iPhone 18 Pro Review: Variable Aperture Innovation and A20 Pro Performance

Apple often presents minor updates as groundbreaking, even when catching up to competitors—such as foldable smartphones that Samsung has been producing for years. However, in the shadow of the newly announced foldable iPhone Duo, which will be available later this year, Apple has made two significant moves. First, there is no basic iPhone model this year (at least for now), leaving only two Pro models: the Pro and the Pro Max. Second, there is a genuine and striking hardware innovation: a variable aperture. Previously the exclusive domain of dedicated cameras, this feature arrives on smartphones for the first time, marking a noteworthy engineering achievement. I tested everything using the iPhone 18 Pro in the latest purple finish, kindly loaned by iStore.

Design and Build

If you place the iPhone 18 Pro next to the previous generation, most people will not be able to tell which one is new. Apple retains the unibody aluminum design introduced last year, with not a single design line signaling a new generation. Those hoping for a surprise will have to wait until next year. That said, the size is precisely what it needs to be. Weighing 211 grams with a 6.3-inch display, it remains one of the few advanced smartphones on the market that can still be comfortably operated with one hand, without thumb acrobatics. Let us address the redundant button known as Camera Control. Apple continues to push this unnecessary button on the side of the device for exposure, zoom, and style controls. While neat, it remains largely superfluous. In practice, I rarely found myself using it, as opening the camera from the screen is simply faster and more natural. In short, it is a bit of a gimmick—charming, but still a gimmick.

Display and Audio

It is difficult to fault the display of the iPhone 18 Pro. Under the harsh Israeli sun, which serves as a rigorous test for any screen, it remains completely legible. Peak brightness climbs up to 3,000 nits outdoors, which, combined with the anti-reflective coating, delivers genuine performance rather than just impressive spec-sheet numbers. On the other hand, users upgrading from the previous generation will notice no difference. It offers the same sharpness, the same 120Hz refresh rate, and in daily use, I could not find a distinct improvement to highlight. In other words, it is an excellent screen—just one we already had.

In the audio department, Apple does not attempt to reinvent the wheel. There is a stereo speaker pair with Dolby Atmos and spatial audio support, alongside four microphones for video recording. While I did not subject the speakers to an exhaustive review, they handle casual video viewing and calls adequately, leaving no room for complaint.

Camera Innovations

Recent iPhone generations consistently deliver fantastic image quality in almost any scenario, supported by computational photography and cinematic video modes. However, the iPhone 18 Pro introduces a significant engineering innovation: a variable aperture, a first for a mobile device. While standard in dedicated cameras, is it useful? Absolutely. Especially in long-exposure photography and night shots, the ability to manually set the aperture allowed me to experiment with light sources and create sharp rays from nighttime street lighting, for instance. To my knowledge, no other smartphone on the market can achieve this with an integrated lens array.

Thus, the variable aperture is a genuine game-changer. Even without it, the iPhone effortlessly produces stunning photos day and night, regardless of the conditions. Video recording, particularly the dramatic cinematic modes, remains among the best in the category, alongside a front-facing camera that produces gorgeous bokeh for selfies.

Performance and Thermal Dynamics

Driving the iPhone 18 Pro is Apple's new A20 Pro chip, and benchmark results present a clear, if uneven, picture. In Geekbench CPU tests, it scored 3,983 points in single-core and 11,288 in multi-core performance. Single-core performance shows only a minor shift compared to last year's A19 Pro, which was already among the fastest on the market. Conversely, the multi-core jump is more pronounced at around 15 percent. The real news lies in the graphics department: scoring 61,735 points in the Geekbench GPU test, it represents roughly a one-third improvement over the previous generation. This is hardly surprising, given that Apple added a seventh GPU core and dedicated AI accelerators.

3DMark tests yielded respectable results as well: 3,584 points in Steel Nomad Light and 2,136 in Solar Bay Extreme, which tests Ray Tracing performance. In percentage terms, the iPhone 18 Pro outperformed 87 percent of tested devices in the extreme Solar Bay version and no less than 93 percent in Steel Nomad Light. In short, the A20 Pro is another exceptionally fast chip from the laboratories, but users will feel the difference primarily in heavy gaming and future AI applications designed to fully exploit this power. However, with great power comes significant thermal output—the device heats up noticeably under maximum load. Using an infrared thermometer, we measured no less than 41 degrees Celsius on the external chassis, which is quite warm.

The Bottom Line

The iPhone 18 Pro is a cautious upgrade continuing the trajectory of the previous generation without revolutionary leaps. If you are upgrading from a three- or four-year-old iPhone, you will receive a comfortable device with one of the best screens on the market and a robust build that will last for years. If you already carry an iPhone 17 Pro in your pocket, design, display, and audio offer little justification for a rush to the store—unless your phone serves as your primary creative camera. In that case, you indeed have a reason to upgrade, allowing you to enjoy the advantages of a variable aperture right in your pocket, even if it means emptying your wallet.