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iFixit tore down Apple's new iPhone 18 Pro and awarded it a 7/10 repairability rating, matching the iPhone 17 Pro's score. The teardown found the camera and battery assemblies relatively easy to remove, though the phone's new variable aperture lens—its first in an iPhone—uses tiny rotating blades that iFixit says are nearly impossible to repair individually.
Reports suggest Apple's next major iPhone Pro overhaul, timed to the device's 20th anniversary, will bring more dramatic design changes than the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro lineup. The rumored foldable iPhone Duo is expected to arrive first, but industry chatter points to the following year's Pro model as the more significant leap.
iFixit tore down Apple's new iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max to examine the variable aperture camera, which uses six overlapping blades roughly as thin as a human hair. The team called the mechanism a precision engineering feat but warned it leaves almost no margin for error during repairs, likely requiring full module replacement if damaged.
iFixit's teardown of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max found Apple's first variable aperture camera, using six hair-thin blades that slide with high precision to control light intake. The report also revealed a new chip packaging layout that places the A20 Pro processor beside its memory rather than stacked, separating memory from the chip's heat path, and noted that three of four test units cracked their display frames during battery removal.
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro Max ships with a battery-firmware lock that caps capacity below the 20Wh threshold that triggers international shipping restrictions on single-cell batteries. Once a customer activates the phone for the first time, the lock lifts automatically, restoring the battery to its full rated capacity of roughly 21-22Wh depending on the model. A 'Prepare to Ship' setting can reimpose the cap, limiting charging to 80 percent over 14 days, for anyone sending the device in for repair or resale.
Apple has built a 'Prepare to Ship' firmware feature into the iPhone 18 Pro Max that temporarily caps its battery below the 20Wh transport limit enforced in the US, EU and other regions. Once the device is activated by a customer, the cap lifts and the phone's full 5,391mAh capacity becomes available. The same toggle can be re-enabled manually when shipping a device for repair, trade-in or resale.
iFixit's teardown of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max exposes the new variable aperture lens, which uses six overlapping blades thinner than a human hair to control light via a magnetic mechanism. The site praises the engineering that fits this system into the same camera footprint as last year's model, but warns the mechanism is essentially impossible to repair if it fails.
iFixIt disassembled four units of the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max and found that the plastic frame behind the display broke on three of them during removal. Since Apple doesn't sell that frame as a standalone part, a cracked one means replacing the entire display module. Separately, YouTuber Zach Nelson's own teardown didn't encounter the same issue and he rated the phone favorably for repairability.
iFixit's teardown of the iPhone 18 Pro examined the new variable aperture system, an under-display Face ID infrared camera, and a larger vapor chamber. During disassembly, a tiny aperture blade popped loose, suggesting that any malfunction in the mechanism would likely force a full replacement of the main camera assembly rather than a simple fix.
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro now starts at $1,200 for 256GB storage, with top configurations reaching $2,400, while Google's Pixel 11 Pro keeps its 256GB starting price at $1,099 after dropping the base 128GB tier. Android Authority argues the Pixel offers significantly better value across storage tiers, saving buyers as much as $200 compared to Apple's equivalent options.
DXOMARK's lab and perceptual testing of Apple's iPhone 18 Pro camera system awarded the device 172 points, citing strong dynamic range, improved contrast, accurate skin tones and effective stabilization. The triple 48 MP setup—wide, ultra-wide, and 8x tetraprism telephoto—performed well across photo, zoom, and video tests, with the new variable aperture lens standing out for maintaining sharpness in busy scenes.
A 9to5Mac roundup highlights the accessories staff members are personally buying alongside their new iPhone 18 Pro or Pro Max, ranging from Apple's own 40W-60W fast charger and TechWoven case to third-party options like Anker's foldable MagSafe charger. The post was updated on September 19 with additional picks and new product releases launching around the iPhone 18 Pro's delivery day.