iPhone 18 Pro vs. iPhone 17 Pro: Biggest upgrades explained

(Image credit: Tom's Guide) The iPhone 18 Pro Max is the biggest, best iPhone you can buy right now. But I've never liked the 'Max' models and always preferred the smaller, regular Pro models. Maybe it's a hangover from my time with the iPhone 13 mini or perhaps it's just that I don't like walking around with a dinner plate in my pocket for making phone calls or taking a picture.If you're like me, you'll no doubt be wondering whether or not the iPhone 18 Pro offers enough new features over last year's iPhone 17 Pro to make it worth the upgrade. There are the usual upgrades, in the form of a faster processor and therefore better battery life, but what about the rest?Well, I think photographers and gamers are going to be most impressed with this year's offering, thanks to the variable aperture integrated into the main camera and the improved vapor chamber nestled inside the iPhone 18 Pro's chassis.Are you thinking of upgrading this year — or are you happy to stick with your current phone? Let me know in the comments. In the meantime, let's get into it.iPhone 17 Pro vs. iPhone 18 Pro: specifications Swipe to scroll horizontally Header Cell - Column 0 iPhone 17 Pro iPhone 18 Pro Display size 6.3 inches 6.3 inches Refresh rate 120Hz 120Hz CPU A19 Pro A20 Pro Memory 12GB 12GB Storage 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB Cameras 48MP main (f/1.78), 48MP ultrawide (f/2.2), 48MP telephoto with 4x optical zoom (f/2.8) 48MP main with /1.48, ƒ/1.8, ƒ/2.8, ƒ/4.0 variable aperture options, 48MP ultrawide, 48MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom Battery Size 3,988 mAh (with SIM tray) 4,056 mAh (with SIM tray) Software iOS 27 iOS 27 Dimensions 5.91 x 2.83 x 0.34 inches (150 x 71 x 8.75 mm) 5.91 × 2.83 × 0.34 inches (150 x 71.9 x 8.75 mm) Weight 7.20 ounces (204 grams) 7.44 ounces (211 grams) Starting price $1,099 / £1,099 $1,199 / £1,199 iPhone 17 Pro vs. iPhone 18 Pro: Price iPhone 18 Pro Max HANDS ON: This Camera Is a Big Deal - YouTube Watch On Following the announcement of the iPhone 18 Pro at Apple's 'Surprise and shine' event, pre-orders go live on September 12, with the phone going on regular sale on September 18. Apple has quietly removed the iPhone 17 Pro from its store, so anyone looking to pick up a 17 Pro now will need to do so through carriers.As expected, the iPhone 18 Pro arrived with a $100 / £100 price hike, putting the starting price at $1,199 / £1,099 compared to the iPhone 17 Pro's $1,099 / £1,099 starting price.All things considered, with the ongoing RAM crisis raising prices on almost every area of consumer electronics, a $100/£100 bump isn't as bad as it could have been. The question is whether or not the following upgrades are worth that much to you.Sign up to the Tom's iGuide weekly newsletter with coverage on everything from product launches to software updates, this is your go-to source for the latest updates on all the best Apple content.iPhone 17 Pro vs. iPhone 18 Pro: Design and display (Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)At a glance, you might have trouble telling the iPhone 18 Pro apart from the iPhone 17 Pro. Both phones have the same ergonomic 6.3-inch form factor, a size that nicely balances usability and screen real estate. The iPhone 17 Pro made waves with its aluminum unibody design and Ceramic Shield 2 back, and the 18 Pro maintains that unified lookThe most notable design shift is that Apple has shrunk the Dynamic Island by 25% for the 18 Pro, as well as increased its functionality. It takes up less screen real estate when not in use but can now show three Live Activities at once, while continuing to enable Face ID for securely unlocking the phone. It's a minor change, and probably not one that many users will worry too much about.In all other ways, the two phones are more or less identical. The iPhone 18 Pro is a touch heavier at 7.44 ounces (211 grams) vs the 7.2 ounces (204 grams) of the iPhone 17 Pro. But with the dimensions remaining unchanged, including the camera plateau, it means you won't be forced to buy a brand new case if you do decide to upgrade.Where you're of course going to see a change is in the color scheme. The iPhone 17 Pro is hard to miss thanks to its Cosmic Orange finish but the iPhone 18 Pro goes in for a more muted palette.The iPhone 18 Pro (and 18 Pro Max) is available in Black, Silver, Glacier, and Burgundy. This is one extra shade compared to the iPhone 17 Pro, which comes in Cosmic Orange, Deep Blue or Silver.iPhone 17 Pro vs. iPhone 18 Pro: Cameras (Image credit: Future)The camera system is probably the single biggest upgrade on the iPhone 18 Pro and your main reason for switching up from last year's model. While the iPhone 17 Pro boasts a phenomenal 48MP main lens with a fixed f/1.78 aperture alongside a 48MP ultrawide and 48MP telephoto, the iPhone 18 Pro is set to take mobile photography to the next level.Apple outfitted the iPhone 18 Pro with a variable-aperture main camera. This gives users true hardware-level control over depth of field and how much light reaches the sensor, heavily outclassing the digital portrait blur we've relied on for years. In the iPhone 18 Pro camera app you'll find four stops that you can cycle through (ƒ/1.48, ƒ/1.8, ƒ/2.8 and ƒ/4.0) and you'll actually see the laser-cut blades moving above the camera lens.This means you can manually change aperture between, for example, f/1.48 for portraits (to get more of that background blur) or go up to f/4.0 if you want all of the scene to look sharp.There was some concern Apple was going to limit this