iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max • Hacker News Board

Re: iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max

#211

Post by geraneum » Wed, Sep 09, 2026, 10:10 PM UTC

ActorNightly wrote: post #135

runjake wrote: post #62

There's a lot of misdirected complaining here, so some reminders: - Apple has this event because it generates buzz, which increases sales. - You do not need to watch the event. - You do not need to pay attention to anything about the event. - You do not need to buy the new device.

- Top 4/6 links on HN are currently Apple news. Yeah Apple TOTALLY doesn't astroturf HN.

That doesn’t seem to be worth the effort to astroturf HN. We are not as important in Apple sales volume scale as you think we are.

Re: iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max

#212

Post by ErneX » Wed, Sep 09, 2026, 10:13 PM UTC

millipede wrote: post #102

The things we need to know most, RAM and Memory Bandwidth, are unfortunately missing from the release. Their absence doesn't bode well.

12GB of ram and double the memory the bandwidth over the previous model.

Re: iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max

#213

Post by drop_star » Wed, Sep 09, 2026, 10:14 PM UTC

nobleach wrote: post #15

afavour wrote: post #4

That’s certainly an iPhone, alright. Apple basically need to release a new model every year to fit the phone upgrade cycle so I suppose it’s not that surprising to see one with so few compelling features. Maybe next year.

> the most advanced camera in an iPhone I mean, I can't remember the last time they DIDN'T say that. Variable aperture is kinda cool I guess. 256Gigs of storage basically means everyone's going to have to upgrade their iCloud storage monthly spend just to back this thing up. I've stopped sending my camera roll to iCloud just to save on space.

>I've stopped sending my camera roll to iCloud just to save on space.

how do you backup your photos when the phone gets full. I dont have a mac and the process is excruciating. Also the formats get messed up so some photos become unusable. I stopped taking 'live' photos because of this.

Re: iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max

#214

Post by josephg » Wed, Sep 09, 2026, 10:14 PM UTC

ShinyLeftPad wrote: post #152

ksec wrote: post #60

I am actually quite excited on this iPhone 18 Pro. Seems to pack a a lot of exciting stuff. 2nm A20 Pro, C2. I wish they have N2 but I guess not. 2nd Generation Vapour Chamber. I thought I would have to wait another generation because Apple like to use new product features for two generation before moving on. And it seems this Vapour Chamber along with other heat desperation features are much better built. Much bette…

> The only thing that need radical change is iOS. Personally iSO 26 is so unbelievably glitchy, it's only not embarrasing because you know others spent $$$ on the same thing so everyone pretends it's fine.

They seem to have ironed most of the problems now. You can disable liquid glass if you hate it, and as a result iOS 26 is nearly as good as the previous version. I’m running it on my iphone12. I hated it when it first came out. But it seems fine now.

Re: iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max

#215

Post by josephg » Wed, Sep 09, 2026, 10:17 PM UTC

supratims wrote: post #203

I think I am going to continue with my 17 pro max for another year. I usually upgrade every year, but not this time.

I haven’t upgraded since 2020 and I still don’t have a good reason to. My iPhone 12 still runs great. I use a real camera for photography. Other than the cameras, what has meaningfully improved over the last 6 years?

Re: iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max

#216

Post by kllrnohj » Wed, Sep 09, 2026, 10:19 PM UTC

cavoirom wrote: post #72

quinncom wrote: post #66

I love that it has a feature to prove images came from the real world: > Users can now prove the authenticity of a photo taken on iPhone 18 Pro models with Apple Reference Image, powered by the new sensor in the Main camera that can sign every pixel it sees. When a photo is taken in the new Reference mode, the camera captures signed sensor data that Private Cloud Compute develops into an unalterable reference image.5…

Yes, this is really a "Pro" feature, while C2PA exists, not many consumer products have it, iPhone will be the game changer for reporters.

Reporters who only capture pictures on an iPhone and not a "real" camera, and who also never need to edit the photo to crop off or obscure identifying information, innocent bystanders/victims, gory violence or nudity, etc...

The problem is real, but this solution seems to not really solve it in any practical sense.

Re: iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max

#217

Post by michaelt » Wed, Sep 09, 2026, 10:21 PM UTC

dymk wrote: post #201

andrewmutz wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't I just point my camera at an AI generated image? And it will get the stamp of authenticity?

It will look like you took a picture of a screen or print out

People have constructed video walls so high resolution they can film TV series in front of them and to an audience it's indistinguishable from a real set. It's extremely cost-effective for things like space fantasy that needs lots of exotic-looking backdrops, apparently.

It may not be in reach for you and I - but within reach of anyone with the budget to run a 'bot farm'

Re: iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max

#218

Post by Aurornis » Wed, Sep 09, 2026, 10:22 PM UTC

nateb2022 wrote: post #48

I would love to see some "pro" features hit the Pro or Pro Max. Something I've wanted for a while is the ability to have more than 2 active eSIMs; I think a dual modem would be really cool, maybe with some features targeting users in poor cell coverage/ spotty service areas. Or feature Thunderbolt rather than normie USB-C so you can record 4/8K ProRes to an SSD, and power a multi monitor setup with your iPhone Pro. m…

> Or feature Thunderbolt rather than normie USB-C so you can record 4/8K ProRes to an SSD,

The old iPhone 17 Pro has USB 3.2 Gen 2, which is good for 10Gb/s.

You can already record 4K60 ProRes to an external SSD. This feature already existed for a year, so I assume you didn't actually need it?

> and power a multi monitor setup with your iPhone Pro. macOS would be sick.

I think you're looking for a MacBook Pro the size of an iPhone.

Re: iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max

#219

Post by ModernMech » Wed, Sep 09, 2026, 10:26 PM UTC

brewdad wrote: post #167

ModernMech wrote: post #90

Seems like at this point each year the biggest new feature is a new color.

It works with normies. My wife just preordered an 18 pro. She’s the family photographer and is still on a 128gb iPhone 12, so it’s time for an upgrade and she fell in love with the cherry color. She bought the 12 instead of the more appropriate 12 pro years ago because she loved the purple that she couldn’t get with a 12 pro. Edit:typo

Yeah I wish they made a Macbook that color, it's pretty nice.

Re: iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max

#220

Post by cortesoft » Wed, Sep 09, 2026, 10:29 PM UTC

apetresc wrote: post #173

eagerpace wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because I am buying a phone to use for the next 3 years and want to buy it based on the most important property of compute devices right now. I couldn't care less about the camera and the 13 random metrics that all look the same as every other camera announcement. I will happily take 96GB of RAM in my phone (and I know what that means) and would gladly allow you to make it 1.2mm thicker in the process.

What on earth would you do with an iOS device that has 96GB of RAM? You realize the last generation (i.e, the most powerful consumer phone in the world today) had 12 GB of RAM? You feel the need for eight times that amount?

They obviously want to run AI models on their phone.