Apple iPhone 18: Release date, price, features, and everything you need to know

Apple is launching its latest iPhone series following its September 9 keynote. The company revealed that the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are making their way to Canada and other global markets. Apple also introduced its first foldable, the iPhone Duo.

This year's launch represents a major change from Apple's traditional September release strategy. Rather than introducing a standard iPhone 18 alongside its Pro models, Apple is leading with its premium devices. The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max introduce a variable-aperture camera for the first time on an iPhone, a smaller Dynamic Island, Apple's new A20 Pro processor, significantly improved battery life, and the next generation of Apple Intelligence with Siri AI.

The iPhone 18 Pro also represents the first full Pro refresh since Apple introduced its redesigned aluminum unibody and horizontal camera plateau on the iPhone 17 Pro last year.

Here's everything we learned about the iPhone 18 Pro series.

iPhone 18 Pro release date

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The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be available for pre-order beginning Saturday, September 12 at 5 AM PT/8 AM ET in Canada.

Both phones will ship and become available in stores beginning Friday, September 18.

Apple says the iPhone 18 Pro lineup will launch in more than 65 countries and regions on September 18, including Canada, Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, the U.K., and the U.S. Another 20 countries and regions will receive the phones beginning September 25.

The iPhone Duo will be available for pre-order on October 16 and launch on October 23.

iPhone 18 Pro price

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Apple is raising the price of its Pro iPhones in Canada this year. The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,749, up $150 from the $1,599 starting price of last year's iPhone 17 Pro. Meanwhile, the iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at $1,899, up from $1,749 for the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

• iPhone 18 Pro: From $1,749
• iPhone 18 Pro Max: From $1,899
• iPhone 18 Duo: From $2,999

Both Pro models now start with 256GB of storage and are available with up to 2TB. Last year, Apple reserved the 2TB configuration for the iPhone 17 Pro Max, making the expanded storage option another small upgrade for the standard Pro.

The above is based on starting prices per model with the lowest storage option. Pricing then adjusts based on higher storage. Here's a thorough breakdown of each model and storage options available.

iPhone 18 Pro features

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Undoubtedly, one of the biggest upgrades arriving with the iPhone 18 Pro is its 48MP Fusion Main camera with variable aperture.

This is the first time Apple has offered mechanical aperture control on an iPhone. Instead of locking the main camera to one aperture, the iPhone 18 Pro uses six laser-cut blades that physically adjust the lens opening based on lighting conditions and depth of field.

Apple is also giving photographers manual control over four aperture settings directly inside the Camera app.

However, photography isn't the only major focus this year. Apple is introducing the A20 Pro, its first iPhone processor built using a 2-nanometre manufacturing process. The chip includes a faster GPU, 50% more memory bandwidth, and a redesigned Neural Engine built specifically to handle more demanding on-device AI models.

Both Pro phones also feature a redesigned vapour chamber, Apple's second generation of the cooling system it introduced with the iPhone 17 Pro.

Then there's Siri. The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max launch alongside iOS 27 and Siri AI, Apple's significantly redesigned AI assistant that can understand personal context, what's displayed on your screen, and information stored across apps including Messages, Mail, and Photos.

iPhone 18 Pro design, display, and colours

Visually, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max continue many of the design ideas Apple introduced with the iPhone 17 Pro.

Last year's models moved to a forged aluminum unibody and introduced Apple's wide camera plateau across the rear of the phone. The iPhone 18 Pro keeps that overall design while making internal changes to accommodate its larger battery, redesigned cooling system, and new A20 Pro packaging.

The iPhone 18 Pro features a 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR display, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max uses a 6.9-inch display. One noticeable change is a smaller Dynamic Island. Apple redesigned the Dynamic Island with new display technology, freeing up extra screen space without removing Face ID. The new Dynamic Island can now display three Live Activities simultaneously, letting you keep tabs on multiple ongoing events such as navigation, sports scores, timers, rideshares, or deliveries.

That's a significant change from the iPhone 17 Pro's Dynamic Island, which could display multiple pieces of information but didn't provide the same three-activity layout. Both phones continue to support Face ID for unlocking the device, authenticating payments, and signing into supported apps.

As we look at the new colourways, Apple is launching the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max in Black, Silver, Glacier, and an all-new Burgundy finish.

