iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 18 Pro Max: New colours, processor, camera and expected upgrades

Apple's iPhone 18 Pro lineup is still around 6 months away from launch, but a new leak surrounding the phone's colour variants has sparked fresh excitement about the upcoming device. While it's been previously reported that Apple would likely be ditching its fan-favourite orange colour variant of the iPhone 17 Pro Max on its successor, the exact colour option has not been known.

iPhone 18 Pro Max new colours:

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has earlier noted that Apple could use a ‘Deep Red’ finish on the iPhone 18 Pro Max as the new flagship colour replacing Cosmic Orange. Curiously, Gurman had noted that Cosmic Orange has been a stronger point of interest for the iPhone, especially in the China market.

Meanwhile, a report by Macworld last week noted that Apple was planning to bring the iPhone 18 Pro lineup in four colour variants: Light Blue, Dark Cherry, Dark Gray, and Silver.

We now have a separate new leak by Chinese tipster Ice Universe, who shared an image of four camera plateau protection plates of the iPhone 18 Pro variants, showcasing that the phone will come in four colour palettes: Black, Silver, Wine Red (Burgundy), and Blue.

iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 18 Pro Max: What's changing?

While the new shades of the iPhone 18 Pro Max are a big talking point, Apple is also planning to add some key upgrades to the upcoming flagship iPhone. Here's everything we know about them so far.

Display and design:

With the iPhone 17 Pro Max already getting a big design makeover last year, rumours suggest that Apple is not planning to make any big design changes to its successor this year. However, Apple may drop the dual-tone look of the iPhone 17 Pro series, with the company reportedly planning to integrate the glass and aluminium frame for a more unified look.

The phone could come with the same 6.9-inch ProMotion OLED display as last year, but leaks suggest that there could be a much smaller Dynamic Island this year.

Processor:

The iPhone 18 Pro Max is said to come running on the A20 Pro chipset based on TSMC's 2nm process. The new chipset is expected to make the phone 15 percent faster and 20 percent more efficient.

Apple will also reportedly integrate the RAM on the same wafer as the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine, which could allow the company to bring better performance for Apple Intelligence features and other heavy-duty tasks, along with improved battery life.

The company is also planning to ditch the Qualcomm modem in favour of the C2 modem chip developed in-house. The new chip is said to come with the same performance as the Qualcomm modem while also allowing Apple to use New Radio Non-Terrestrial Networks.

Battery:

The biggest upgrade on the iPhone 18 Pro Max will likely be in the battery department, with the Apple flagship expected to pack the biggest battery on an iPhone at 5,100–5,200mAh. As mentioned earlier, battery life is also expected to improve due to the more efficient A20 Pro chipset.

However, the larger battery means that the iPhone 18 Pro Max could be thicker than the iPhone 17 Pro Max, measuring in at 8.75–8.8mm and weighing around 240g.

Camera:

A big attraction for the iPhone 18 Pro Max could be the variable camera aperture that Apple is planning to integrate. The new feature is said to let users manually control how much light gets into the sensor, along with customisations for lighting and depth of field.

Reports suggest that the primary and telephoto lenses on the iPhone 18 Pro Max could get a bigger aperture that could potentially allow the Apple flagship to intake more light in adverse lighting conditions.

As per a MacRumors report, at least one of the three camera sensors could use a three-layer stacked image sensor developed by Samsung. The phone is expected to come with a 48MP triple camera setup on the rear.

On the front, Apple could give a big upgrade with the addition of a 24MP lens instead of the 18MP lens seen on the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Launch time and price:

The iPhone 18 Pro Max and its sibling, the iPhone 18 Pro, should launch at the same time as last year in September. Reports have suggested that the phone could have the same price range as last year, with Apple reportedly planning to bear the increased manufacturing costs.

This suggests that the Apple flagship could be priced starting at $1,199 in the US. However, this does not mean that the phone's starting price in India will remain the same. In fact, if the recently launched iPhone 17e is anything to go by, Indian buyers may want to brace themselves for a probable price hike.