iPhone 18 Pro Hands-On: A $100 Price Increase Buys a Real Camera Upgrade, Early Reviewers Say
Meridians hasn't tested Apple's new phones. Here's what outlets given early hands-on access are reporting about the camera, chip, battery and the two tradeoffs they flagged.
Meridians Reviews Desk
Published 15 September 2026 · Updated 15 September 2026 · 4 min read
ReviewsThe short answer
- Apple's iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max start at $1,099 and $1,199 — both $100 more than last year's models — with review outlets now reporting on early hands-on time.
- The headline change is a variable-aperture main camera (f/1.48 to f/4.0) that Apple says improves low-light shots by about 50% over the iPhone 17 Pro.
- A new A20 Pro chip and larger vapor chamber are said to enable up to 40% faster sustained graphics performance; Apple's battery claim for the Pro Max rises to 45 hours of video playback, up from 39 hours.
- Reviewers with hands-on time flagged two tradeoffs: the price increase, and added weight — the Pro Max now weighs 249 grams, up from 233 grams.
Meridians has not tested the iPhone 18 Pro or Pro Max directly. Apple gave a handful of outlets early hands-on time ahead of the phones reaching stores, and their reporting gives the clearest picture yet of what actually changed — and what it costs.
What's new, according to early reviewers
- Camera: a variable aperture on the main wide lens, adjustable from f/1.48 to f/4.0 across four stops, with manual controls for aperture, shutter speed, white balance and focus tracking.
- Chip: Apple's first 2nm phone processor, the A20 Pro, with super cores reported up to 20% faster and a GPU up to 40% faster.
- Cooling: a larger vapor chamber that reviewers say enables sustained performance during longer tasks like gaming.
- Battery and charging: Apple rates the Pro Max for 45 hours of video playback, up from 39 hours on the iPhone 17 Pro Max, with 60W charging reaching 50% in 15 minutes.
- Price: $1,099 for the Pro and $1,199 for the Pro Max, both $100 above last year.
The camera, in reviewers' words
Apple told reviewers the variable aperture delivers roughly 50% better low-light performance shooting wide open at f/1.48 compared with the iPhone 17 Pro. Outlets with hands-on units described visibly different background blur as the aperture changes — a manual control most phone cameras don't offer — plus 4K timelapses and the ability to apply Cinematic Mode blur after a photo or video is already captured.
The tradeoffs
Reviewers who spent time with the phones named two downsides: the $100 price increase across the Pro line, and extra weight. The iPhone 18 Pro now weighs 211 grams, up from 206 grams, and the Pro Max weighs 249 grams, up from 233 grams — noticeable in the hand over a full day of use.
Full independent reviews, with unstructured testing time, typically follow in the days before a phone ships to the public.
Sources
Every factual claim above is traceable to these documents. Check them — that is why they are here.
About this byline
Meridians Reviews Desk is an editorial desk at Meridians, not an individual. A desk byline means the article was produced and fact-checked to that desk's published standards. Read our editorial standards and corrections policy.
Sponsored
Paid placement · not editorial
Apple's iPhone Duo Is Real: Here's What It Costs and What's Inside
4 min read · 11 September 2026
What's Expected at Apple's September 9 Event: A Pricier iPhone 18 Pro and a Foldable Said to Start Above $2,000
4 min read · 8 September 2026
The Meridians Brief
One considered email a week
What changed, what it costs you, and what to do about it — from the Meridians desks. No sponsored picks disguised as recommendations.
Sign-up opens with our launch issue. Nothing is sent or stored yet.