Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro Pro Max is now available to pre-order. Shops will get the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max from 18 September 2026.
That puts buyers on the clock. The upgrade pitch is a faster A20 Pro chip, better battery life, and a mechanical variable aperture, but Apple is also asking for £100 more than before.
Britta, who reviewed the phones, starts testing battery life around 6am and often finishes near midnight. In that stretch, the Pro Max typically had between 35 and 40 per cent left, while the standard Pro had around 30 per cent.
Britta’s battery test
Britta said the result was about five per cent better than what she saw at the same point last year. The practical reading is simple: the iPhone 18 Pro models are lasting farther into the day, and the Pro Max is the safer pick for anyone who pushes a phone hard through long sessions.
Apple says the phones can reach 50 per cent charge in 15 minutes when plugged in. That narrows the gap for people who top up between meetings, but it does not erase the higher starting cost.
A20 Pro and heat control
The A20 Pro chip is designed to deliver faster speeds with less of a hit to battery life than last year’s models. New vapour chambers are meant to move heat away from internal components more efficiently, so the phones should be less likely to get hot in the hand during a film or game.
Britta put the appeal plainly: “For me, it’s the improved performance, bigger batteries and subtle design tweaks that are of most interest.”
Mechanical variable aperture
The new camera feature Apple is promoting is a mechanical variable aperture. In plain terms, that gives the camera a wider or narrower opening for light, which is why the article says only die-hard photographers are likely to care most about it.
For everyone else, the decision is likely to come down to whether the battery gains and faster charging offset the £100 increase. The unresolved point is the full price of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max after that rise.
