iPhone 18 Pro review notes better battery life and cooling — Ars Technica
The iPhone 18 Pro has received noticeably improved heat dissipation, longer battery life, and a new A20 Pro processor, although externally the smartphone is almost indistinguishable from the previous model. This is stated in a review by Ars Technica, whose author called thermal management the device’s main upgrade.
New chip and cooling
Apple has moved from the 3-nanometer process technology used in the A19 Pro to the 2-nanometer process in the A20 Pro. The chip has a six-core central processing unit, a seven-core graphics processing unit with a Neural Accelerator in each core, as well as a dual 16-core Neural Engine for on-device artificial intelligence features. The company also claims 50% higher memory bandwidth.
For more efficient cooling, Apple changed the layout of the chip and memory and enlarged the vapor chamber. Copper material in the display area is also intended to help reduce screen heating. According to Apple, the sustained performance of the iPhone 18 Pro can be up to 40% higher than that of the iPhone 17 Pro and up to 100% higher than that of the iPhone 16 Pro.
The reviewer notes that the smartphone still heats up during intensive tests, but in everyday scenarios, including web browsing, streaming video viewing, or gaming, it subjectively feels cooler than models from several years ago.
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Battery life and display
Apple estimates the iPhone 18 Pro’s battery life at up to 36 hours of offline video playback, compared with 33 hours for its predecessor. The iPhone 18 Pro Max is rated for up to 45 hours. Power consumption is also expected to be affected by the in-house C2 modem, which, according to the company, uses less power than the Qualcomm modem in the iPhone 17 Pro. Wireless charging supports output of up to 25 W.
Among the external changes is a smaller Dynamic Island cutout. Apple moved the infrared camera beneath the OLED panel in the screen’s upper-left corner. The updated interface makes it possible to display up to three active events simultaneously.
Cameras and whether an upgrade is worthwhile
The smartphone retained a triple 48-megapixel rear camera system and an 18-megapixel front camera. At the same time, Apple added a variable aperture and Photographic Styles 3 with texture settings, including Film, Glow, Soft Skin, and Standard. These tools give users more control over image processing in the standard Camera app.
In the review author’s opinion, iPhone 17 Pro owners have little need to switch to the new model, as most changes are incremental. At the same time, for users of older Pro models, the combined improvements in performance, battery life, thermal behavior, and cameras may be more noticeable.
