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Apple's iPhone 18 Pro series, expected in September, may maintain last year's pricing despite rising manufacturing costs. The devices could feature four color variants, a larger battery, an A20 Pro chipset, and a new mechanical variable aperture system for enhanced photography.
iPhone 18 Pro Max representational image (AI generated image)Apple's iPhone 18 Pro lineup is still a few months away but the outpour of leaks about the flagship devices has given us a good hint at what to expect from them in terms of price, display, processor and even the colour variants.
iPhone 18 Pro: What to expect
Expected price and release date:
iPhone 18 Pro series is expected to be released in September just like its predecessor. The new iPhone will likley be launched alongside the iPhone Ultra/Fold while the base iPhone 18 could be pushed to next year.
Current leaks suggest that Apple could be planning to absorb the recent hike in manufacturing costs and the iPhone 18 Pro could begin at the same starting price as last year. This could mean that the phone would likely start at a price of $1,099 in the US and other global markets.
However, there could still be an increase in the Indian pricing of the device, as was evident with the recent iPhone 17e launch that launched at the same $599 price in the US but received a price hike in India.
iPhone 18 Pro colour variants:
As per a new report by Ma wworld, the iPhone 18 Pro series could come in four colourways: Light Blue (Pantone 2121), Dark Cherry (Pantone 6076), Dark Gray (Pantone 426C) and Silver (Pantone 427C) colour variants.
Another leak by Chinese tipster Ice Universe showed what seemed like the camera plateau of all four iPhones, showing the devices in Black, Silver, Wine Red (Burgundy), and Blue colour variants.
As if that wasn't enough, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has also confirmed that a ‘DeepRed’ colour variant could be the new lead colour variant on the iPhone 18 Pro lineup, replacing the Orange colour variant on the currentr lineup.
iPhone 18 Pro design:
Apple is said to be fitting a bigger battery on rthe iPhone 18 Pro series and that is also expected to take a toll on the thickenss and weight of the devices.
A recent dummy image shared of the two iPhones by YouTuber Vadim Yuryev showed that the iPhone 18 Pro series could have much thicker camera plateau than their predecessor and the back glass on the camera could protude a little bit more as well.
The company has also reportedly worked on reducing the colour difference between the rear glass and aluminium frame on the 18 Pro lineup in order to create a more unified appearance.
Apart from that, the iPhone 18 Pro is expected to look much the same as its predecdessor with a horizontal camera module and the Apple logo in the middle.
Display:
Apple is expected to give a 6.3-inch ProMotion 120Hz display on the iPhone 18 Pro just like last year. However, the big change this year could be the placement of under-display Face ID which could allow the company to significantly reduce the size of Dynamic Island.
As per Ice Universe, the Dynamic ISland of iPhone 18 Pro series could be trimmed down by up to 35 percent.
Processor and battery:
The iPhone 18 Pro will likely run on the latest A20 Pro chipset which could also power the iPhone Ultra. The new processor is said to be based on TSMC's 2nm process and bring about 30% faster performance and 15% efficiency gains.
The Pro lineup is also expected to finally ditch the Qualcomm modems in favour of Apple's in-house solution. Reports suggest that Apple could be planning to introduce the C2 model on the iPhone 18 Pro series which could add support for 5G satellite connectivity along with full internet access over satellite and mmWave 5G connectivity along with on-par performance with Qualcomm modems.
While the iPhone 18 Pro Max is expected to have a bigger 5,100-5,200mAh battery. It's not yet clear if the iPhone 18 Pro could have the same kind of upgrade in battery life. However, the efficiency in chipset could still lead to better battery life compared to the iPhone 17 Pro.
Cameras:
Current leaks suggest that the iPhone 18 Pro could have the same 48MP triple camera setup as last year. However, the big upgrade this year could bethe addition of a mechanical variable aperture system that could potentially allow users to adjust the amount of light that enters the camera and in effect allow them to take better pictures especially in low light scenarios.
Meanwhile, the telephoto and ultra-wide angle lens could have larger apertures that could help in reducing noise in low light while improving shutter speed and lead to improved background separation.
About the Author
Aman Gupta
Aman Gupta is a Digital Content Producer at LiveMint with over 3.5 years of experience covering the technology landscape. He specializes in artificial intelligence and consumer technology, reporting on everything from the ethical debates around AI models to shifts in the smartphone market. <br> His reporting is grounded in first-hand testing, independent analysis, and a focus on how technology impacts everyday users. He holds a PG Diploma in Radio and Television Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi (Class of 2022). <br> Outside the newsroom, he spends his time reading biographies, hunting for the perfect coffee beans, or planning his next trip. <br><br> You can find Aman on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/aman-gupta-894180214">LinkedIn</a> and on X at <a href="https://x.com/nobugsfound">@nobugsfound</a>, or reach him via email at <a href="aman.gupta@htdigital.in">aman.gupta@htdigital.in</a>.

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