Apple’s upcoming iPhone 18 Pro Max could be noticeably thicker and heavier than its predecessor, suggesting a trade-off behind the device’s larger battery.
Chinese leaker Ice Universe claimed today that the iPhone 18 Pro Max will be around 9mm thick and weigh around 240 grams. This would make the device around 0.25mm thicker and around 7 grams heavier than the current iPhone 17 Pro Max.
The latest claim follows recent regulatory filings indicating that the iPhone 18 Pro Max will feature a 5,391 mAh battery in China and a 5,567 mAh battery in the US – an increase of almost 500 mAh over the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Ice Universe suggested that the extra thickness and weight was a direct result of the larger battery, but Apple has also reportedly adopted a new type of vapor chamber using stainless steel, which could also be a contributing factor.
The rumor builds on an earlier claim that Apple’s next flagship could become the heaviest iPhone ever. If so, it should be heavier than the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which also weighed 240 grams, so there might only be a difference of a few milligrams between the two.
Apple’s use of titanium instead of stainless steel made the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models lighter than the iPhone 14 Pro models. Apple later ditched titanium in favor of less dense aluminum for the iPhone 17 Pro models, but internal changes and slightly thicker designs further increased their weight.
The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are expected to launch alongside Apple’s first foldable iPhone in September.
