Apple Announces iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max with Variable Aperture Camera and A20 Pro Chip, Starting at RM5,499

Apple has announced the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, headlined by a new 48MP Fusion Main camera with variable aperture, better battery life and the new A20 Pro chip. Both models are available in Black, Silver, Glacier, and a new Burgundy colorway.

The new A20 Pro chip, built on 2-nanometer process technology, delivers 50% more memory bandwidth than A19 Pro, a 7-core GPU up to 40% faster and a new Dual 16-core Neural Engine with double the AI processing power.

A new generation vapor chamber with three times more surface area than the iPhone 17 Pro generation enables up to 40% higher sustained performance. Apple also introduced C2, its next-generation cellular modem, delivering faster uploads at 15% lower energy consumption than the C1X.

The new variable aperture camera features six laser-cut blades that ransition between aperture settings and allow the camera to automatically adjust depth of field and light intake depending on the scene.

Users can also manually control aperture through the new Pro controls experience in the Camera app, which also brings manual shutter speed, white balance and histogram adjustments. Photographic Styles gains new texture and grain controls, Cinematic effects can now be applied after capture to videos shot at up to 60fps, and Time-lapse mode now records in 4K with Dolby Vision HDR. Audio Mix also gains improved algorithms for voice quality and music isolation.

Battery life sees what Apple says is the biggest jump in iPhone history on the Pro Max. The iPhone 18 Pro is rated for up to 36 hours of video playback, while the Pro Max reaches 45 hours.

Five minutes of wired charging on the Pro Max provides around seven hours of playback, and the Pro Max is rated for up to 30 hours of usage on a full charge. The Pro charges to 50% in 15 minutes wired or 30 minutes wirelessly.

Both models run iOS 27 with Apple Intelligence and Siri AI rolling out in beta from 14 September. The iPhone 18 Pro starts at RM5,499, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at RM5,999. Pre-orders begin on 12 September with units shipping from 18 September.