The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max were announced by Apple on September 9, with pre-orders opening September 12 and release on September 18. Both models carry a variable aperture main camera, the A20 Pro chip, and a higher price than the previous generation.
Apple announced the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max on September 9, with pre-orders opening September 12 at 21:00 and release on September 18. The camera change goes to both models: a variable aperture mechanism on the 48-megapixel main wide lens, selectable across four steps at F1.48, F1.8, F2.8, and F4, built from six laser-cut blades. The A20 Pro chip inside is Apple's first iPhone SoC on a 2nm process, with a 6-core CPU, a 7-core GPU, and two 16-core Neural Engines. Apple puts sustained performance at up to 40 percent above the iPhone 17 Pro. Video playback runs up to 36 hours for the Pro and up to 45 hours for the Pro Max, which Apple says is the largest increase ever for an iPhone. Colors are Black, Silver, Glacier, and Burgundy.
Pricing was the unsettled thread before the announcement. A September 4 report from Taiwan's TrendForce projected the iPhone 18 series could cost 10 to 20 percent more than the previous generation, with the iPhone 18 Pro starting at 1,249 to 1,299 dollars and the Pro Max at 1,349 to 1,399 dollars, attributing the increase mainly to surging memory costs. Earlier, on August 21, a Weibo leak from Ice Universe claimed the variable aperture would be exclusive to the Pro Max and absent from the smaller Pro. Apple's announcement contradicted that: both phones carry the mechanism. The price projections held in direction. Japan pricing starts at 219,800 yen for the 256GB iPhone 18 Pro and 239,800 yen for the 256GB iPhone 18 Pro Max, a 25,000 yen increase over the previous generation.
On September 10, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and a foldable iPhone Duo, Apple raised prices on the iPhone 16, 17, 17e and Air by 12,000 to 48,000 yen per model and capacity. Coming after a July domestic increase, cumulative rises reach 25,000 to 30,000 yen, and 65,000 yen on the 1TB iPhone Air. The same revision was applied in the United States. On September 17, Apple detailed Apple Reference Image, announced September 10 alongside the phones. The Secure Enclave Processor and the camera sensor each generate a signing key at the factory, and pixel data is signed inside the sensor right after capture, a method that makes the development processing verifiable where C2PA attaches provenance metadata only after shooting.
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A leaker's post describes Chinese iPhone buyers checking each year whether their display came from Samsung or LG, with some returning units until they get a Samsung panel. He also shared a rough user tier list for the iPhone 18 Pro series released September 18, placing Samsung's G9N and G9P above rival panels, while noting the rankings are impressions that vary by unit. Supply figures put Samsung and LG panels close in volume.
Apple detailed Apple Reference Image, a technology announced on September 10, 2026 alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. The Secure Enclave Processor and the camera sensor each generate a signing key at the factory, and pixel data is signed inside the sensor right after capture. C2PA attaches provenance metadata after shooting; Apple's method makes the development processing verifiable.
Apple raised prices on the iPhone 16, 17, 17e and Air alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and the foldable iPhone Duo announcements, by 12,000 to 48,000 yen per model and capacity. Coming after a July domestic increase, cumulative rises reach 25,000 to 30,000 yen, and 65,000 yen on the 1TB iPhone Air. The same revision was applied in the United States.
Apple announced the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max on September 9, with pre-orders opening September 12 at 21:00 and release on September 18. Both phones carry the camera change: a variable aperture mechanism on the 48-megapixel main wide lens, selectable across four steps at F1.48, F1.8, F2.8, and F4, built from six laser-cut blades. The A20 Pro chip inside is Apple's first iPhone SoC on a 2nm process, with a 6-core CPU, a 7-core GPU, and two 16-core Neural Engines. Apple puts sustained performance at up to 40 percent above the iPhone 17 Pro. Video playback runs up to 36 hours for the Pro and up to 45 hours for the Pro Max, which Apple says is the largest increase ever for an iPhone. Colors are Black, Silver, Glacier, and Burgundy. Japan pricing starts at 219,800 yen for the 256GB iPhone 18 Pro and 239,800 yen for the 256GB iPhone 18 Pro Max, a 25,000 yen increase over the previous generation.
Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 18 Pro series at a special event on September 9 (September 10 in Japan), and price projections from Taiwan's TrendForce suggest a significant increase over the current models. According to TrendForce's smartphone market research released September 3, the iPhone 18 series could cost 10 to 20 percent more than the previous generation. U.S. outlet MacRumors applied TrendForce's earlier June forecast of a 14 to 18 percent rise to these projections, estimating the iPhone 18 Pro will start at 1,249 to 1,299 dollars, or roughly 220,000 to 230,000 yen in Japan, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max could start at 1,349 to 1,399 dollars, about 230,000 to 250,000 yen. That would mark an increase of roughly 25,000 to 35,000 yen over the current iPhone 17 Pro, which starts at 1,099 dollars (194,800 yen in Japan), and the iPhone 17 Pro Max at 1,199 dollars (214,800 yen in Japan). TrendForce attributes the higher prices mainly to surging memory costs, which it says could rise nearly 400 percent year over year for the 256GB Pro model in the third quarter of 2026. Total component costs for that model are seen climbing about 38 percent year over year.
A well-known leaker claims the iPhone 18 Pro Max will be the first iPhone with a variable aperture camera, a feature that will not appear on the smaller iPhone 18 Pro. The leak, posted on Weibo by Ice Universe on August 18, says the Pro Max exclusively features the variable aperture and suggests Apple cannot escape the weight of a brick for the highest camera experience.
A ransomware group called World Leaks has published confidential data allegedly stolen from Apple supplier Tata Electronics, including logic board schematics, A20 Pro datasheets, and supplier lists for the iPhone 18 Pro series. The documents, verified by AppleInsider, reveal parts configurations and procurement sources, potentially exposing Apple's supply chain strategy.