Apple unveils the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, emphasising internal enhancements over redesigns, including a new A20 chip built on TSMC’s 2nm process and improved thermal performance.
Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max arrive with a familiar silhouette, but the emphasis this year is on internal change rather than a redesign. Apple has kept the aluminium unibody and overall form largely intact after last year’s major visual update, while widening the colour range to four finishes. According to Apple and MacRumors, the new phones went on sale on 18 September, following pre-orders from 12 September, with a wider second wave due on 25 September in additional markets.
In hand, the two models follow the same logic as before: the 6.3-inch Pro is the more balanced choice, while the 6.9-inch Pro Max is the option for those who want the larger display and the biggest battery. The weight rise is modest on paper, but not trivial in use. Apple’s launch materials and early hands-on reports place the iPhone 18 Pro at 211g and the Pro Max at 249g, both heavier than their predecessors. That makes the Max especially worth trying before buying, particularly for users who plan to hold it one-handed for long periods.
The biggest change is the A20 Pro chip, which Apple says is built on TSMC’s 2nm process and paired with a new internal layout designed to keep performance high for longer. MacRumors reports that the chip uses a 6-core CPU, 7-core GPU and dual 16-core Neural Engine arrangement, with Apple claiming major gains in on-device AI and graphics work. The company has also reworked the thermal path with a larger vapour chamber and new heat-transfer materials, while Apple says sustained performance is up by as much as 40% versus the iPhone 17 Pro.
That cooling work appears to matter in practice. In the Japanese hands-on report, the iPhone 18 Pro warmed more slowly than the iPhone 17 Pro during repeated play of Sonic Racing on Apple Arcade in the same indoor conditions. Both phones remained smooth after 30 minutes, but the newer model felt less quick to heat up and therefore more comfortable to hold over time. The same report notes that the black finish is notably deeper than previous Pro models, while the Glacier colour reads as a pale blue that can look silver in strong light.
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