01

The Camera app finally exposes more control

The Camera app looks familiar until Steven opens its expanded controls. He shows white balance, a histogram and aperture, then uses the edit icon at the top left to choose the settings he wants as quick-access controls. Aperture is his first pick; white balance is the other, because streetlights and mixed evening light will make automatic colour decisions more noticeable.

The white-balance readout changes as he moves the phone. At one point it shows 6.5, meaning 6,500 Kelvin. That live feedback matters: he can see the colour-temperature decision as he composes, and take manual control when the lighting becomes less uniform. He also points to live aperture-value feedback in the controls.

He also notices the control panel stutter when he moves it up and down. He suspects the Liquid Glass overlays and animations, and suggests disabling the effect for a smoother experience. The video does not establish that Liquid Glass is the cause or demonstrate a confirmed fix. It is a usability concern he encounters during the test.

02

Undertones, styles and the new texture menu

Steven first shows the main-camera image from each phone as captured, then demonstrates how the 18 Pro’s new image controls change the look. His enthusiasm centres on the texture menu, though he says Apple still has room to improve compared with the customisation offered by some Android phones.

Being able to change these adjustments after capture is the useful part of the workflow. But Steven cannot apply the same new menu to his older iPhone 17 Pro photos. He expected to be able to edit those captures too and questions why the controls are limited to the newer model in his test. His belief that the 17 Pro could handle them is an opinion; he does not establish the technical reason for the restriction.

03

Daylight photos: look past the new styles

Set the undertones, textures and filters aside, and Steven finds the two phones’ daytime photos very similar—sometimes almost identical. He notices possible differences in skin tones and exposure, but is cautious about treating them as a clear upgrade.

Moving one phone slightly to the left or right can change the light on the subject. A small framing difference can therefore make the processing look different, even before considering anything the camera itself changed. His daylight conclusion is that the 18 Pro does not produce a dramatic leap in ordinary main-camera photos.

04

Regular 1× video—and an important audio detail

Steven’s first video example uses the 1× main camera with ordinary camera settings: no Log and no manual adjustments. Both phones produce footage he would be happy to trim and share directly to Instagram Stories or another social platform. A more deliberate Log workflow is an option when you want to shape the image further.

The sound is not a controlled phone-microphone comparison. He says the 18 Pro shot uses a wireless microphone, while the 17 Pro example uses its built-in microphone. That difference in recording equipment has to be separated from any judgement about which phone records better audio.

05

Low-light video and telephoto: little separation

Returning to picture quality after the break, Steven says the low-light videos also look very similar. He reaches the same conclusion for the telephoto examples: in the clips he shows, he finds it difficult to tell the phones apart.

These are his observations from the scenes in this comparison, not a measured claim that the cameras will match in every setting. The review does not provide a separate matched selfie-camera test or a complete low-light still-photo test, so neither gets an invented result here.

06

Add the Cinematic effect after filming

The 18 Pro workflow Steven demonstrates starts with ordinary video in the built-in Camera app, without Log. He can then enable a Cinematic effect, adding simulated depth of field after the clip has been recorded.

He changes the strength of the blur and shifts its emphasis: soften the background behind the subject, or make the foreground blurry instead. This is artificial bokeh, so it is a different control from physically opening or closing the camera’s aperture.

The iPhone 17 Pro already has Cinematic mode. Steven says he needs to choose it before recording, whereas the new 18 Pro workflow gives him the option after an ordinary recording. When he intentionally uses Cinematic mode on both phones, he finds their results almost identical.

He does not normally film in Cinematic mode very often, so the convenience matters to him more than a promise of universally better footage. He also feels these software features are overdue—going back to the 16 Pro generation in his view—and wishes earlier models had received them; the video does not prove why Apple limited their availability.

07

What variable aperture changes in a real scene

Steven describes the 18 Pro’s main-camera aperture opening to ƒ/1.48 and closing to ƒ/4. The wide setting is useful in lower light, but close subjects can have a shallow area of focus. Stopping down keeps more of that nearby subject sharp.

He puts the feature in context with his earlier Xiaomi 14 Ultra experience, which he recalls from his first year on YouTube. That phone’s larger, 1-inch-type sensor made adjustable aperture more meaningful to him. The iPhone’s smaller sensor limits the visible depth-of-field change, particularly when the subject is farther away.

For his outdoor example, he films sunlight passing through leaves and shows the starburst produced when the aperture closes. He likes the result, but says the choice comes down to the look you prefer; both phones make attractive footage.

He deliberately films handheld without trying to be perfectly stable, checks that both lenses are clean, and says this also lets viewers look at stabilization. He does not give a quantified stabilization result or declare a clear winner in that passage.

Steven says he would prefer built-in ND filters and doubts they could fit inside such a small phone. That is his view about the design constraints, not proof that internal ND is technically impossible.

08

The Blackmagic Camera example: ƒ/4 and 1/60

This is where aperture becomes a practical exposure control. Steven opens Blackmagic Camera, an app he recommends, and shows the automatic exposure pushing the shutter speed higher in the available light. A very fast shutter leaves less motion blur and can make movement look more staccato.

He closes the aperture to ƒ/4, sets 1/60 second, and is happy with the exposure balance. He uses the example of a bird or another moving object passing through the frame to explain the motion blur he wants to preserve. That moving-object example is his explanation of the setting, not a separate controlled bird test.

His conclusion is that ƒ/4 is enough for that lighting situation. It does not mean ƒ/4 will hold the same shutter speed in every bright scene, or that 1/60 is a universal setting for every frame rate. Both phones remain capable Log cameras; the 18 Pro adds another physical exposure adjustment.

09

Tracking autofocus and the anamorphic look

Steven points out tracking autofocus on the 18 Pro: double-tap a subject and the phone follows it. Beyond that addition, he finds the phones very similar for video, especially when he shoots Apple Log.

He then shows how an anamorphic lens can give the footage a more distinctive look. This is a creative choice that changes the frame and rendering; it is not evidence that one phone’s unmodified camera suddenly outperforms the other.

10

Battery, charging and Steven’s final verdict

Steven finishes where the comparison began: everyday photo and video quality remain close, while the new software controls, textures and skin adjustments are the more noticeable upgrade for his work.

He says the 17 Pro’s battery was already decent, then reports more than two days of battery life in his use of the newer phone, and says charging from 0 to 50% takes about 15 minutes. He presents the latter as the official figure and says his experience is similar. These are claims in his review, not an independently repeated battery or charging test here; the video moves between Pro and Pro Max references.

The new textures and photo filters remind him of the Samsung S26 Ultra. He teases that comparison for his next video, but does not carry out an S26 Ultra camera comparison in this one.

11 / QUICK ANSWERS

Questions from the comparison

12 / ORIGINAL VIDEO

Watch Steven’s full comparison

Watch Steven’s original review below.

Review, footage and comparison frames: Steven Divish. Watch the original camera comparison on YouTube.