The iPhone 18 Pro’s variable aperture camera and longer battery life grabbed plenty of attention at Apple’s launch event. But the new iPhones pack plenty of other notable upgrades.
From adding Cinematic effects after recording to checking how a photo has been edited, there’s more to the new Pro lineup than its headline features.
Apple mainly highlighted the iPhone 18 Pro’s cameras and new AI features on stage. But a closer look at the company’s press release and tech specs reveals plenty of other changes that deserve attention.
More control over aperture
Photo: Apple
Apple highlighted the iPhone 18 Pro’s new variable aperture lens on stage. It mentioned the system features six laser-cut blades, each thinner than a human hair, and a custom rotor mechanism to swing them.
Variable aperture lenses are typically found on high-end cameras, letting users adjust depth of field. On the iPhone 18 Pro, the variable aperture supports four stops of control: f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8 and f/4.
In low-light conditions, you can open the aperture to f/1.48 to let in more light. The f/1.8 and f/2.8 aperture settings should be ideal for most situations, depending on the available light. Apple itself says f/1.8 aperture delivers the best balance between depth of field and light sensitivity.
The f/4 setting is useful when you want more of the scene in focus. For group photos, that could help keep people in the back row sharper instead of favoring those closest to the camera.
The trade-off is reduced light intake, so the narrowest aperture won’t always be the best choice indoors or after dark.
You won’t have to choose the right aperture setting every time you take a photo. Your iPhone will do that automatically. You can only choose an aperture in Pro mode, alongside shutter speed and ISO. Apple is also shipping an API that will allow third-party apps to control the aperture.
Add Cinematic effects after recording
Four years after its introduction, Apple is giving Cinematic mode a major upgrade with the iPhone 18 Pro. You can now apply the effect after shooting a regular video.
So, on the iPhone 18 Pro, you no longer have to decide whether you want the cinematic look before hitting the record button. Even better, Cinematic mode allows capturing 4K videos at up to 60 fps.
That’s not the only video recording improvement on the iPhone 18 Pro. It also supports shooting time-lapse videos in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision HDR.
C2 modem gets mmWave support
Photo: Apple
Apple’s newest iPhones go all-in on its in-house chips for connectivity. Besides using the N1 chip for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Thread connectivity, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max use the C2 modem.
The company’s third cellular modem delivers 50% faster upload speeds than C1X while consuming 15% less power.
More importantly, it supports mmWave in the US. That effectively marks the beginning of Qualcomm’s exit from Apple’s supply chain, with the company no longer using the former’s Snapdragon modem for its devices.
Interestingly, Apple is still using a Qualcomm modem inside the iPhone 18 Pro Max.
Apple says the C2 modem coupled with the A20 Pro enables its latest iPhones to connect faster to cellular networks in areas with spotty coverage.
Superior thermal design
The A20 Pro chip inside the iPhone 18 Pro uses TSMC’s more advanced 2nm node. This switch alone should make it more efficient than the A19 Pro. But that’s not it.
Apple uses a new packaging technology for the A20 Pro. This allows it to remove the memory from the chip, enabling the SoC to attach directly to the revamped vapor chamber.
The larger vapor chamber inside the iPhone 18 Pro offers three times the surface area of the iPhone 17 Pro. Apple says all these improvements combined “dramatically improves sustained performance” and bring a 40% sustained performance boost over previous iPhones.
Even faster wired charging
Photo: Apple
Last year, Apple bumped the iPhone 17 Pro’s wired charging speed by 50% to 40W. This enabled the phone to go from 0 to 50% in 20 minutes.
This year, Apple is going even faster with the iPhone 18 Pro family. The new iPhones support 60W wired fast charging, enabling them to charge from 0 to 50% in just 15 minutes.
Apple notes that this requires using a 60W USB-C power adapter with USB PD 3.1 and Adjustable Voltage Supply (AVS) support.
The faster wired charging goes hand in hand with longer battery life. The iPhone 18 Pro now lasts as long as the iPhone 17 Pro Max. And the iPhone 18 Pro Max gets the biggest battery boost ever for an iPhone to deliver unrivaled battery life.
Apple Reference Image lets you check a photo’s authenticity
As AI editing tools make it easier to manipulate photos, Apple is introducing a way to check what the iPhone’s camera originally captured. Called Apple Reference Image, the feature uses the iPhone 18 Pro’s new main camera sensor to sign image data at capture.
When you take a photo in Reference mode, Apple’s Private Cloud Compute turns that signed sensor data into an unalterable reference image. You can view it alongside the main photo in Photos and compare the two to identify edits.
Apple will also provide APIs so third-party apps can display these reference images.
A smaller, more useful Dynamic Island
The iPhone 18 Pro’s smaller Dynamic Island does more than free up screen space. Apple has redesigned it to show up to three Live Activities at once, giving you more room to keep track of ongoing tasks.
That should come in handy when several things need your attention. You can simultaneously monitor your food delivery status while running a timer and checking the sports score.
Despite the smaller footprint, the new iPhones retain Face ID support.
Yes, the iPhone 18 Pro looks similar to the iPhone 17 Pro. But under the hood, Apple has made changes to almost every aspect of the device to improve the everyday experience.
Longer battery life, faster wired charging, better thermal management and more versatile cameras should add up to a noticeable difference.
Rajesh has been writing about consumer technology for over a decade, with a strong focus on iPhones, Macs and Apple’s ecosystem. He enjoys digging into Apple software updates, hardware changes, and discovering new Mac apps that make work faster and more enjoyable.
You can reach out to him at mail[at]rajeshpandey.me.
