iPhone 18 Pro Brings Variable Aperture - From $1,199

CUPERTINO, Calif. - Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are now in pre-order, with store availability set for Friday, Sept. 18, putting a mechanical variable aperture on the main camera of the company’s non-folding flagships.

Both models use a 48MP Fusion Main camera that can move among four aperture settings - ƒ/1.48, ƒ/1.8, ƒ/2.8 and ƒ/4.0 - automatically or under manual Pro controls in the Camera app, Apple said. The company pairs that sensor with Ultra Wide and tetraprism Telephoto cameras in a system it describes as its most advanced iPhone camera to date.

Under the glass is the A20 Pro chip and a next-generation vapor chamber meant to sustain higher performance for on-device AI workloads, including Apple Intelligence and the Siri AI assistant rolling out in beta with iOS 27. Apple also said the Pro Max delivers the largest battery-life increase it has ever claimed for an iPhone.

Colors are black, silver, glacier and a new burgundy. Storage starts at 256GB and runs to 2TB. U.S. pricing starts at $1,199 for iPhone 18 Pro and $1,299 for iPhone 18 Pro Max - $100 above the prior Pro generation’s opening prices, according to Apple and contemporaneous MacRumors coverage of the Sept. 9 announcement.

Pre-orders opened Saturday, Sept. 12, at 5 a.m. Pacific. The phones arrive in stores Sept. 18 in more than 65 countries and regions, with additional markets following Sept. 25, Apple said.

For buyers who skipped the passport-shaped iPhone Duo, the 18 Pro line is the familiar slab - camera first, then battery and silicon - shipping a full month before Duo goes on sale Oct. 23.