iPhone 18 Pro Max launched: Price, Features and More

Apple has officially launched the iPhone 18 Pro Max alongside the iPhone 18 Pro, bringing significant upgrades across the camera, performance, battery and artificial intelligence. The new flagship introduces a variable-aperture main camera, Apple's latest A20 Pro chip, an improved Dynamic Island and a new Siri AI experience with iOS 27.

iPhone 18 Pro Max price in India and availability

The iPhone 18 Pro Max is available in four finishes: black, silver, glacier and the new burgundy colour. Apple is offering the smartphone in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB storage configurations, giving buyers several options depending on their storage requirements.

In India, the iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at Rs 1,79,900, while the iPhone 18 Pro starts at Rs 1,64,900. Pre-orders for both models will begin on September 12, with retail availability scheduled to start on September 18.

A new variable-aperture camera

The camera is one of the biggest upgrades on the iPhone 18 Pro Max. It gets a new 48MP Fusion Main camera with variable aperture, giving users control over how much light enters the lens and how much depth of field they want in a shot.

The system uses six laser-cut blades and offers four aperture settings. The camera can automatically adjust the aperture depending on lighting and depth-of-field requirements, while photographers can manually control it through the Camera app.

Apple has also added new Pro controls, allowing users to adjust settings such as aperture, shutter speed and white balance. A histogram is available for checking exposure, while upgraded Photographic Styles add texture and grain controls.

For video, Cinematic effects can now be applied after recording to footage captured at up to 60fps. Time-lapse recording also gets 4K Dolby Vision HDR support, while Audio Mix has been upgraded to better isolate voices and music.

A20 Pro brings more performance

The iPhone 18 Pro Max is powered by Apple's A20 Pro chip, manufactured using a 2nm process. It features a six-core CPU, seven-core GPU and a new 32-core Neural Engine.

Apple says the chip offers 50 percent more memory bandwidth than the A19 Pro, while its GPU can deliver up to 40 percent higher performance. A redesigned vapor chamber with three times the surface area of the previous generation also helps the phone maintain performance during demanding tasks.

Bigger battery and smarter Siri

Battery life gets another major boost. The eSIM-only iPhone 18 Pro Max offers up to 45 hours of video playback. Apple says five minutes of wired charging can provide around seven hours of video playback, while the phone can deliver up to 30 hours of usage on a full charge under its new usage model.

The iPhone 18 Pro Max runs iOS 27 and introduces Siri AI in beta. The new Siri can use personal context, understand what's displayed on screen and perform actions across supported apps. Apple Intelligence also powers features such as enhanced photo editing and Image Playground, with processing handled on-device or through Private Cloud Compute.