Next month’s new iPhone lineup will bring a brand new ‘iPhone Ultra’ foldable, but the most popular models will no doubt be the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. Here are six new features rumored for iPhone 18 Pro.
Revised design: Dynamic Island shrinks, unified back
iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are expected to retain the basic sizes and designs of this year’s models. However, there are three noteworthy changes that will make the design feel fresh:
- Smaller Dynamic Island
- Unified look on back
- New color options
The Dynamic Island is getting smaller thanks to Face ID components moving under the display. This should enable the smallest display cutout in years.
iPhone 17 Pro’s two-tone rear design has proven polarizing. To solve that, Apple plans to better blend the colors of the aluminum and glass areas for a unified look.
Rumors about iPhone 18 Pro colors indicate Apple is testing a variety of new colors, but the flagship option replacing Cosmic Orange is expected to be a Dark Cherry/Burgundy shade.
A20 Pro chip
Every year, the iPhone gets a brand new chip. And the A20 Pro chip for iPhone 18 Pro is expected to be an especially big leap forward.
A20 Pro will be Apple’s first chip built with a 2nm process, and also utilize WMCM (Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module) packaging.
Both of these advancements should lead to greater-than-usual improvements over this year’s A19 Pro. Thus making iPhone 18 Pro excel in performance, efficiency, and AI tasks.
Variable aperture camera, improved Telephoto, and more
Camera improvements are always among Apple’s tentpole upgrades for new iPhones.
For the iPhone 18 Pro, we’re expecting a variable aperture main camera that offers greater control over depth-of-field (DoF) in photos. As my colleague Ben explains:
You can have a shallow DoF when you want to isolate the subject from the background, a medium DoF when you want isolation while ensuring the background is still recognizable, or a deep DOF when you want everything in shot to be in focus.
Apple is also rumored to have a wider aperture Telephoto camera launching this year, and more Pro-focused Camera app features.
Best battery life ever
iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max offer the biggest iPhone batteries to date, and they’ve proven a hit. It sounds like Apple will keep giving users more of what they want by improving battery life again.
iPhone 18 Pro Max is expected to have about a 10% larger battery than its predecessor. And more battery gains will likely come from two other changes:
- A20 Pro chip’s 2nm process
- C2 cellular modem
A20 Pro being built with a new 2nm process is expected to bring power efficiency gains, and switching from Qualcomm’s 5G modem to an Apple-designed C2 modem should do the same.
Camera Control 2.0
Camera Control debuted on the iPhone 16 as a dedicated button for the camera. It offers a variety of touch-sensitive gestures for controlling zoom, exposure, tone, and more. But many users found it overly complicated and finicky when used as anything more than a simple button.
Apple is reportedly updating Camera Control on the iPhone 18 line with a more scaled-back set of features. Touch-sensitive components will be removed, and potentially other changes will be made to offer an overall more user-friendly experience.
C2 modem
After years of development, Apple has officially started replacing Qualcomm’s cellular modems with its own in-house solutions. The C1 modem debuted in iPhone 16e, then C1X arrived in iPhone Air, and now a C2 modem is expected for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max.
Apple’s 5G cellular modems have proven to perform well, all while offering efficiency and battery improvements over Qualcomm’s options. Expect the C2 modem to build on the strong foundation of Apple’s C1 modems when it debuts in the iPhone 18 Pro.
iPhone 18 Pro features: wrap-up
Based on all the rumors and leaks we’ve seen, it sounds like iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max will offer more of the same improvements users want: better performance, longer lasting batteries, a modestly revised design, and camera upgrades.
What new changes and features do you want to see in the iPhone 18 Pro? Let us know in the comments.
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