GSMCritic Take: With its compact premium chassis, fast-charging battery, and an A20 Pro that rivals desktop silicon, this phone delivers a refined everyday experience and strong cameras across the board, though its heavier frame, higher price, and only incremental camera tweaks keep it from the truly exceptional tier.
Screen:
6.3"
Weight:
211g
Water:
Waterproof
Charging:
52W
Optical Zoom:
4x
Thickness:
8.8mm
Screen covers
89.4% of body
Reviews
Overall rating and the reviews that impact it
93
GSMCritic Score
Excellent
Pros
Camera
Photo System: Consistent color science across lenses, competitive low-light and night modes, and a variable-aperture lens that adds depth-control finesse for close-up shots.
Performance
A20 Pro Silicon: Apple's latest processor matches desktop M3-class multi-core work and dominates single-thread scores, so gaming and heavy multitasking keep frame rates steady.
Design
Compact Premium Form: The smaller Dynamic Island shaves body mass while the dense build holds a comfortable grip, giving the phone a no-wasted-materials feel most flagships at this tier lack.
Build Durability: A sturdy frame and reinforced front glass that feel noticeably more resistant to flex and everyday impacts than last year.
Display
LTPO OLED Panel: A bright, high-refresh adaptive display with always-on support and good peak nits that handles outdoor readability and long viewing sessions.
Battery
Battery and Charging: The 0-to-82 percent fast-charge window lands in roughly 30 minutes and the daily stamina holds up under mixed screens-on-time, putting most rivals through a second-charging session.
Software
Video Capture: Reference Image mode for AI-assisted editing and reliable Focus Tracking that locks onto fast-moving subjects without stutter.
Audio
Audio Output: The stereo pair throws a surprisingly wide soundstage and hits clean highs at volume, the kind of tuned setup that makes video and music playback genuinely loud and rich.
Cons
Camera
Camera Reform Is Subtle: The Camera Control buttons can't adjust aperture or shutter speed, and the variable-aperture lens delivers only incremental changes with starburst highlights that won't impress enthusiasts.
Performance
Thermal Load Under Sustained CPU Use: The A20 Pro runs warm during extended processor-heavy tasks, which can trigger brief throttling on demanding workloads.
Design
Weight Adds Up: At 211 g the phone sits heavier than most competitors, which can fatigue the wrist during one-handed use and demands a sturdier case.
Siri AI Rightsized for Europe: European users still face restricted or unavailable Siri-based AI features, a regional limitation that may never fully clear.
Battery
Modest Increment Over iPhone 17 Pro: Core upgrades—battery and charging reach only the low double digits beyond last year—read as evolutionary rather than a generational leap.
Price
Sticker Shock: The base model bumps $100 over its predecessor to $1,199, while the Pro Max lands at $1,299, pushing the entry price above most buyers' budget.
Rankings
Where Apple iPhone 18 Pro stands in 2026
Best Phone Of 2026
🥈#2
Highest Optical Zoom
#5
Largest Screen
#25
Smallest Screen
🥈#2
Lightest
#17
Thinnest
#22
Fastest Charging
#17
Highest Screen Ratio
#22
Cheapest
#17
