Apple iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max unveiled: AI, battery, camera and design improvements explained

Dubai: During its annual iPhone launch event, titled ‘Surprise and Shine’ this year, Apple unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, with improvements focusing on four key areas: artificial intelligence, performance, battery, and camera. The company presented the iPhone as a 'smart personal hub', as the iPhone 18 Pro comes powered with the latest Apple artificial intelligence (AI) models, including the most powerful model the company has ever developed to work directly on the device, with the possibility of using more powerful models via private cloud computing when needed. Apple revealed extensive improvements to Siri, making it more capable of understanding personal context and handling information in Mail, Messages, and applications, noting that users of the assistant make more than 2.5 billion requests daily, and that it integrates with more than 300,000 applications. The new AI capabilities are not limited to Siri, as Apple's AI can monitor web pages via the Safari browser and automatically alert the user when changes occur, in addition to creating customised automated processes, such as updating the Calendar and Reminders when messages arrive from school. New technologies also extend to images, with the ability to create images in different styles and with more advanced image editing tools, including removing unwanted elements, widening the image frame, and readjusting the angle and perspective of the shot after it has been taken. The phone features a new design that combines aluminium and glass backs in harmonious colours, with four options: Deep Black, Silver, Glacier, and Burgundy, along with improvements in processing power, battery life, and camera system. Apple announced that the new AI capabilities will begin experimentally in English, with support expanding in October to include French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish. Some features will have usage limits due to their reliance on robust server-side models, with greater accessibility within most iCloud Plus plans. At its annual conference, the company stated that Apple is putting artificial intelligence at the heart of the future of the iPhone, presenting the phone as more than just a smart device, but a 'smart personal hub' that combines AI capabilities with an understanding of the user's needs and personal context. The company believes that the next generation of AI experiences relies on integrating the apps, services, and devices people use daily, with the ability to run advanced models directly on the phone and leverage more powerful models from the cloud when needed. This vision depends on powerful processors, fast connectivity, advanced displays, cameras, and microphones that enable the device to see, hear, and understand the user's surroundings, along with all-day battery life. Therefore, the integration of these capabilities with other apps, services, and devices makes the iPhone the ideal product to become the central hub of the personal experience in the age of artificial intelligence.