Last year, we declared that the iPhone 17 Pro Max and the iPhone Air, which made its debut at the time, represented Apple’s “best upgrade cycle”. We might want to adjust that assertion.
Apple has just introduced more power and an intriguing upgrade to its camera technologies with the iPhone 18 Pro Max, the California-based company’s first flagship under the leadership of new chief executive John Ternus. Of course, the little brother, the 18 Pro is also in the line-up.
A little note here: we will be using the term “18 Pros” for any description that applies to both the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max. Let’s go.
Design: Common sense
On the outside, the 6.9-inch (17.5mm) iPhone 18 Pro Max is mostly similar to its predecessor down to its dimensions. The new device is, however, heavier by 16g at 249g, which is noticeable enough once you pick it up.
We tested a 17 Pro Max case on the new device and it fit well. That was a little surprising because Apple has always made it a point to tweak a small detail on any new iPhone, forcing users to buy new cases. The 16 Pro cases can work on 17 Pros, but not as seamlessly as is the case now,.
Still on the exterior, Apple has removed the colour contrast on the 18 Pro Max’s finishes, which gives it a more even look.
The camera bumps are slightly bigger – about 0.5mm – which means using a 17 Pro case will cause them to pop out a little bit. When shopping for cases, make sure they are clearly marked as meant for 18 Pros.
All the buttons – including the action button and camera control – remain in their usual places. And four colours are available for the 18 Pros: a deeper black, the time-tested silver, an ice-cool glacier and our champion for this iteration, burgundy (made extra-special since that was the wedding motiff for my wife and I). It is a nice contrast to last year’s wild cosmic orange. However, it would’ve been better if the shade of burgundy – it’s a wine-like variant – was lighter, as it appears darker in hand compared to the promotional materials.
Apple also retained its build, still using an aluminum unibody design with its Ceramic Shield for added protection. The company claims the material has three times better scratch resistance than the 16 Pros (no word on the 17 Pros). And might we say: it seems easier to wipe off fingerprint smudges on the 18 Pro Max.
The Dynamic Island on top is now about a third smaller compared to previous versions, giving you that bit more of digital real estate. Bonus: you can now have two live activities – one on either side of the Dynamic Island – compared to a single one previously.
Performance
Baked into the 18 Pro Max is Apple’s brand-new A20 Pro chip, which now uses to-nanometre technology to cram in more components. The company says that, compared to the 17 Pro Max, the chips is capable of speeding up its CPU by up to 20 per cent and graphics by up to 40 per cent.
That does, indeed, make the device feel snappier, and long-time iPhone users would notice this, as the 18 Pro Max seems to be a split-second faster compared to its predecessor. We did put it beside a 17 Pro Max, did some swipes and taps to confirm that speed bump-up and make sure we weren’t just seeing things.
Apple also relocated its vapour chamber towards the centre of the device, which allows it to distribute heat more evenly. Except for the first time we booted it up, the 18 Pro Max never had a heating issue; we even sacrificed our convenience to walk under the searing sun while watching a YouTube video for a solid half-hour – and the phone felt cooler than we expected and we never got a high-temperature warning.
And just for fun, Geekbench tests reportedly showed that the A20 Pro chip handily outperformed Intel’s i9 and the AMD Ryzen 9 by as much as 32 per cent. Might as well use the A chips on Macs; as one of my friends in the industry said, that would be a full circle moment, since the M chips were inspired by the As.
Camera
This year’s flagship iPhone’s biggest selling point is its camera. While it still dons a triple-48MP lens system, computational power has been boosted, thanks of course to the A20 Pro chip.
Over at the camera app, the 18 Pro Max now allows you to customise its interface by selecting your preferred functions: tap on the six-dot icon on the lower-right side to bring up your options, then tap on any of them – up to seven – to make them pop up on top; being your regular photographer, we went with the commoner’s go-tos, including night mode, timer, styles and centre stage, the feature that automatically resizes the display to fit all subjects in.
For professional users, more technical features such as shutter speed, white balance, exposure and a histogram are available. It’s fun from a customisation angle and saves you a lot of taps, letting you just easily access your most-used functions.
But what both types of users may find really handy is the biggest upgrade in the 18 Pro Max – its variable aperture. Aperture – measured in f-stops – determines how much light is allowed into a camera’s sensor; the lower the f number, the more light goes in. There are four f-stops on the phone – f/1.48, f/1.8/ f/2.8 and f/4.0.
Oh, and it’s also a mechanical – AKA physical – variable aperture system, meaning it doesn’t have to rely on software and should give more accurate results. But this really isn’t new: Samsung Electronics did introduce variable aperture on the Galaxy S9 and S10 – with f/1.5 and f/2.4 settings – as well as Xiaomi on its 13 Ultra and 14 Ultra, but they have since done away with it, reportedly favouring advancements in computational technology.
For our money (we’ll talk more about this later), it’s very intuitive. Without getting too geeky, the drill is simple: if you want better blurs, especially in portrait mode and close-ups, lower f-stops are favourable; using f/4.0 should result in the entire shot being crisp. The mechanical nature of the system also provides more accurate cutouts between the subject and the blurred background.
Variable aperture, however, cannot be used in all situations. Case in point, macro shots: the app will automatically switch to f/2.2 if it detects you’re trying to capture such a photo.
Variable aperture and the ability to customise which functions you’d like to place on top of the camera app are also available on video mode.
Battery
The 18 Pro Max lists battery life of up to 45 hours of video – which is six hours more compared to its predecessor, making it, by far, the best in the range. It did show as, from a full charge in the morning, we had enough juice to keep using it until well into the afternoon the following day – which would’ve even been early evening had we not spent more time gaming.
After a number of one-hour YouTube-at-full-brightness tests, we can peg the average battery loss at 4 per cent, at par with the 17 Pro Max.
Apple also says charging should be faster on the 18 Pro Max, and a power brick capable of 60W can bring its battery up to 50 per cent in only 15 minutes, compared to 20 minutes on the 17 Pro Max. Our tests were largely in line with that, and it seems we got to the 80 per cent (which is when charging slows down) and max power in a relatively shorter time.
What’s in Apple’s new foldable iPhone Duo?
Pricing
Yeah, about that. Apple’s iPhone prices are up – there’s no other way to sugarcoat it.
Last year’s 17 Pro Max models cost Dh5,099 (256GB), Dh5,949 (512GB), Dh6,799 (1TB) and Dh8,499 (2TB); the 18 Pro Max has price tags of Dh5,499, Dh6,349, Dh8,049 and Dh10,599 – the last one’s the very first iPhone to cross the Dh10,000 mark.
It is what it is. Chip costs continue to soar (thanks a lot, AI) and supply chains remain in a state of uncertainty, which have forced even companies with the most robust supply networks such as Apple (which already raised the prices of some Macs and iPads in June) and Samsung to raise prices. There is no shame in owning up, especially given the circumstances; welcome to the new reality
Verdict
Yeah, we may have to retract what we said last year, as the iPhone 18 Pro Max is a more solid upgrade. We’re very happy with its cameras, battery life and another great build.
That being said, the one real thing that may hold this device back is the price. Apple has, especially in recent years, kept iPhone prices stable, but like the wider economy, they were left with no choice.
Still, we think they’ll be fine. Remember, Samsung, despite their price increase, still scored record orders for their new Galaxy Z foldables, so that’s saying a lot about brand and marketing power despite the headlines. As such, we don’t think Apple’s die-hards will let them down.
And maybe the bigger question is, are you going solo (screen) now, or Duo later?
