The review follows a debate between a reviewer, who argues for the iPhone 18 Pro, and a critic, who argues that the annual upgrade offers too little. The critic states that the device looks much like its predecessor after setup and that he will stop his annual purchases if the reviewer cannot make a convincing case. The discussion covers battery life, thermal performance, gaming, software, design, product strategy, and the camera.

Battery Life

The reviewer states that battery life is strong. The critic counters that battery life is a solved problem, citing Oppo, Xiaomi, and Vivo phones with batteries of 7,000 mAh. The iPhone 18 Pro Max uses a 5,400 mAh battery.

To test the claim, the reviewer ran a battery test with a 7,000 mAh phone from one of these manufacturers. The iPhone 18 Pro Max lasted 7 minutes longer. The reviewer notes that the test unit was the physical SIM version, which has the smaller battery capacity. He states that the eSIM model would have produced a substantial lead.

The reviewer also states that Apple has closed the gap on charging speed, where it previously trailed competitors.

The critic accepts that the battery performs well and concedes one point to the reviewer.

Thermal Performance and Processing Power

The critic argues that manufacturers emphasize thermal efficiency and power, although he has never experienced a thermal problem, including while gaming. The reviewer responds that thermal problems are absent only because the thermal design works. He states that a cooler phone also supports longer battery life.

The reviewer states that the A17 Pro chip can sustain higher performance because of effective heat dissipation.

Gaming and Performance Headroom

The reviewer reports playing a recent drift racing game on the iPhone 18 Pro Max. A friend played the same game on an iPhone 15 Pro Max, and the reviewer states that the friend achieved similar performance. The reviewer argues that Apple's gaming demonstrations imply that earlier chips could run the same games.

The critic asks whether the game runs on an iPhone 14 Pro Max. The reviewer states that it lags on that model and does not reach the near-60 frames per second that the iPhone 15 Pro Max achieves.

The reviewer argues that the iPhone 18 Pro's performance is headroom. He states that headroom allows buyers to use a current device for three to four years without losing capability. He also states that the device's 2-nanometer chip provides substantial headroom.

He further argues that developers need hardware in consumers' hands before they build software that uses it.

The critic accepts the performance headroom argument and states that it is the last point he will concede.

Software and Artificial Intelligence

The critic argues that Apple Intelligence has become less capable than competing offerings. He describes its features as delayed and identifies Image Playground's ability to transform images, such as turning an astronaut into a dinosaur, as limited. He also states that the phone struggles with basic functions, including searching in Settings and voice dictation. He acknowledges that Apple says it has improved these features and notes that the phone has corrected its own grammar.

The reviewer does not dispute these points in the debate.

Design and Product Strategy

Action button. The critic states that the Action Button requires more effort to reach than opening an app manually.

Camera Control. The critic argues that Apple has introduced a new button two years in a row as its main innovation. He states that Apple disabled the capacitive layer by default.

Materials. The critic argues that Apple has promoted aluminum for thermal efficiency and titanium for durability within the same product cycle.

Color options. The critic states that Apple offers one color aimed at dedicated fans. He argues that this color becomes dated when the next model launches.

Timing of new features. The critic states that Apple is late in its product development. He notes that Apple took seven years to release a foldable phone after Samsung. He also cites Samsung's privacy display, which he states Apple has not released. The critic argues that first-generation products often have weaknesses, and that waiting for refinement can be preferable.

Camera

Sensor. The critic states that Apple has not increased the size of the main camera sensor in four years. He argues that a 1-inch sensor, used by leading camera-focused phones, would be a more meaningful upgrade. He also argues that the variable aperture feature mainly prevents accidental background blur, and that the sensor is too small to produce strong background blur in any case.

Variable aperture comparison. The reviewer presents side-by-side photos of the iPhone 18 Pro Max and iPhone 17 Pro Max. He states that the 18 Pro Max shows more detail in stained glass windows and in a darker scene with a face. The critic suggests the examples were selected to favor the new model. The reviewer states that he disabled variable aperture for both devices during the test, so both phones used the same aperture and sensor. He attributes the difference to image processing on the chip.

Image processing. The reviewer states that Apple has made annual image-processing improvements over the past decade. He argues that Apple has moved from behind Samsung and Google to ahead of them. He cites video quality, which he describes as more detail and less noise on iPhone. He cites skin tones, which he says Samsung renders with excessive brightening. He cites resolution, where he states that the visible difference has grown with each generation. He describes night mode as a leading feature.

Photographic styles. The critic argues that the iPhone's images look flat. The reviewer responds that neutral images give a useful base for editing. He states that Photographic Styles now allow users to adjust color profile, skin smoothness, and film grain. He also states that users can choose which pro camera controls to show and hide, which reduces the need for apps such as Blackmagic Camera.

Verdict

The critic states that the reviewer has not changed his view of the average iPhone 17 Pro owner. He argues that such owners would not find the iPhone 18 Pro a compelling upgrade on launch day.

The reviewer agrees that the phone is not the most exciting upgrade. He states that it is a good device and one of the safer upgrades because of its performance headroom. He states that he will not upgrade to the next iPhone.