iPhone 18 Pro Max ran over 30 hours of 4K video in CNN Underscored's battery test
Reviewers report a record battery result, a six-blade variable aperture and a Dynamic Island cut by about a quarter, with Siri AI held back at launch.
If you buy one thing here, it is endurance. CNN Underscored played 4K video on both new Pro models and got nearly 24 hours out of the iPhone 18 Pro and over 30 hours out of the 18 Pro Max, the longest any phone has posted on a battery test in CNN Underscored history and more than 8 hours longer than the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Apple's own figures run higher. SlashGear lists up to 36 hours of video playback on the 18 Pro and up to 45 hours on the 18 Pro Max, alongside a new "typical usage model" metric that rates the two at up to 24 and up to 30 hours. The claimed video number is not settled across coverage: Man of Many quotes the Pro Max at up to 43 hours of video playback, and adds that it fast-charges to 50 percent in 15 minutes.
The camera change is mechanical. Six uniquely shaped, laser-cut blades sit on a precision rotor, and in automatic mode the lens drops to f/1.48 in low light, which Apple says gathers roughly 50 percent more light than standard lenses.
The Super Retina XDR display hits 3,000 nits of outdoor peak brightness with 35 percent fewer reflections. Apple has also trimmed the Dynamic Island by about a quarter, and claims the new black finish is the darkest color ever used on an iPhone.
Glass front and back got attention too. Ceramic Shield 2 on the front is engineered for three times the scratch resistance of the iPhone 15 Pro, while the Ceramic Shield rear glass is rated for four times greater crack resistance. Both phones gained weight, 5 g on the Pro and 16 g on the Pro Max against last year's models, and Gizmodo confirmed with Apple that the frame is the same 7000-series aluminum used on the 17 Pros.
On silicon, Apple promises up to 40 percent more CPU performance than the A19 Pro in the iPhone 17 Pro, plus a 50 percent increase in memory bandwidth.
Software is where the caveats sit. Server-side Apple Intelligence features, Siri AI among them, carry usage limits, and Siri AI starts out English-only and is unavailable in the EU at launch.
Pricing lands at AU$2,099 for the 256GB iPhone 18 Pro and AU$2,299 for the 256GB Pro Max. Gizmodo frames the same question in dollars, asking whether the new features justify $1,199 and $1,299. GSMArena notes that under its new CEO, Apple is moving the iPhone line to a staggered release schedule, and the first foldable, the iPhone Duo, starts at $1,999 when it arrives in late October 2026.
Published by Techtutka ·