The Glacier colorway is technically blue, though it’s a pale, cool shade that I watched a shopper in an Apple Store mistake for white after pre-ordering online, so it’s worth seeing in person before you order. Apple sells both the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max in Black, Silver, Glacier, and Burgundy. Burgundy is my favorite of the four. It’s a deep red that’s almost similar to a Bordeaux wine, though it picks up fingerprints on the glass back and aluminum frame quite easily, while Glacier barely shows them.
Every color looks better from the back this year. The glass panel sits much closer in tone to the aluminum surrounding it, which cleans up the two-tone look the iPhone 17 Pro had. Both phones also feel significantly less slippery than the 17 Pro did, which should help you avoid dropping them — and that’s particularly important for these aluminum-framed phones.
The iPhone 18 Pro weighs 211g, which is 5g more than the iPhone 17 Pro’s 206g, while the 18 Pro Max comes in at 249g. On paper, both are technically heavier than last year’s devices, though I couldn’t feel any difference in my hand, especially comparing the 18 Pro Max to my 17 Pro Max. I have fairly large hands, so both sizes were comfortable to use one-handed. If you’re worried about using these new handsets with just one hand, the 18 Pro is likely the better buy for you.
I’ve used both phones without a case, and neither has a mark on it. The front display has Ceramic Shield 2 again, and my 17 Pro Max went the full year without a single scratch or dent on its screen. The aluminum unibody, however, is slightly less forgiving. My 17 Pro Max picked up dings from a few drops over the year I had it, and the 18 Pro uses the same material, so expect the same if you go caseless. Both are rated IP68 for water and dust resistance, though I didn’t put this to the test myself.
The Camera Control button (which is not technically called a button, but essentially is) is still here, and I still don’t use it. I never touched it once on my 17 Pro Max outside of reviewing it, and I doubt I’ll do any differently this year. The stereo speakers on the 18 Pro are among the best on any phone you can buy in 2026 and are maybe slightly louder than last year’s, though. Headphones are still the right choice if you care about audio quality.