GSMArena Team, 23 September 2026

Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max review

6. The competition, our verdict, pros and cons

The competition

This year, Apple shifted its release schedule, pushing the standard iPhone 18 to a spring launch while debuting the iPhone 18 Pro models and the new Duo foldable first. As expected, the iPhone 18 Pro Max is an incremental upgrade over the 17 Pro Max, with the changes boiling down to a smaller Dynamic Island, a new chipset, a variable aperture for the main camera, and a larger battery with faster charging.

New iPhones are rarely intended for owners of the previous model - even if millions of die-hard fans buy them regardless of how minor the changes are. Instead, each new generation offers the most meaningful upgrades to users coming from models that are at least two or three years old.

The iPhone 18 Pro Max launches with a base price of €1,599/$1,299, with the 2TB version selling for as much as €3,100/$2,499!

The iPhone 17 Pro Max is about €250 cheaper, and that's our first suggestion when considering the potential alternatives. If you want pretty much the same experience while saving enough for a pair of AirPods or an Apple Watch, you may be better off shopping around for last year's model (while stocks last).

The €950 iPhone 17 is another one of our favorite iPhones, offering plenty of Pro-level features, including a 120Hz display and the A19 chip, in a compact and lightweight body. It also has a very capable trio of cameras (main, ultrawide, selfie), even if there is no dedicated zoom shooter. Its battery life turned out quite solid, too.

Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max • Apple iPhone 17

Outside the iPhone bubble, you may want to explore the Android top dogs - the Galaxy S26 Ultra with its S Pen and two telephoto cameras (3x and 5x), the Xiaomi 17 Ultra with its class-leading Leica camera system and optional Photography Kit, or the Oppo Find X9 Ultra with its two impressive zoom cameras (3x/macro and 10x), excellent selfie camera and its own intriguing Photography Kit.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra • Xiaomi 17 Ultra • Oppo Find X9 Ultra

Our verdict

Despite the impressive achievement of Apple's redesigned chip, the iPhone 18 Pro Max remains one of the most incremental updates in recent years. This is somewhat understandable, given that the 20th anniversary iPhone 20 arrives next year and the new iPhone Duo took center stage as this year's "one more thing."

Still, the 18 Pro Max is undeniably a top-tier flagship - combining a durable premium build, a sharp display with a smaller cutout, class-leading battery life, outstanding cameras, and fluid iOS performance. And while few people will feel the A20 Pro upgrade in everyday use right now, we do believe its extra performance and memory bandwidth will pay off in the years to come.

What we don't appreciate is Apple's use of slower QLC storage on the 1TB and 2TB models, particularly given how expensive those versions are. You may actually be better off skipping those storage tiers entirely.

Ultimately, annual iPhone updates have become predictable. If it weren't for the iPhone Duo, Apple would have deserved some serious pushback this year.

So, is the iPhone 18 Pro Max worth buying? Absolutely. It remains an exceptional flagship packed with top-tier features. If it fits your needs - or if you're upgrading from an iPhone 15 Pro Max or earlier - it's an easy recommendation. And it can stand tall against any Android rival, too. Even so, a word of warning: if you're upgrading from the iPhone 17 Pro Max, buying into a boring iPhone upgrade such as this one can leave a somewhat bitter aftertaste.