That's a fairly substantial colour reset from last year's silver, deep blue, and cosmic orange iPhone 17 Pro lineup.

iPhone Duo

The biggest new addition to Apple's 2026 smartphone lineup is iPhone Duo, the company's first foldable iPhone. Closed, Duo uses a 5.4-inch Super Retina XDR outer display, which Apple says provides 90% of the screen area of an iPhone 18 Pro despite the phone's more compact footprint.

Opening the phone reveals a much larger 7.6-inch Super Retina XDR inner display, giving Duo the largest display Apple has ever put on an iPhone. Apple says the inner screen is 50% larger than the iPhone 18 Pro Max.

Perhaps more importantly, the outer and inner panels share the same aspect ratio. That means content can scale proportionally as you move between the two displays rather than dramatically changing shape when the phone is opened.

The inner display also uses a nano-texture finish designed to reduce glare, reflections, and the visibility of the crease. Apple has even hidden a FaceTime camera beneath the inner display so it disappears when it isn't being used. Touch ID replaces Face ID on Duo and is integrated into the side button, making it accessible whether the phone is open or closed.

Later this year, Duo will also support the USB-C Apple Pencil, letting users take notes, draw, and mark up documents on either display. 

Apple has built Duo around a Grade 5 titanium frame, with a mirror-polished enclosure and a 3D-printed hinge cover. The hinge itself contains more than 100 individual components designed to control the folding motion and support the centre of the display. Ceramic Shield protects the rear of Duo, while Ceramic Shield 2 on the front provides three times better scratch resistance than the previous generation.

Apple has also managed to give its first foldable an IP68 water- and dust-resistance rating.

That's significant for a foldable. Moving parts and folding displays have historically made achieving the same durability ratings as conventional smartphones more complicated. Internally, Apple uses reinforcing ribs, ceramic-fibre antenna inserts, multiple layers of high-strength glass, custom adhesives, and a titanium backing plate to reinforce the folding display.

The flexible screen itself uses a custom polymer cover layer that Apple says is up to 40% stiffer than competing materials used elsewhere in the industry.

New camera array

The biggest photography upgrade on the iPhone 18 Pro is the introduction of variable aperture.

Apple's new 48MP Fusion Main camera includes a redesigned sensor alongside six laser-cut aperture blades. These blades physically open and close to change how much light reaches the sensor. The variable aperture can adjust automatically based on the scene, but Apple also gives photographers manual access to four aperture settings in the Camera app.

There are a few practical benefits. Opening the aperture allows more light to hit the sensor, which can improve low-light photography and create a shallower depth of field. A narrower aperture can help keep more of an image in focus, which Apple specifically highlights as useful for group photography.

The iPhone 17 Pro already used a triple 48MP Pro Fusion camera system, including Main, Ultra Wide, and Telephoto cameras, but those lenses used fixed apertures. The 18 Pro therefore isn't simply adding more megapixels—the major upgrade is giving photographers more physical control over how the camera captures an image. Apple's iPhone 17 Pro also offered up to 8x optical-quality zoom, so zoom performance on the new generation will be worth comparing once Apple's full technical specifications are available.

Apple is also introducing Pro controls, a customizable interface inside the Camera app designed to bring frequently used professional settings closer to the surface.

Users can directly adjust:

• Lens aperture
• Shutter speed
• White balance
• Exposure using an on-screen histogram

The camera's computational photography pipeline has also been updated to produce sharper images with additional detail. Photographic Styles now include texture and grain controls, letting users customize the look of photos without simply applying a conventional filter after the fact.

Video gets several upgrades as well. Users can now add Cinematic effects after recording video at up to 60fps, while Time-lapse can record at 4K with Dolby Vision HDR. Audio Mix also receives new algorithms designed to improve voices and can now isolate music from a recording.

iPhone Duo cameras

Duo takes a slightly different approach to photography. Apple equips its foldable with a 48MP Fusion Main camera capable of capturing full-resolution 48MP shots, 24MP default images, and optical-quality 2x zoom. 

The camera also features sensor-shift optical image stabilization and a large sensor designed to improve low-light photography. It's paired with the same 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide camera used on the iPhone 18 Pro, adding wider shots and macro photography.

A Center Stage front camera handles conventional selfies, while Apple also places a separate FaceTime camera beneath the inner display.

