I've been testing the iPhone 18 Pro Max and iPhone 18 Pro — your 10 biggest questions answered

I’ve been testing the new iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max for our review and much more, and I know there's a lot of questions people want answered before they decide whether to upgrade. Is the A20 Pro performance leap big enough? How good is the battery life? Which model is better for you? And should you just wait for the iPhone Duo?

I've scoured all of the comments and questions we've been getting on the Tom's Guide YouTube channel, TikTok hot takes, Instagram videos and and my recent interview with Apple CEO John Ternus, and these are the top 10 questions you have about Apple's new flagships along with my answers.

iPhone 18 Pro & Pro Max Review! (Answering the Internet) - YouTube

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'Glad I ordered the Pro, the Pro Max looks so massive. 249 grams is a whole iPad.'

The iPhone 18 Pro Max is not quite the weight of an iPad mini, but there's no denying that Apple's biggest flagship has been getting heavier each generation. The iPhone 17 Pro Max weighed 8.22 ounces while the iPhone 18 Pro Max is 8.78 ounces. That's a pretty significant increase for just one year.

The extra heft for the new iPhone is likely due to Apple adding a bigger internal vapor chamber cooling system, as well as physical mechanical blades for the variable aperture.

Plus, you get a bigger battery on the iPhone 18 Pro Max. The eSIM model of the iPhone 18 Pro Max reportedly has a 5,567 mAh battery, compared to 5,088 mAh on the iPhone 17 Pro max.

If you carry your iPhone 18 Pro Max in your front pocket all day, you will feel those 249 grams. The standard iPhone 18 Pro comes in at 211 grams, which is much more manageable.

'Will my iPhone 17 Pro case fit the iPhone 18 Pro?'

Yes, your iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro cases should fit your iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. Apple kept the physical height, width, and depth dimensions identical to last year's models, so you don't need to spend another $50 on a new case unless you just want a new style or color.

If you're looking to protect your investment, we've got a roundup of the 12 best iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max cases to get, including Apple, Otterbox and Casetify.

'Can we turn the Dynamic Island off? I hate when app icons block the top'

No, you can’t disable the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 18 Pro or Pro Max. But Apple did make the cutout smaller this year by moving the infrared sensor for Face ID underneath the display glass.

More good news: You can now show up to three Live Activities at once instead of just two. So I could easily toggle between a timer, Spotify controls, and Apple Maps directions at the top of my screen.

'How does the 18 Pro battery compare to the 17 Pro Max?'

The new iPhone 18 Pro models do last longer on charge than the iPhone 17 Pro series, but it's not quite the leap we thought it would be. Let’s look at the actual Tom's Guide lab test numbers:

The iPhone 18 Pro lasted 16 hours and 17 minutes on the Tom's Guide battery test, which involves web surfing over 5G at 150 nits of screen brightness. That’s nearly an hour gain over the 17 Pro, but it does not beat last year's 17 Pro Max, which hit 17:54.

The iPhone 18 Pro Max is still the battery life king at 18 hours and 27 minutes. It's the longest-lasting iPhone we have ever benchmarked and makes it among the top performers on the Tom's Guide best phone battery life list. It also beats the Galaxy S26 Ultra by nearly 2 hours.

'Give me an iPhone Duo with the iPhone 18 Pro camera suite. That's literally all I want.'

I’m right there with you, but here’s why that camera setup is likely exclusive to the 18 Pro series. Apple likely couldn't find the room to add a telephoto lens to the Duo, so you get just a wide and ultrawide lens.

So if you want a longer 4x optical zoom, go with the iPhone 18 Pro or Pro Max.

In addition, Apple added six mechanical blades that expand and contract to the main 48MP camera on the Pros in order to achieve variable aperture. It shifts anywhere from f/1.48 to f/4.0 automatically, or you can customize it using new Pro controls.

That six-blade mechanism requires physical depth. That's why the thinner foldable iPhone Duo likely can't fit this exact camera suite without adding a massive camera bump. See our in-depth iPhone 18 Pro Max variable aperture camera testing for some good examples of what you can do.

'Can you actually edit Cinematic Mode AFTER you record a video now, or did I misread that?'

You read that right. And this is probably my favorite software quality-of-life upgrade on the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max.

Historically, if you forgot to select Cinematic Mode before hitting record, you were stuck with standard video. On the 18 Pro series, you can shoot standard 4K video, open up the editor, and toggle Cinematic Mode on or off after the fact right at the top of the display.

iPhone 18 Pro: Cinematic Mode on - YouTube

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iPhone 18 Pro: Cinematic Mode off - YouTube

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You can see the results above, as the background is more blurred out with Cinematic Mode enabled. It's essentially like Portrait mode for video.

