Apple has unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro, its top-of-the-line (non-folding) iPhone for 2026 and most of 2027. It replaces the iPhone 17 Pro in the iPhone range – you can no longer buy the 17 Pro from Apple directly.
The 18 Pro keeps the 17 Pro’s design language with an extended “camera plateau” across the back of the phone, but introduces new colours and a clever new camera feature that is sure to get mobile shutterbugs excited.
Here’s a rundown of the standout similarities and differences between the regular-sized iPhone 18 Pro and the outgoing iPhone 17 Pro released in 2025.
Price and availability
The iPhone 18 Pro starts at £1,199/$1,199 with 256GB storage, a £100/$100 increase on the iPhone 17 Pro. This was expected due to the global RAM crisis that is driving up smartphone prices, but it does make this the most expensive Pro iPhone yet.
A 2TB iPhone 18 Pro will set you back a cool £2,399/$2,399.
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The displays are the exact same size
Both the iPhone 17 Pro and newest iPhone 18 Pro come with 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR OLED displays. While Apple hasn’t said if it’s the actual same panel used in the newer phone, you can be sure that they will be incredibly similar to look at and use.
Both can refresh adaptively with LTPO tech at up to 120Hz with Apple’s ProMotion tech, and are coated in protective Ceramic Shield 2, Apple’s most scratch-resistant finish. Both phones also have anti-reflective coatings.
Only the iPhone 18 Pro comes in black
Apple decided to ditch the popular black model for the iPhone 17 Pro, which came in Cosmic Orange, Silver and Deep Blue.
So, if you want a black Pro iPhone, you’ll need to get an iPhone 18 Pro, which is available in Deep Black. There are also new Burgundy and Glacier colours, as well as Silver. For the first time in years, getting a black iPhone will actually help you show off that you’ve got the new model, though the burgundy seems to be destined to adorn billboards and early adopters’ hands across the globe.
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Like the 17 Pro, the 18 Pro necessarily needs a glass section on the rear to allow for wireless charging, as the body of the rest of the phone is aluminium. As part of the year-on-year updates, Apple has made the two sections’ colours less contrasted, so it’s less obvious that there are two materials.
iPhone 18 Pro has a smaller Dynamic Island
Though a subtle change, the iPhone 18 Pro’s Dynamic Island is smaller than the iPhone 17 Pro’s. This is the area at the top of the display that’s actually two separate sensors for Face ID and the front-facing camera, but iOS masks it into a small black pill shape using software.
It appears to be a little narrower on the 18 Pro, though in its presentation, Apple demonstrated that it can also now show three different activities, whereas the 17 Pro was limited to two – however, this functionality may come to the 17 Pro and older iPhones with software updates in iOS 27.
The dynamic part is this, where the software expands the area to show information from various open apps such as the timer, Uber, Apple Music and others.
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The iPhone 18 Pro’s main camera has a potentially huge upgrade
Though the iPhone Duo will steal global headlines, one of the most significant upgrades on an iPhone this year is the iPhone 18 Pro’s variable aperture main camera lens. This is a first for an iPhone.
A variable aperture is what is found on DSLR cameras, where physically moving hardware parts automatically adjust how much light the lens is taking in depending on the ambient light.
It can better control depth of field, something smartphone cameras usually must rely on software processing to achieve. With a variable aperture, the effect is adjusted naturally.
It means the iPhone 18 Pro can adjust to apertures of ƒ/1.48, ƒ/1.8, ƒ/2.8 and ƒ/4.0, whereas the 17 Pro is stuck on ƒ/1.8 and relies on portrait mode options for bokeh effects.
Apple said the variable feature will also improve nighttime photo performance, while the 18 Pro’s system gains the ability to add cinematic blur to videos after they have been shot, and also gains focus tracking in videos, three improvements over the 17 Pro.
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The newer phone also gets an update to Apple’s Photographic Styles, with more looks to choose from and texture and grain control, as well as control over palette. Though the 17 Pro will surely be technologically capable of these new features, Apple is likely not to bring them to the older phone in a software update in order to encourage keen iPhone photographers to upgrade to the 18 Pro to get hold of every new feature.
iPhone 18 Pro could be noticeably better for gaming
Though the iPhone is not every mobile gaming enthusiast’s platform of choice – Android is often more performant and has wider title selection – keen iPhone gamers should note the iPhone 18 Pro could bring significant gains thanks to up to 40% faster GPU performance over the 17 Pro.
This is thanks to the A20 Pro chipset inside the phone, which Apple has also given the 18 Pro noticeably better thermal performance under load. The internal architecture of the device is said to be better set up to dissipate heat when playing demanding games, which in turn can allow the 18 Pro to stay performant.
It remains to be seen whether these claims will result in real-life gains, but the numbers are impressive.
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Early thoughts
If you have an iPhone 17 Pro, you really don’t need an iPhone 18 Pro by the looks of things. The design is practically unchanged, despite three new colour options, and a £100/$100 price increase on the cheapest model is not exactly welcome.
But the addition of the first-ever variable aperture camera lens on an iPhone is cause for celebration, and is a great incentive to upgrade if you have an iPhone 15 series or older – a three-year upgrade here will be far more noticeable.
If you can get an iPhone 17 Pro at a reduced price, it will be a very solid option, though the devices will become harder to find as Apple no longer sells them and stock will deplete. But for most iPhone users, these two devices will perform very similarly – on paper, at least.
We’ll reserve full judgement for when we get the iPhone 18 Pro in for review in the coming weeks.