Apple confirmed the iPhone 18 Pro Max at its "Surprise and Shine" keynote on 9 September, alongside the smaller iPhone 18 Pro and the company's first foldable, the iPhone Duo. For the full launch-day picture across all three, see our iPhone 18 launch roundup. This one's just about the Pro Max.
The basics
- Display: 6.9in Super Retina XDR, ProMotion, Always-On, smaller Dynamic Island (now shows up to three Live Activities at once)
- Chip: A20 Pro, Apple's first 2-nanometre chip, 6-core CPU, 7-core GPU, dual 16-core Neural Engine
- Camera: the same 48MP Pro Fusion triple system as the iPhone 18 Pro — Main, Ultra Wide, and a 48MP Fusion Telephoto (100mm, ƒ/2.8) — with variable aperture on the main lens (ƒ/1.48 to ƒ/4.0), 0.5x to 8x optical zoom, and an 18MP Center Stage front camera
- Battery: up to 45 hours of video playback — what Apple is calling the longest battery life of any iPhone it's made
- Charging: 50% in around 15 minutes on a wired charger
- Connectivity: N1 wireless chip (Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, Thread) and Apple's own C2 modem
- Colours: Black, Silver, Glacier (light blue) and Burgundy
- Price: from €1,639 (256GB)
- Release: pre-order Saturday 12 September, in shops Friday 18 September
What's actually new versus the iPhone 17 Pro Max
The camera and chip changes are shared with the smaller Pro — variable aperture on the main lens, the A20 Pro's 2nm efficiency gains, and a shrunken Dynamic Island that now handles three Live Activities at once instead of the usual two. What's Pro Max-specific is the battery: 45 hours of video playback is a genuine jump, and Apple's early testing partners have reported the combination of the new chip and battery finally getting mainstream heavy users into reliable two-day territory, not just light users.
Camera-wise, early hands-on impressions have flagged a noticeably more capable main sensor in low light, with less of the green ghosting and lens flare that showed up in some night shots on last year's model. The telephoto's sustained zoom performance while shooting handheld video has also come in for praise — a detail more relevant to the Pro Max, given its size makes it the more natural choice for anyone shooting a lot of video.
Should you upgrade from an iPhone 17 Pro Max?
If you're happy with your current battery life and camera, this is a skippable year — the underlying design is unchanged, and nothing here fundamentally changes what the phone can do that it couldn't already. Where it's worth it: if you're a heavy video shooter who wants the variable aperture control, or if battery anxiety is a genuine daily annoyance for you, the Pro Max's 45-hour rating is a real, not marginal, improvement.
Coming from an iPhone 16 Pro Max or older, it's a much easier call — better camera, significantly longer battery, and a proper generational leap in the chip.
iPhone 18 Pro Max or iPhone 18 Pro?
Camera and chip are identical between the two models. The Pro Max gets the bigger 6.9in screen and the longer 45-hour battery rating, for £100 more at every storage tier than the 6.3in, 36-hour Pro. If screen real estate and all-day battery matter more to you than pocketability, the Pro Max is the one. Full breakdown in our iPhone 18 Pro guide.
If you're weighing it against something more radical, our iPhone Duo guide covers Apple's first foldable, including early hands-on impressions of the crease and hinge.
Get it protected from day one
Pre-orders open Saturday, and a drop in the first week is one of the most common ways a brand-new phone picks up its first scratch. Browse our full range of iPhone 18 Pro Max cases, screen protectors and accessories, ready ahead of the 18 September launch.
