This fall’s iPhone 18 lineup will feature an all-new foldable “iPhone Ultra,” but the most popular models will undoubtedly be the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. Here are six new features announced for the iPhone 18 Pro.
Revised design: Dynamic Island shrinks, unified back
The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are expected to retain the basic sizes and designs of this year’s models. However, there are three notable changes that will give the design a new look:
- Smaller dynamic island
- Unified look at the back
- New color options
The Dynamic Island becomes smaller thanks to Face ID components moving under the screen. This should allow for the smallest screen cutout in years.
The two-tone rear design of the iPhone 17 Pro has proven to be polarizing. To address this issue, Apple plans to better blend the colors of the aluminum and glass areas for a unified look.
iPhone 18 Pro color rumors indicate that Apple is testing a variety of new colors. It’s still too early to know exactly what the final colors will be, but the bolder 17 Pro colors seem to have succeeded.
A20 Pro chip
Every year, the iPhone gets a brand new chip. And the A20 Pro chip for iPhone 18 Pro should be a particularly big leap forward.
The A20 Pro will be Apple’s first chip built with a 2nm process and will also use WMCM (Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module) packaging.
Both of these advancements should lead to larger-than-usual improvements over this year’s A19 Pro. So, the iPhone 18 Pro excels in terms of performance, efficiency, and AI tasks.
Variable aperture camera, improved telephoto lens and more
Camera improvements are still part of Apple’s upgrades for new iPhones.
For the iPhone 18 Pro, we’re expecting a variable aperture main camera that offers better control over the depth of field (DoF) of photos. As my colleague Ben explains:
You can have a shallow DoF when you want to isolate the subject from the background, a medium DoF when you want isolation but still ensure the background is recognizable, or a deep DOF when you want everything in the photo to be in focus.
Apple is rumored to release a wider aperture telephoto lens this year, among other camera improvements.
Better autonomy than ever
The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max offer the biggest iPhone batteries yet, and they’re proven to work. It looks like Apple will continue to give users more of what they want by increasing the battery size again.
A leading leaker claims that the iPhone 18 Pro Max will be thicker and heavier than its predecessor. This is almost certainly in an effort to pack a bigger battery.
The smaller 18 Pro model is not specifically mentioned. But iPhone 17 Pro rumors initially indicated that only the Pro Max would get a larger battery, and Apple surprised us by offering similar updates to both Pro models. So it’s likely that both iPhone 18 Pro models will offer battery upgrades.
Camera Control 2.0
Camera Control debuted on the iPhone 16 as a dedicated camera button. It offers a variety of touch gestures to control zoom, exposure, tone, etc. But many users found it too complicated and finicky when used as anything other than a simple button.
Apple is reportedly updating Camera Control on the iPhone 18 lineup with a smaller feature set. Touch components will be removed and potentially other changes will be made to provide an overall more user-friendly experience.
C2 modem
After years of development, Apple has officially started replacing Qualcomm’s cellular modems with its own in-house solutions. The C1 modem debuted on the iPhone 16e, then the C1X came to the iPhone Air, and now a C2 modem is expected for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max.
Apple’s 5G cellular modems have proven to perform well, while offering efficiency and battery improvements over Qualcomm’s options. Expect the C2 modem to build on the solid foundation of Apple’s C1 modems when it debuts on the iPhone 18 Pro.
iPhone 18 Pro Features: Recap
We already know a lot about the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, but there are likely many details that haven’t been reported yet. September is still several months away, so we should have a better idea of the iPhone 18 Pro’s new features as the launch draws closer.
For now though, it looks like the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max will offer more of the same improvements users want: better performance, longer-lasting batteries, a revised design, and camera upgrades.
What new changes and features do you want to see in the iPhone 18 Pro? Let us know in the comments.
Best iPhone accessories
FTC: We use automatic, revenue-generating affiliate links. More.