Our first take on the iPhone 18 Pro: Intelligent photography

Hey, come here, come here. So, yeah, this one doesn't fold, but watch this

I can now control the aperture on the main camera. I'm like a photographer now. This is the iPhone 18 Pro. Let's talk about it

All right, we've got to talk about this variable aperture. First, what is an aperture on a camera? Well, think of it like your eyelids

When it's really bright out, you're going to be squinting. And when it's really dark, your eyes are wide open

And that same principle works for the camera. When there's a lot of light, you want an aperture that can close down

So there's these little blades that physically close down the barrel of the lens

And when it's really dark, you want that wide open to let as much light in. The iPhone is not the first phone with a variable aperture, but it's using some AI to make it really nifty

Not only can I let it auto do the aperture on the main camera, which is wild, I can also do it myself

I can manually dial it in and there are four different stops So the variable aperture is just another way Apple is separating its iPhone line and really defining groups This is aimed at someone who a photographer someone who a content creator someone who going to be making films and really cares about having that control

Most people are not going to need this to upload photos to Instagram

You're going to be better off with the iPhone 17. In fact, the variable aperture, along with the price increase, really separates the iPhone models this year

So you have the iPhone 17 still hanging around at 829. the iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,200

That's 100 more than the 17 Pro. And the 11 Pro Max starts at $1,300

We're now in Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra territory. That's $100 more than the 17 Pro Max

So you're paying a lot. Now, some of that might be because of RAM prices

due to data centers in AI, but some of that's gonna be the fact

that they implemented something like a physical aperture. Okay, but what are some of the other changes

on this phone, because it looks awfully similar to the iPhone 17 Pro

All right, but we've got to talk about colors here. We finally have colors and we not talking construction vest orange like last year We got burgundy We got glacier which is kind of like a light light blue color We got silver And hey what is this A black iPhone Pro in 2026 Yes you can get the iPhone

18 Pro and Pro Max in black, and that's pretty fantastic. Some other changes you might notice

is on the screen. The dynamic island is physically smaller. Is it radically gone? Is it almost a

Circle, not quite, but it's much smaller than the iPhone 17 Pro

And if you're coming from something like an iPhone 14 Pro, this is going to seem night and day to what's on your phone right now

The way the ceramic glass blends into the back is more uniform than it was on that two-tone 17 Pro design

I kind of like the two-tones, but hey, you're going to put a case on it. Who cares

Rounding out iOS 18 Pro Max are all the iOS 27 goodies

including a bunch of really compelling Siri AI things. You could use it for scheduling events

making a packing list from where you're going and having it make recommendations for you

And you now have third app support which had rolled out over the summer So that means I can work on something in Siri AI and then have it go not just to an Apple app but to a third party And hopefully more of that to

come. I'm so excited about this iPhone 18 Pro. I can't wait to take the camera around San Francisco

and really test out that variable aperture. I should also mention battery life. Now Apple says

Both the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max get longer battery life than the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max

which is interesting because the 17 Pro Max got the longest battery life of any phone

Android or Apple, that we tested here at CNET. We are super excited to test the iPhone 18 Pro's battery to see if that's true

But honestly, the first thing I'm testing is that camera out. The iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max are available to pre-order starting Saturday, September 12th

And they'll be in stores on Friday, September 18th. Are you going to pre-order one

Are you interested? Is that aperture enough for you? Or is that price hike just too much

Let me know in the comments. Also, if you like this video, and I hope you do, please give it a thumbs up

And thank you for watching