iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max reviewed: A20 Pro chip and a smaller Dynamic Island

The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max keep the design of the previous generation but change several things inside, after almost a week of testing ahead of release.

The most visible change is the Dynamic Island, noticeably smaller than the one on the iPhone 17 Pro and able to hold three ongoing live activities at once. Apple created a region of brighter pixels that allows enough infrared light through for Face ID to work beneath the screen, so the black cutout does not have to be as large.

Both phones carry the A20 Pro chip, made on a 2-nanometer process, with gains of more than 50 percent on on-device AI through its Neural Engine. Thermal dissipation and battery management have been reworked, and charging reaches 50 percent in under 20 minutes. The Pro Max gains an ƒ/1.48 aperture that captures more light at night, with a variable aperture whose implementation is questioned, and native Pro controls are added to the camera app without a sensor change.

The two phones come in Burgundy and Glacier, with iOS 27 and its Siri AI features. Apple also announced its first folding phone, the iPhone Duo, on September 9.