120Hz AMOLED display, a versatile triple-camera setup with a 50MP main camera, and plenty of performance for everyday tasks. I’ve always appreciated how much freedom Samsung gives you with One UI, especially for customization and multitasking. You also get seven generations of Android updates, which is reassuring if you’re planning to keep your phone for several years. Of course, the S26 Plus isn’t nearly as compact as the iPhone 18 Pro, and I’d still lean toward Apple for video recording and the overall ecosystem experience. But if you want a larger display, more software flexibility, and a premium Android flagship, the S26 Plus makes a strong case for itself.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra — If you’re willing to trade the iPhone 18 Pro’s compact size for something much bigger and more feature-packed, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is probably the first phone I’d look at. I’ve spent plenty of time using Samsung’s Ultra phones, and what I appreciate most is how much they let me do. The S26 Ultra gives you a massive 6.9-inch 120Hz AMOLED display, a 200MP main camera, dedicated 3x and 5x telephoto cameras, and an S Pen. That extra zoom flexibility is particularly tempting, especially since the iPhone 18 Pro’s telephoto camera hasn’t always impressed me with its sharpness. Samsung also offers features like Good Lock, DeX, and a built-in Privacy Display, making it much more versatile. That said, it’s considerably larger and heavier, and I still prefer how seamlessly my iPhone works with my MacBook. But if photography flexibility, customization, and productivity matter more than one-handed comfort, the S26 Ultra is an excellent alternative.

Google Pixel 11 Pro — If you want something that feels as comfortable in the hand as the iPhone 18 Pro, the Pixel 11 Pro deserves a spot on your shortlist. It packs a compact 6.3-inch 120Hz OLED display, a versatile triple-camera setup, and Google’s clean take on Android. I’ve used the Pixel 11 series extensively, and I’ve always enjoyed Google’s photography. I particularly like how Pixel phones handle colors and everyday point-and-shoot photography, and the software feels refreshingly straightforward. You also get seven years of software updates and Google’s growing collection of AI features. However, the Tensor G6 isn’t quite as powerful as Apple’s A20 Pro, and based on my experience with the regular Pixel 11, I’d pay attention to heat management if you record a lot of 4K video or spend hours gaming. I’d still choose the iPhone 18 Pro for its performance, video capabilities, and Apple ecosystem, but if you want a compact Android flagship with excellent cameras and a clean software experience, the Pixel 11 Pro is a compelling alternative.

How I tested

I’ve been using the iPhone 18 Pro as my primary phone for over a month, and I didn’t change my routine just because I was reviewing it. Coming from the regular iPhone 17, I was particularly interested in seeing whether the Pro upgrades would make a noticeable difference in my everyday life. So, I used it exactly how I normally would. That meant constantly switching between WhatsApp, Slack, Teams, and iMessage for work and personal conversations; scrolling through Instagram and X; getting lost in random Reddit threads; watching YouTube; and spending more time solving Sudoku puzzles than I’d like to admit. I also took it to the gym, where I regularly recorded 4K videos for social media, and I carried it everywhere, including on my travels.

Photography was a big part of my testing because I take pictures almost everywhere I go. I used the main camera extensively, experimented with 2x portraits, and regularly switched between 4x and 8x zoom to see how much detail the telephoto camera could capture. I also took plenty of selfies and tested the cameras in different lighting conditions, from bright afternoons outdoors to evenings when the light wasn’t particularly great. Since I’d used the iPhone 17 for a year, I could also compare how the two phones handled everyday tasks, camera use, and performance. To push the A20 Pro beyond my usual routine, I ran Geekbench 7, AnTuTu, and 3DMark back-to-back to check performance and how well the phone managed heat.

I also paid close attention to battery life. Rather than relying entirely on synthetic tests, I tracked how much charge the phone used during my regular days, including overnight standby, lighter social media sessions, and heavier days filled with photography, videos, and work apps. I also tested how quickly it charged from empty to full. But more than anything, I wanted to know whether the extra cost of the Pro model was worth it for someone like me. After all, my iPhone 17 already handled most of what I needed. A month later, I have a much better idea of where the iPhone 18 Pro makes a difference, where it doesn’t, and whether those improvements justify the upgrade.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

How much does the iPhone 18 Pro cost?

The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 in the US for the 256GB model. You can also choose 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB storage. If you take plenty of photos and regularly record 4K videos, I’d recommend a higher-storage variant.

Does the iPhone 18 Pro have a SIM card slot?

No, the US version of the iPhone 18 Pro doesn’t have a physical SIM card slot. It relies entirely on eSIM technology, so you’ll need a carrier that supports eSIM activation. You can also store multiple eSIM profiles, which is particularly useful if you travel frequently.

Does the iPhone 18 Pro have a 120Hz display?

Yes, the iPhone 18 Pro features a 120Hz ProMotion display, which makes scrolling, animations, and gaming feel incredibly smooth. Having used the regular iPhone 17, which also supports 120Hz, I didn’t notice a massive difference when switching. But the display itself is excellent, especially outdoors.

Does the iPhone 18 Pro have a USB-C port?

Yes, the iPhone 18 Pro uses USB-C for charging and data transfers. It also supports faster USB 3 data transfer speeds with a compatible cable, which is particularly useful if you regularly transfer large photos or 4K videos to a computer.

Is the iPhone 18 Pro good for gaming?

Absolutely. The A20 Pro chipset delivers excellent performance, and the 120Hz display makes games look and feel smooth. During my testing, the phone also handled demanding benchmarks like AnTuTu and 3DMark without getting uncomfortably hot. If you enjoy playing demanding mobile games, the iPhone 18 Pro has plenty of power to handle them.