Apple introduced iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max: variable aperture, 2nm chip, and increased Czech prices

The first keynote under the leadership of Apple’s new head, John Ternus, brought an unusual situation: this September, no ordinary eighteen arrived. The basic iPhone 18 is postponed until spring 2027 along with the 18e and Air 2 models, leaving only two professional models and a new foldable in the lineup. Anyone who wanted a new iPhone this year has a choice exclusively between expensive and even more expensive.

Same Coat, Different Lining

Anyone who expected another design shift after last year’s transition to an aluminum unibody will be disappointed. The iPhone 18 Pro looks like the iPhone 17 Pro, and Apple makes no attempt to disguise it. The diagonals remain at 6.3 and 6.9 inches, and the camera platform on the back is only slightly taller due to the new optics.

The colors have changed. Instead of cosmic orange and dark blue, dark cherry, sky blue, and silver are introduced — the black variant is missing this year. The two-tone contrast between the matte glass and the aluminum frame has also disappeared, making the back appear more cohesive.

Smaller Dynamic Island Is Not Just Cosmetic

The Face ID illuminator has moved under the display, so the cutout at the top of the screen has significantly shrunk. This alone sounds like a detail for connoisseurs, but with a smaller area also came a new capability: Dynamic Island can now display three activities simultaneously instead of two. A timer, navigation, and playing music can thus fit side by side.

The displays themselves are transitioning to LTPO+ technology, which is more power-efficient than previous OLED panels. Apple uses this as one of the arguments for longer battery life.

A20 Pro: Two Nanometers and Proprietary Modem

Inside beats the A20 Pro chipset manufactured with a 2nm process by TSMC, a generation ahead of last year’s 3nm A19 Pro. According to available information, it should be approximately 18% faster and up to 30% more power-efficient. The latter value is more interesting — for a phone that has overheated for years during video recording, efficiency means more than a few thousand extra points in a benchmark.

Apple has also deployed its third-generation C2 modem and a new N2 network chip for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The departure from Qualcomm thus continues. A new feature is expected to be 5G support via satellite, meaning basic web browsing without network or Wi-Fi coverage.

Variable Aperture Is the Biggest Change in Years

The main 48Mpx sensor received a mechanically variable aperture. Simply put: the lens can narrow or widen the opening through which light passes, similar to a classic camera. In bright sunlight, this means better exposure without blown-out areas, while in low light, it means more light and less noise.

However, the practical benefit will be smaller than marketing suggests. Sensors in phones are physically small, so the difference in depth of field between the extreme aperture positions will not be as dramatic as with a DSLR. This will be most appreciated by people who shoot in backlight — and those who delve into the new manual controls in the Camera app: histogram, waveform, focus peaking, and manual focusing.

The Camera Control button, on the other hand, has been simplified. The touch layer for swiping with a finger has disappeared; only pressure remains. Apple is quietly admitting that the original idea didn’t work.

Battery Grows, Pro Max Thickness Too

The iPhone 18 Pro Max received approximately a tenth larger battery than last year’s model. The cost for this is higher weight and a slightly thicker body — Apple this time did not choose the usual path where battery life is addressed solely by chip efficiency. The combination of a larger cell, 2nm process, and LTPO+ display should result in an iPhone with the best battery life ever.

Czech Prices: Prepare for Thirty-Seven Thousand

Price increases were a certainty this year — memory chip prices jumped by hundreds of percent year-on-year due to demand for AI infrastructure. The only question was by how much. In the USA, both phones increased in price by 100 dollars, so in the Czech Republic, the basic variant could cost 34,990 CZK, and the Pro Max would (likely) cost 37,990 CZK, but we will have to wait a few more tens of minutes for the official Czech prices.

Are the variable aperture and smaller cutout worth the extra cost?

Source: Apple conference, 9to5mac