feature to the iPhone 18 Pro Max but it's great to see the regular Pro is getting it as well. (Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)Video mode has also been improved, with the iPhone 18 Pro letting users apply cinematic effects after capture to videos shot at up to 60 fps. In Time-lapse mode, users can now record videos in 4K and Dolby Vision HDR. Audio Mix also has new algorithms that deliver higher-quality voices and can now isolate music.There's no doubt that if you're constantly using your iPhone for photography and want the best experience possible, you're going to want to upgrade to this year's model from the iPhone 17 Pro.iPhone 17 Pro vs. iPhone 18 Pro: Performance and battery (Image credit: Future)The iPhone 17 Pro is no slouch, thanks to the A19 Pro chip built on a 3-nanometer process. However, the iPhone 18 Pro seems ready to blast past it thanks to Apple's next-generation A20 Pro chip, manufactured using TSMC's cutting-edge 2nm process.We won't know for certain until we put it through our benchmarking tests, but there's sure to be some big performance gains over the 17 Pro. Apple says the 18 Pro features 50 percent more memory bandwidth than what we saw with the A19 Pro. The new 7-core GPU design is up to 40 percent faster than A19 Pro — a significant upgrade for graphics rendering and I'll come to why that matters in a moment.The A20 Pro also features a new Dual 16-core Neural Engine, which accelerates on-device AI models and computational photography, and includes 32 total cores for double the AI processing power of A19 Pro.Backing that processor performance is a vapor chamber that boasts three times more surface area than the one inside the iPhone 17 Pro. Apple says this new thermal management system will enable a 40 percent performance gain over last year's model.These two improvements will manifest in two particular ways: gaming and battery life. In fact, Apple claims the 18 Pro has the same battery life as the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Again, we'll need to put it through our own battery life benchmarks to be sure, but Apple says you'll see up to 34 hours of video playback on the 18 Pro vs up to 31 on the 17 Pro.If you use your iPhone primarily as a gaming device (and my colleague Mark tried out a demo of the upcoming Monster Hunter game on iPhone 18 Pro this week) then chances are you'll be well served by upgrading to the iPhone 18 Pro.iPhone 18 Pro Max vs. iPhone 18 Pro: Software and Apple Intelligence (Image credit: John Velasco / Tom's Guide)Both the iPhone 17 Pro and the iPhone 18 Pro will have access to Apple's latest software tricks, but this year's model will run iOS 27 out of the box. The 17 Pro, meanwhile, launched with iOS 26 but will be eligible for the update in the coming weeks.The real difference lies in hardware integration for Apple Intelligence. With 12GB of RAM on both devices, the AI playing field looks level on paper. However, with the aforementioned A20 Pro's Neural Engine, we'll see a snappier response for on-device AI tasks.And with Siri AI finally starting to hit its stride, Apple's AI offering feels like it's just starting to catch up with the competition.However, for the most part, the 17 Pro will remain able to use almost all the AI software features Apple has to offer for at least a few more years. Access to new AI features alone isn't a big enough reason to consider upgrading.iPhone 17 Pro vs. iPhone 18 Pro: Final thoughts (Image credit: Future)If you're already rocking an iPhone 17 Pro, I feel it's going to be tough to justify an upgrade based on what's already at your disposal. Apple's 2025 effort has a gorgeous 6.3-inch display, a triple 48MP camera setup, and 12GB of RAM to power Apple Intelligence. It’s an incredibly capable device that still has years of top-tier life left in it.That said, if you’re a photographer or a gamer, I think there's enough here to make an upgrade look tempting. The variable aperture feature is, of course, the headline draw, but also think about the fact that you can now get a 2TB storage option with the iPhone 18 Pro. Yes, it's a very expensive $2,399 / £2,399 to do so, but if you're shooting a lot of 4K video or installing dozens of AAA games, then you're going to want it.All told, the iPhone 18 Pro is an entirely predictable refresh — there's just enough newness here around the features people actually use (photography, battery life, etc) but it stops well short of a major design and features overhaul.Of course we'll know more about the 18 Pro and how it holds up to its predecessor once we get it into the Tom's Guide benchmarking and review process. In the meantime, let me know in the comments below whether you think an iPhone 18 Pro upgrade is a must-have or if you're content to hold on to the iPhone 17 Pro for a few more years yet. 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. More from Tom's GuideiPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max hands-on: Sneaky awesome upgrades, but worth the price hike?iPhone Duo hands-on: Apple nailed it — and just put everyone else on noticeApple Watch Series 12 hands-on: A new heart rate sensor and a readiness score (at last) Jeff is UK Editor-in-Chief for Tom’s Guide looking after the day-to-day output of the site’s British contingent.A tech journalist for over a decade, he’s travelled the world testing any gadget he can get his hands on. Jeff has a keen interest in fitness and wearables as well as the latest tablets and laptops. A lapsed gamer, he fondly remembers the days when technical problems were solved by taking out the cartridge and blowing out the dust.