iPhone 18 Pro Review: All About that Chip | Marques Brownlee

The Gist

The iPhone 18 Pro is a subtle S year upgrade featuring a new A20 Pro chip built on a 2 nanometer node and the introduction of a variable aperture lens, making it an incremental release built on efficient engineering rather than sweeping physical design changes.

Quick Overview

The iPhone 18 Pro brings incremental hardware changes to Apple's flagship smartphone line, anchored by the remarkably efficient A20 Pro chip and a new variable aperture camera system. While the exterior design remains largely identical to previous generations, internal thermal improvements and granular pro photo controls significantly elevate the device's capability and battery endurance.

Key Points: The iPhone 18 Pro features the same three camera layout as the previous generation, consisting of a 48 megapixel primary camera, a 48 megapixel ultrawide camera, and a 48 megapixel 4x telephoto camera. The main camera introduces a variable aperture lens with a maximum opening of f/1.48, allowing users to step down through stages like f/1.8, f/2.8, and f/4 for deeper depth of field. The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are powered by the new A20 Pro chip, which utilizes a 2 nanometer node architecture to deliver substantial multi core and GPU performance gains. Battery life tests reveal the 18 Pro functions as an easy day and a half phone with a 4056 milliamp hour capacity, while the larger Pro Max houses a 5391 milliamp hour battery. Wired charging speeds reach up to 54 watts, providing seven hours of video playback after just five minutes of charging. The Dynamic Island shrinks slightly by relocating the infrared Face ID sensor to the top left corner behind the display. Apple adds granular pro controls to the native camera app, including manual white balance, shutter speed limits, and a storage limit configuration for ProRes video.

Context: Apple continues its iterative release cycle for its flagship Pro smartphone line, following up previous designs with internal architectural revisions focused on thermal efficiency and enhanced pro creative tools.