What the reviewers said
Tech Advisor UK
4/5Nov 6, 2026A big, bold, well-built flagship with strong battery life and performance, but minimal upgrades and higher prices make an older model the better value.
- Long battery life
- Big, vibrant 6.9-inch OLED screen
- Slick performance with A20 Pro chip
- Variable aperture main camera
- IP68 resistance and premium build
- Heavy at 249g
- Price rise over previous generation
- Minimal upgrades over previous models
- Speakers lack richness compared to best Android
CNET US
9.3/10CNET Editors' ChoiceOct 13, 2026Outstanding camera and battery life make the 18 Pro and Pro Max excellent phones, but the price and manual-control appeal suit creative users more than most buyers.
- Outstanding cameras, especially in low light and at night
- Fast charging; 77% added in 30 minutes on Pro Max
- Durable, sturdy build quality
- Focus tracking excels with fast-moving subjects
- Reference Image feature helpful against AI-altered imagery
- Starting price up $100 to $1,199 for Pro
- Pro Max is heavy at 249 grams
- Camera Control can't adjust aperture or shutter speed
- Most buyers would be better served by iPhone 17
The Guardian UK
No scoreOct 12, 2026Apple's biggest, longest-lasting slab iPhone with a great screen, cameras and battery, but too big, heavy and expensive for many.
- Fabulous 6.9in screen with effective anti-glare coating
- Very long battery life, up to about three days
- Excellent cameras with new variable aperture main lens
- Fast A20 Pro chip with good cooling
- Long software support and USB-C
- Very heavy at 249g and hard to use one-handed
- Expensive starting price
- Iterative upgrade over the 17 Pro Max
- AI Siri tools still lag top competitors
Trusted Reviews UK
4.5/5Sep 29, 2026A very good phone with no single standout upgrade, just smaller refinements to camera, battery and screen. It is big, heavy and expensive, but a strong overall package.
- Excellent battery life, a true multi-day iPhone
- Design tweaks and new colours look more refined
- Deeper manual pro controls in the camera app
- Variable aperture offers camera versatility
- Excellent display with Ceramic Shield 2 protection
- No single huge, upgrade-worthy new feature
- Very heavy at 249g
- Variable aperture benefits are fairly minor in practice
- Camera Control lacks manual settings and aperture control
SmartWorld IT
8.5/10Sep 28, 2026Not a revolution, but battery life is outstanding and performance is strong. The heavier body and high price are drawbacks; variable aperture matters less for most users.
- Outstanding battery life, among the best in smartphones
- Top performance with the new 2nm A20 Pro chip
- Excellent video quality from the main camera
- Bright, smooth 6.9-inch display
- Manual camera controls finally arrive; IP68 rating kept
- High price
- Weight increased to 249 g
- Action button and Camera Control feel limited
- Apple Intelligence features not fully available in Europe
PCMag US
4.5/5Editors' ChoiceSep 21, 2026Apple's most complete flagship yet: outstanding battery life, a big speed jump from the A20 Pro, and a stronger camera system, though it is large and heavier.
- Battery life earns a PCMag Lab Award for best battery life
- A20 Pro chip delivers large CPU and GPU gains over rivals
- Improved display glare handling and brightness outdoors
- Smaller Dynamic Island with under-display Face ID camera
- New colors including a black option
- Heavier than last year's model at 8.78 ounces
- Very large phone that may be unwieldy for some
- US models are eSIM only
- Base 256GB price of $1,299 is high
The Verge US
8/10Sep 16, 2026The iPhone 18 Pro is an iterative upgrade over the 17 Pro. Its variable aperture brings only marginal photo gains, with pro manual controls the most useful addition.
- Manual exposure controls in native camera app, finally
- Marginal image quality improvements, especially in low light
- Sunstar photography works well with smartphone camera
- Variable aperture adds f/1.48 maximum and f/4 stop-down
- $100 more expensive than last year
- Manual exposure controls are tiny on screen
- Higher storage tiers are quite pricey
- Camera gains are small; little visible change from 17 Pro
Verdicts, pros and cons are short summaries in our words of each publisher's review; scores are as the publisher gave them. Specs are taken from the reviews' spec boxes — where they differ, we show the value most of them give; price is the US launch price of the base model. Read the originals for the full picture.
Photo: Tech Advisor 
Photo: CNET 
Photo: The Guardian 
Photo: Trusted Reviews 
Photo: SmartWorld 
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Photo: The Verge