iPhone 18 Pro: Should You Upgrade?
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Alongside iPhone Duo, Apple announced the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max today. The Duo got the headlines, but for most people reading this, the 18 Pro is the phone that actually matters. So here's what's new, what it costs, and my honest view on who should upgrade.
Prices and dates
iPhone 18 Pro has a 6.3-inch screen and starts at £1,199. iPhone 18 Pro Max has a 6.9-inch screen and starts at £1,299. Both come in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB:
iPhone 18 Pro: £1,199, £1,399, £1,799, £2,399
iPhone 18 Pro Max: £1,299, £1,499, £1,899, £2,499
Four colours: black, silver, glacier and a new burgundy. Pre-orders open Saturday 12 September at 1pm UK time, and phones arrive on Friday 18 September.
That £1,199 starting price is £100 more than the iPhone 17 Pro launched at last year. The rest of Apple's UK iPhone lineup has moved up too. The iPhone 17 is now £899 and the iPhone 17e is £699, both £100 more than they were earlier this year. Apple hasn't given a reason. It's just where prices are now.
The camera is the story
The main 48MP camera has a variable aperture for the first time. It physically opens and closes, from f/1.48 to f/4, using six tiny blades, with four settings to choose from.
In plain English: at the wide setting you get the soft, blurred background that used to need Portrait mode to fake. At the narrow setting you get a group shot where everyone is sharp, front row to back. Until now, iPhone did this with software. Now it does it with glass, and the difference shows most in tricky light.
There's a new Pro Controls mode for people who want to set aperture, shutter speed and white balance by hand. And a feature called Apple Reference Image, which is opt-in, signs your photos with data from the sensor so they can be verified as untouched. Useful for anyone whose photos need to be trusted.
Video goes up to 60 frames per second with Cinematic effects you can apply after the fact, and there's 4K Dolby Vision time-lapse.
Chip and battery
The A20 Pro is Apple's first 2 nanometre iPhone chip. Apple claims a 40 per cent faster GPU than last year's A19 Pro and double the AI compute. In everyday use you won't feel the CPU difference from a 17 Pro. You will feel it if you're coming from a phone that's four or five years old.
Battery is the bigger practical gain. Apple quotes up to 36 hours of video playback on the 18 Pro and up to 45 hours on the Pro Max, and a wired charge gets you to 50 per cent in around 15 minutes. Apple also says five minutes of charging gives roughly seven hours of video on the Pro Max, which is the kind of number that matters when you're running out the door.
Smaller things
The Dynamic Island is smaller and can show three Live Activities at once
Apple's own C2 modem and N1 wireless chip, with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6
iOS 27 ships with it, and arrives for everyone else on Monday 14 September
Apple is offering up to £455 trade-in credit for an iPhone 16 Pro or later, and between £40 and £885 for other eligible phones
What wasn't announced
There was no standard iPhone 18. Apple announced the Pro, the Pro Max and the Duo, and said nothing about a non-Pro model. The iPhone 17 stays on sale at £899. I'd treat any talk of when a regular iPhone 18 might appear as rumour until Apple says otherwise.
So, should you upgrade?
iPhone 13 Pro, 14 Pro or older: yes. The battery alone will change your day. Add the camera, Apple Intelligence and Siri AI, which your current phone can't run, and it's the biggest jump you'll have felt in years.
iPhone 15 Pro: probably not yet. You already get Apple Intelligence and Siri AI with iOS 27. The 18 Pro's camera and battery are better, but your phone still has plenty in it.
iPhone 16 Pro or 17 Pro: no. Enjoy iOS 27 on Monday. It's free.
Not sure you need Pro at all? The iPhone 17 at £899 is a very good phone with the same 6.3-inch screen size, and it runs Apple Intelligence and Siri AI. Most people don't need the variable aperture. They need a phone that lasts the day and takes a good photo of the grandchildren, and the 17 does both.
If you'd like help deciding, that's what I'm here for. Book a quick session and we'll look at what you've got, what you actually use, and whether upgrading makes sense right now. No sales pitch. Just an answer.