Club Benefits
This year's iPhone launch event is rumored to be a little different than what we're used to. With the iPhone 18 now expected to launch in early 2027, the iPhone 18 Pro is going to have a more prominent role in Apple's fall launch event. But it's hardly going to take the center stage if all the iPhone Fold rumors we've heard end up being true.
We've heard a lot about what we can and can't expect to see on iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max already. But Apple is going to need to make some serious changes if it wants both phones to stand apart from their foldable sibling.
Article continues belowA larger camera sensor
Cameras are one of the things Apple does best, and flagship iPhones are routinely placed among the best camera phones — in part thanks to Apple's strong computational photography software. But that doesn't mean that Apple couldn't offer some major improvements to the camera hardware as well. Even though we may not see the rumored 200MP main lens, which would match the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, iPhone 18 Pro could still benefit from a larger sensor.
The iPhone 17 Pro has a 1/2.55-inch camera sensor, which is pretty big, but there are other devices with even larger camera sensors. The Xiaomi 17 Ultra, for example, features a one-inch camera sensor, and it's far from the only phone to do so. Larger sensors mean a camera can capture more light, which in turn leads to better low-light performance, higher dynamic range and improved depth of field.
You can't fake sensor size, and larger sensors need more internal space that's already at a premium. Allocating more real estate for the sensor would require other components to be rearranged, or possibly even removed entirely.
An under-display camera
Under-display cameras are nothing new, but they never really took off in any meaningful fashion. In fact, some of the more prominent examples of under-display cameras, such as Samsung Galaxy Z Fold devices, have since reverted to the hole-punch design due to the fact that they offer better photo quality.
The odds of it happening on iPhone 18 Pro seem slim, though we may still see under-display Face ID make an appearance. Still, adopting the invisible camera lens on iPhone 18 Pro would definitely be a way to make the phone stand out — especially if Apple can ensure it can still take good photos.
Plus, it would help give under-display cameras a new lease on life, as rival phone makers scramble to try to replicate what Apple has done.
Better zoom
Despite helping to pioneer telephoto lenses several years back, iPhones have regularly fallen behind when it comes to their zooming lenses. Optical magnification was hindered until the development of the 5x tetraprism lens on iPhone 15 Pro Max, and in the years since we've actually seen the level of optical magnification decrease to 4x as Apple aims to emphasize the hybrid 8x "optical quality" feature instead.
iPhone 18 Pro needs to turn things around and offer a significant improvement to its zooming capabilities. I'm talking higher optical zoom, increased "optical quality" magnification and even Apple's take on Google's Super Res Zoom. It still baffles me that Apple hasn't added an AI-enhanced extra-long zoom feature of its own, and iPhone 18 Pro is as good a time as any to make it happen.
Silicon-carbon batteries
iPhones have some of the best phone battery life around, especially when you consider how much smaller those batteries are compared to the likes of the OnePlus 15 and its gargantuan 6,000 mAh battery. But improvements can always be made, and Apple would do well to ditch traditional lithium-ion battery chemistry in favor of the newer silicon-carbon technology.
The main benefit is that silicon-carbon batteries offer greater energy density, which allows phone makers to offer greater battery capacity without taking up more space. Or, on the flip side, Apple could offer the same amount of capacity in a smaller (and likely thinner) battery.
That means Apple has room to add more internal hardware, or, as it is wont to do, make the iPhone 18 Pro even slimmer — all without compromising battery life.
Faster charging
iPhone battery life has been on the rise over the past few years; the same can't be said about the phones' charging speed. Apple doesn't like telling people how fast iPhones recharge in terms of wattage, but we know that the iPhone 17 Pro tops out somewhere near 40W. While that sort of speed isn't terrible, it still falls quite far behind some of the competition — including Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra's upgraded 60W charging speeds.
It's a similar story with Apple MagSafe, with the wireless charging protocol topping out at 25W on iPhone 17 Pro. That's the same maximum speed as Qi 2.2, which is available on rival flagships like Galaxy S26 Ultra and Pixel 10 Pro XL, but it's quite far behind what some of the Chinese brands have done with their own proprietary wireless charging systems.
Oppo and OnePlus offer 80-100W wireless charging, depending on where you buy your phone, for example. Since Apple is in control of MagSafe, couldn't we see it push the envelope a little bit more? Even if we only see speeds of 30 or 40W, it would be better than nothing.
Improved durability
With the iPhone 17, Apple ditched the titanium frame in favor of aluminum, which proved to be a very controversial decision. Aluminum is nowhere near as strong as titanium, or even stainless steel, which led to a lot of users damaging their phones by accident — incidents that were dubbed "scratchgate" by the world at large. It goes without saying that Apple needs to do better with the iPhone 18 Pro.
Considering the raised plateau design is set to return, improved durability is arguably more important than ever. Plus, it would be nice to see Apple release a phone with an IP69 water and dust resistance rating. Considering Apple's water resistance is noticeably better than most phones with an IP68 rating, allowing for submersion in deeper water for longer periods than most phones, it would be nice to see the upgrade — especially since an IPx9 water resistance rating is designed to offer better protection against high-pressure water.
A variable aperture lens
There have been rumors that Apple could introduce a variable aperture camera lens on iPhone 18 Pro, though more recently, we've heard that this may not be the case. Either way, it's exactly the kind of upgrade the iPhone camera I'd like to see.
A wide aperture lets in more light, which is great for night photography, but there are times when a narrow aperture is also beneficial. This includes shooting in bright conditions, or attempting to take close-up shots without the blurring that a wider depth of field would induce.
Offering the ability to switch between a wide and narrow aperture, something the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S10 were able to do, would give users much more control over the kind of photos they take. Or, alternatively, Apple could follow the example set by the likes of Xiaomi and Huawei by offering a bunch of adjustable aperture options for power users to do with as they please.
Touch ID
Apple hasn't offered Touch ID on a flagship iPhone for almost a decade, relegating its use to the now-defunct iPhone SE lineup. But with rumors suggesting that Touch ID may be included on iPhone Fold, now's a good time as any to bring it back to iPhone 18 Pro as well — ideally hidden under the phone's display.
Under-display fingerprint scanners are no longer limited to the flagship phones, and can be found on a variety of cheaper models like Samsung Galaxy A57 and Nothing Phone 4a Pro. Even if Apple believes that Face ID is the more convenient and secure option, there's no reason why it couldn't also offer an under-display Touch ID as well.
Apple would do well to add an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, like Samsung has utilized, rather than a cheaper (and far less accurate) optical sensor.
Better AI
One of Apple's biggest failings in recent years was its inability to capitalize on AI quickly enough, and then botching the initial attempt with promises that still haven't been fulfilled. The long-awaited AI overhaul of Siri still hasn't happened yet, and it's left Apple Intelligence in a form of limbo thanks to Apple seemingly not bothering to develop additional features to make up for that shortfall.
While software features often fall within the realm of iOS updates, and are widely available on a large number of iPhone models, the iPhone 18 Pro is an opportunity for Apple to try and fix some of its mistakes. Just like how Samsung and Google add new AI features to their major releases, so too should Apple.
It doesn't matter if new AI software makes its way to older iPhones at some point, Apple should be using the iPhone 18 Pro launch as a jumping point to highlight those new features and generate hype for Apple AI for the first time in over two years.
Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Subscribe to Tom's Guide on YouTube and follow us on TikTok.
More from Tom’s Guide
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
