On paper, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are Apple’s best smartphones yet. They run the new A20 chip, feature cameras that use a revolutionary variable aperture, and have the longest battery life of any iPhone ever. And yet, the iPhone 18 Pro’s launch has been a rocky one, beset by glitches and hardware issues that range in severity. Some have been fixed by simple software updates, while others remain unresolved
None of this is to encourage you to return your iPhone 18 Pro or discourage you from buying one if you have your sights set on Apple’s newest Pro phones. However, it’s important to note that this has hardly been a drama-free rollout. As of this article, these are the four major problems I’ve seen with the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
iPhone 18 Pros were randomly rebooting
The first iPhone 18 Pro issue that I saw was random reboots. Users complained that, after a failed Face ID attempt, their iPhones would freeze up and, after a short period of time, reboot. Curiously, Apple’s newest Apple Watches, the Series 12 and Ultra 4, had similar reboot issues. While annoying, this was clearly just a glitch with Apple’s newest iPhones running iOS 27 and Apple Watches running watchOS 27. The company quickly released patches for all devices in iOS 27.0.1 and watchOS 27.0.1, each of which only mentioned this singular patch in the release notes.
iPhone 18 Pro Max might not be able to dial 911
While Apple says iOS 27.0.1 only patches this reboot glitch, AT&T says otherwise. The company sent alerts to iPhone 18 Pro Max users this week urging them to update to this latest version of iOS, warning that iPhone 18 Pro users might not be able to text, call, or connect to data at times, including when dialing 911. The full message reads: “Hi, it’s AT&T. Action needed: An important Apple software update for your iPhone 18 Pro Max is available. Some phones may be unable to complete calls/text/data, including to 911. Update to iOS 27.0.1 immediately — Settings > General > Software Update. Please contact AT&T or Apple if you have questions.”
As it happens, iPhone 18 Pro users are not included in this alert. As MacRumors speculates, it might have something to do with the iPhone 18 Pro Max’s modem. This is the only new iPhone this year to ship with a Qualcomm modem rather than Apple’s own C2 modem. As MacRumors notes, affected iPhone 18 Pro Max users can lose service, forcing their phones to drop into SOS mode.
What do you think so far?
Some iPhone 18 Pros have a cracking or popping noise
Some iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max users are reporting strange “cracking” or “popping” noises coming from their new smartphones’ speakers. This Redditor shared that the sound comes intermittently from the upper speaker, and sounds like someone pulling an aux cable out of a headphone jack. Users in the thread concurred: One user complained of a light buzzing when the volume is set to 100%, while another said their iPhone has a crackling sound when on calls with “mono speaker.” According to one Redditor, updating to iOS 27.0.1 didn’t fix the issue.
While the thread is full of users complaining of similar issues, not everyone has the same experience. Some Redditors say they haven’t heard the sounds on their iPhone 18 Pros, including multiple Mashable reporters. Another user noted that they’re experiencing the issue on their iPhone 16 Pro Max since they updated to iOS 27.
Some iPhone 18 Pros are already losing their color
As Mashable highlights, some iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max users are noticing that the finish on their devices is starting to wear away, particularly around the camera lens. It seems the majority of the complaints, if not all of them, are from users with burgundy and black iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max devices, and it’s not clear how widespread the issue is. Some users have claimed that cleaning the affected area with a Q-tip is enough to fix the issue, while others say the finish itself has worn away.
Is this discoloration around the camera lens rings normal on my new 18pm
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