An evaluation of the iPhone 18 Pro highlights Apple's hardware adjustments, including a shifted release timeline that pushed the base iPhone 18 to 2027 in favor of the foldable iPhone Duo.
Developers and tech enthusiasts can explore how the 18 Pro compares to previous generations, focusing on its 48-megapixel telephoto lens, 8x zoom equivalent, and newly introduced manual camera controls.
The differences in camera capabilities
The iPhone Duo's main drawback is the lack of a telephoto lens. In contrast, the iPhone 18 Pro has a 48-megapixel telephoto lens that offers 8x zoom, comparable to a 200mm lens on a traditional camera, surpassing the 5x zoom of the older iPhone 16 Pro. The iPhone 18 Pro also includes a setting to preserve quality at higher zoom levels, and both models support artificial intelligence editing tools such as object removal, image expansion, and reframing. However, only the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max can display the original photo next to the edited one.
Manual settings and additional functions
The iPhone 18 Pro introduces four previously unreleased camera settings: variable aperture, shutter speed, white balance, and exposure histogram. Variable aperture allows for switching between automatic settings and values like f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8, and f/4.0. Shutter speed is easily adjusted with a slider, white balance allows for a choice of color temperature in Kelvin or presets like daylight, cloudy, or shade, and the histogram displays shadows, highlights, and tones in a small graph.
In contrast, the iPhone Duo lacks these settings, as well as the LiDAR scanner, action button, and facial recognition. In terms of accessories, although the Duo supports magnetic charging, some external power banks may not fit as well as they do on a classic iPhone.
The difference in price
Cost also proved to be a determining factor. The iPhone 18 Pro with 512GB of storage cost $1.400, while a similar foldable iPhone Duo costs $2.200, $800 more.
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