However, the real advantage of Duo is what its folding design lets you do with those cameras. Duo Preview mirrors the camera preview onto the outer display, letting the person being photographed check their framing and pose before you take the shot.

You can also fold Duo open and use the higher-quality rear cameras for selfies while previewing yourself on the external display. Smart Take uses on-device AI to analyze a scene and automatically capture a photo when it detects that subjects are posing. Apple is also introducing Kid Cue, which plays Peanuts animations on the outer display to encourage children to look toward the camera.

Finally, Duo FaceTime can place participants on the outer display so people sitting with you can join a video call without everyone crowding around the main screen.

Video recording includes 4K at up to 120fps in Dolby Vision using the 48MP Main camera. Duo also supports Cinematic effects after capture, upgraded Audio Mix, and 4K Dolby Vision HDR Time-lapse. Because the phone folds, Duo can also prop itself up for photos and longer videos without requiring a tripod.

Apple Reference Image

The iPhone 18 Pro also introduces one of Apple's more unusual camera features: Apple Reference Image.

Rather than improving how a photo looks, Reference Image is designed to help prove whether an image has been altered.

The iPhone 18 Pro's new Main camera sensor can cryptographically sign the visual data it captures. When users shoot in the new Reference mode, the device stores signed sensor data that Apple's Private Cloud Compute can develop into what Apple describes as an unalterable reference image.

Think of it as a digital negative. The Reference Image can sit alongside the finished photo in Apple's Photos app, allowing someone to visually compare the two and determine whether edits were made after the photo was captured.

Apple is also making APIs available across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS 27 so third-party apps can display Reference Images. The company says image metadata and upcoming support for Google's SynthID standard can additionally help identify images generated or edited using AI.

For everyday users, this probably won't be the reason to buy an iPhone 18 Pro. For photographers, journalists, newsrooms, and other industries where image authenticity matters, it could be one of the more important camera additions Apple has introduced in years.

iPhone 18 Pro battery

Battery life is receiving one of the largest upgrades on this year's Pro models. Apple says the Pro Max represents the largest increase in battery life ever on an iPhone. Part of that improvement comes from A20 Pro's power efficiency, but there's another important change for Canadians.

Maximum battery life is typically measured in video and audio playback. For the iPhone 18 Pro, these battery capacities are:

• iPhone 18 Pro:
  • Video: Up to 27 hours of video playback
• iPhone 18 Pro Max:
  • Video: Up to 30 hours of video playback
• iPhone Duo:
• Video: Up to 31 hours of video playback

For comparison, the iPhone 17 Pro was rated for 33 hours and the iPhone 17 Pro Max for 39 hours of video playback. That works out to an additional three hours on the Pro and six hours on the Pro Max.

iPhone 18 Pro eSIM and 5G

In the U.S., iPhones haven't used a physical SIM since the iPhone 14 launched in 2022. Apple began expanding that strategy internationally last year, with eSIM-only iPhone 17 models coming to Canada.

The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max introduce Apple's new C2 cellular modem. This is particularly noteworthy because Apple's own modems were much more limited across last year's lineup. The ultra-thin iPhone Air introduced Apple's C1X modem, while the iPhone 17 Pro series continued using different modem hardware. C2 brings Apple's modem technology to its flagship Pro phones and adds what the company describes as AI-powered improvements to cellular quality and reliability.

Apple says C2 delivers meaningfully faster upload speeds than C1X while consuming 15% less energy.

To help you find which carriers have the best network coverage in your area, we've broken down the networks for Telus, Bell, Rogers, and Freedom. Here, you can find coverage maps to learn which carrier readily supports 5G networks in which regions across Canada. The regular iPhone 17 therefore remains an important option for customers who don't want to spend the $1,749 starting price of the iPhone 18 Pro

iPhone 18 Pro and iOS 27

The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max launch with iOS 27, Apple's latest operating system. While iOS 26 was largely defined by Apple's Liquid Glass redesign, iOS 27 places substantially more emphasis on Apple Intelligence and the long-awaited Siri AI.

Siri AI launches in beta alongside iOS 27 and represents a much more ambitious version of Apple's assistant. Rather than primarily responding to individual commands, Siri AI can understand personal context from information stored on your iPhone.