Apple also added manual shutter speed controls for video and 4K Dolby Vision Timelapses. If you shoot video for social media or YouTube, this gives you way more flexibility in post-production without locking you into specific camera modes up front.

'Performance = Get the iPhone 18 Pro. Entertainment = Wait for the iPhone Duo.'

This is an interesting take on the iPhone 18 Pro vs. iPhone Duo comparison.

The 18 Pro is powered by the 2nm A20 Pro chip. In our benchmark tests, it scored over 4,700 on single-core CPU tests and turned in a massive 45% graphics jump over the 17 Pro Max, also comfortably beating Samsung's Galaxy S26 Ultra across the board.

The iPhone Duo uses this exact same processor. Our A20 Pro lab testing proves that this chip has the raw GPU horsepower and 80% thermal stability required to run dual-screen multitasking without overheating or tanking performance.

However, driving a larger display requires more resources, and it's not clear how much the iPhone Duo's thinner design will impact sustained performance. The bigger difference to me is likely to be battery life, though, as the iPhone 18 Pro Max is rated for 45 hours of video playback versus 31 for the Duo on its main 7.6-inch panel.

If you want a traditional, ultra-durable slab phone with max camera control and 18+ hours of battery, get the 18 Pro Max. But if you want a dual-screen workstation for media and multitasking, wait for the Duo, because the chip inside should be ready for it.

'Is Siri AI on iOS 27 actually useful now?'

I’m not going to say that Siri AI is smarter than Gemini or ChatGPT yet. But thanks to iOS 27 and the A20 Pro’s new dual 16-core Neural Engine, which logged a 40% to 48% speed boost in our Geekbench AI lab tests, it’s significantly more helpful.

The big difference this year is personal context and multi-step voice prompts. Instead of asking Siri to do one basic task at a time, you can do several things at once.

For example, I could ask for Siri to check my calendar for any openings for lunch with my brother, research restaurants around Bryant Park and include recommended dishes and send a text to him in a single prompt.

I just wish that you could talk to Siri in real time while looking at live video, as you can with Gemini and ChatGPT Voice.

'Is there actually $100 more worth of upgrades here?'

This question is referring to the $100 price hike for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, which is likely due to the component shortage. So, what does that extra $100 actually buy you under the hood?

• A blazing A20 Pro chip
• A physical, six-blade mechanical variable aperture main camera
• An internal vapor chamber that's three times larger for sustained cooling
• Upgraded 60W fast charging
• Solid battery life gains for both models

Whether these upgrades justify the extra cash depends on your current iPhone. If you're coming from an iPhone 17 Pro, paying $100 is a tough sell.

But if you're upgrading from a an iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro, that $100 gets you a massive 50% performance leap, real optical aperture control, and over three additional hours of screen time.

'Should I get the iPhone 18 Pro or iPhone 18 Pro Max?'

This is not an easy call. There’s four main differences between the iPhone 18 Pro vs iPhone 18 Pro Max.

No. 1 is the display size. The 6.3-inch OLED panel on the iPhone 18 Pro is great, but the 6.9-inch screen on the Max gives you a more immersive viewing experience for playing games and watching movies. Plus, there’s more info on screen at once when reviewing documents or surfing the web.

Second, you get more battery life on the iPhone 18 Pro Max, hitting nearly 18.5 hours — which is a bit over 2 hours more than the iPhone 18 Pro.

On the other hand, the iPhone 18 Pro is more compact and lighter. It’s like having a stealth bomber in your pocket with all that A20 Pro power. And the iPhone 18 Pro starts at $100 less. That might not seem like much but you can put that savings towards additional storage.

For me I’d get the iPhone 18 Pro Max but it really comes down to screen size and price.

Bottom line

The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max might not look radically different at first glance, but underneath, the A20 Pro chip, camera hardware, and thermal redesign set a new baseline for Apple flagships.

Did we answer your key questions about the 18 Pro series? Are you picking one up, or holding out for our full iPhone Duo review? Let us know in the comments!

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More from Tom's Guide

• I spent 30 minutes with the iPhone Duo — 3 things you just don’t get from the pictures
• I put the iPhone 18 Pro Max vs. Galaxy S26 Ultra through a 7-round face-off — here’s the winner
• I replaced ChatGPT with Siri AI for a day — here's what surprised me