Next year’s iPhone 18 lineup will bring a brand new foldable option, but the most popular models will no doubt be the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. Here are six new features rumored for iPhone 18 Pro.
Revised design: Dynamic Island shrinks, unified back
iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are expected to retain the basic sizes and designs of this year’s models. However, there are three noteworthy changes that will make the design feel fresh:
- Smaller Dynamic Island
- Unified look on back
- New color options
The Dynamic Island is getting smaller thanks to Face ID components moving under the display. This should enable the smallest display cutout in years.
iPhone 17 Pro’s two-tone rear design has proven polarizing. To solve that, Apple plans to better blend the colors of the aluminum and glass areas for a unified look.
Rumors about iPhone 18 Pro colors indicate Apple is testing Coffee Brown, Purple, and Burgundy shades. It’s still too early to know what the final colors will be, but the bolder 17 Pro colors seem to have been successful.
A20 Pro chip
Every year, the iPhone gets a brand new chip. And the A20 Pro chip for iPhone 18 Pro is expected to be an especially big leap forward.
A20 Pro will be Apple’s first chip built with a 2nm process, and also utilize WMCM (Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module) packaging.
Both of these advancements should lead to greater-than-usual improvements over this year’s A19 Pro. Thus making iPhone 18 Pro excel in performance, efficiency, and AI tasks.
Variable aperture camera and more
Camera improvements are always among Apple’s tentpole upgrades for new iPhones.
For the iPhone 18 Pro, we’re expecting a variable aperture main camera that offers greater control over depth-of-field (DoF) in photos. As my colleague Ben explains:
You can have a shallow DoF when you want to isolate the subject from the background, a medium DoF when you want isolation while ensuring the background is still recognizable, or a deep DOF when you want everything in shot to be in focus.
Other camera changes are expected with iPhone 18 Pro too, but the variable aperture feature is the standout rumor so far.
Better battery life than ever
iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max offer the biggest iPhone batteries to date, and they’ve proven a hit. It sounds like Apple will keep giving users more of what they want by upping battery size again.
A reputable leaker says iPhone 18 Pro Max will be thicker and heavier than its predecessor. This is almost certainly for the purpose of packing a larger battery.
The smaller 18 Pro model isn’t specifically mentioned. But rumors for iPhone 17 Pro initially indicated only the Pro Max would get a larger battery, and Apple surprised us by giving both Pro models similar updates. So it’s likely we’ll see both iPhone 18 Pro models offer battery upgrades.
Camera Control 2.0
Camera Control debuted on the iPhone 16 as a dedicated button for the camera. It offers a variety of touch-sensitive gestures for controlling zoom, exposure, tone, and more. But many users found it overly complicated and finicky when used as anything more than a simple button.
Apple is reportedly updating Camera Control on the iPhone 18 line with a more scaled-back set of features. Touch-sensitive components will be removed, and potentially other changes will be made to offer an overall more user-friendly experience.
C2 modem
After years of development, Apple has officially started replacing Qualcomm’s cellular modems with its own in-house solutions. The C1 modem debuted in iPhone 16e, then C1X arrived in iPhone Air, and now a C2 modem is expected for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max.
Apple’s 5G cellular modems have proven to perform well, all while offering efficiency and battery improvements over Qualcomm’s options. Expect the C2 modem to build on the strong foundation of Apple’s C1 modems when it debuts in the iPhone 18 Pro.
iPhone 18 Pro features: wrap-up
There’s a lot we already know about the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, but there are likely plenty of details not yet reported on. Fall 2026 is still far away, so we should get a better idea of new iPhone 18 Pro features as the launch draws closer.
For now though, it looks like iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max will offer more of the same improvements users want: better performance, longer lasting batteries, a revised design, and camera upgrades.
What new changes and features do you want to see in the iPhone 18 Pro? Let us know in the comments.
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