Apple Launches £1,199 iPhone 18 Pro With A20 Pro and Variable-Aperture Camera

Q: How does the hidden removal of the physical SIM tray secretly unlock unprecedented battery life in the new iPhone 18 Pro?

It does not “secretly” unlock unprecedented battery life across all iPhone 18 Pro models. The gain is narrower: on eSIM-only versions, removing the physical SIM tray frees a small amount of internal space that Apple uses for a larger battery. Apple’s own materials say eSIM-only iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max models in some markets use the space formerly occupied by the SIM tray to fit a bigger battery, adding up to two extra hours of video playback. That is a real benefit, but it is market-dependent, not universal. In countries where the phone still has a physical SIM tray, that space-saving advantage does not apply. For the standard iPhone 18 Pro, the effect appears modest. Teardown and regulatory reports cited in the background material put the eSIM-only iPhone 18 Pro at about 4,288mAh, versus 4,252mAh for the iPhone 17 Pro in comparable markets — less than a 1% increase. So the tray removal is not the main reason for the 18 Pro’s better battery life. The bigger battery-life improvements come from a combination of factors: the more efficient 2nm A20 Pro chip, Apple’s new C2 modem in most 18 Pro models, and broader power-management changes. Apple rates the 18 Pro at up to 34 hours of video playback versus 31 hours on the 17 Pro. So the SIM tray removal helps, but mainly as a small space-saving measure on eSIM-only models, not as the hidden breakthrough behind the entire battery-life improvement.

3 articles · Updated · The Independent · Oct 8

Apple opened orders for the iPhone 18 Pro at £1,199 for 256GB, adding its first variable-aperture main camera, an A20 Pro chip and up to 34 hours of video playback.
The biggest hardware change is the 48MP main camera’s four aperture settings—f/1.48 to f/4.0—which Apple says deliver 50% better low-light performance and more manual depth-of-field control.
A20 Pro brings a 2nm process, a 7-core GPU and a 32-core Neural Engine; Apple says graphics are up to 40% faster and sustained performance improves by up to 40% with a larger vapor chamber.
Battery life rises from 31 to 34 hours of video playback versus the iPhone 17 Pro, while wired charging reaches 50% in 15 minutes with a 60W adapter; the design otherwise changes little beyond a smaller Dynamic Island.
The upgrade looks incremental for iPhone 17 Pro owners, especially with last year’s model now discounted by about £100, making the new camera the clearest reason to pay the premium.