For example, users can ask Siri to find information in their messages, emails, photos, and other supported sources without specifying exactly where it was originally stored. On-screen awareness allows Siri to understand what you're currently looking at and take actions related to that content.

Apple is also adding Siri mode to the Camera app, allowing users to ask questions about something directly in front of the camera and take actions based on what Siri sees. Users can also write with Siri by describing what they need rather than dictating a traditional command.

Apple Intelligence is expanding throughout iOS as well. Spatial Reframing can adjust the composition of a photograph after you've taken it, while Extend uses generative AI to expand an image outside its original frame. Clean Up has been upgraded, while Image Playground can now produce photorealistic imagery.

Safari gets a new Notify Me feature that can monitor a webpage and alert users to changes, such as when an out-of-stock product becomes available or a price drops.

Apple says these features use a combination of on-device processing and Private Cloud Compute when more processing power is necessary.

iOS 27 also introduces iPhone Handoff, which lets customers with supported carriers switch between two iPhones using the same phone number. iOS 27 will be available as a free software update on Monday, September 14.

Apple Intelligence will be available the same day on compatible devices, while Siri AI initially launches in beta for devices set to English. French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish support is scheduled to arrive in October.

iPhone 18 Pro plans and providers

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Rogers, Bell, and Telus are all expected to offer pre-order deals for the iPhone 18 Pro line-up. Here's a breakdown of the major benefits you can expect each provider to offer.

Major carriers

Rogers is one of Canada's leading carriers, with coast-to-coast 4G LTE service, plus 5G and 5G+ in many communities. The carrier offers plans with Canada-wide talk and text alongside large monthly data allowances.

You can also bundle Rogers wireless services with home internet if you're looking to save on monthly costs. This can be a good option if you're looking to upgrade to an iPhone 18 Pro this year.

Bell provides strong mobile coverage across Canada, covering the vast majority of the population. Bell offers several large-data and unlimited plans that pair well with the iPhone 18 series, including options with talk, text, and data usage in the U.S. and other international destinations.

Bell also offers 5G+ connectivity in many Canadian communities, letting compatible iPhone 18 devices use the carrier's fastest available mobile network.

Telus shares much of its network infrastructure with Bell and offers extensive LTE and 5G coverage across Canada. The carrier also offers a variety of plans with large data allowances, Canada-U.S. usage, and international roaming options.

Telus also offers streaming bundles, so you may be able to save money on Disney+, Netflix, or Prime Video alongside your new iPhone.

MVNO carriers

Historically, MVNO carriers in Canada rarely offer the newest flagship iPhones with the same financing promotions as the major carriers. Instead, MVNOs can be a solid alternative if you purchase an iPhone 18 Pro directly from Apple and want to save money on your monthly phone bill.

In many cases, you'll find similar or overlapping coverage with major carriers like Rogers, Bell, and Telus, while paying considerably less each month. We've got more on how to switch carriers and how to keep your cell phone number in the process.

Some of the most popular MVNO plans are listed below:

iPhone 17 discounts

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Like clockwork, when Apple releases a new iPhone series, Canadian carriers typically discount previous-generation devices. With the iPhone 18 Pro series hitting shelves, the iPhone 17 now starts at $1,299.

That's particularly important this year because Apple isn't launching a standard iPhone 18 alongside its Pro models. The regular iPhone 17 therefore remains Apple's mainstream alternative until the standard iPhone 18 arrives in 2027.

The iPhone 17 remains an excellent option if features like the A20 Pro processor, variable aperture camera, or Apple's new foldable design don't justify the cost of an iPhone 18-series device. Last year's iPhone 17 introduced several meaningful upgrades. 

Apple brought ProMotion and a 120Hz refresh rate to the standard iPhone for the first time, alongside an 18MP Center Stage front camera, dual 48MP rear cameras, the A19 processor, and a larger 6.3-inch display. The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max went further with the A19 Pro chip, vapour chamber cooling, and a triple 48MP camera array. The Pro models also remain compatible with iOS 27 and Apple's latest Apple Intelligence features, including Siri AI.

So, if you're looking to upgrade your device but don't want to pay full price for an iPhone 18 Pro or Apple's first foldable, last year's iPhone 17 lineup may be the better option for your budget.

Here are the latest iPhone 17 deals from Canada's carriers.