Five iPhone 18 Pro features you’ll want to try as soon as you unbox it

The iPhone 18 Pro is finally here, and while it doesn’t look as exciting as the new iPhone Duo, there’s plenty to try once you take it out of the box. This year, Apple is offering even more control in the Camera app. The variable aperture main camera lens opens up new possibilities in photography, just like new photographic styles.

Plus, the Dynamic Island is smaller and charges your iPhone much faster. If you own an iPhone 18 Pro or plan to buy one, check out these highlights first.

The 48-megapixel main camera is the first on an iPhone to offer variable aperture. The lens has six blades that physically open and close, just like on a DSLR camera. This provides greater control over the amount of light in the scene as well as the depth of field. You have four settings in the Camera app: f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8, and f/4. Try photographing the same subject on each of them and compare them: you will notice differences in lighting, noise and background.

At f/1.48, the sensor lets in more light and blurs the background, which is perfect for this photo in a dimly lit restaurant. Change to f/4 to narrow the aperture; you’ll have less light, but everyone in the photo will look sharper. This is perfect for group photos or landscapes. The smaller aperture also creates a cool star effect in bright lights.

You can find the opening controls by pressing the six point button in the Camera app. But remember: this command only works on the main lens, in 1x and 2x modes. Other lenses still have a fixed aperture, like before.

Aperture control isn’t the only new feature in the Camera app on iPhone 18 Pro. Apple also added a number of other manual controls for the first time – the type of features you only found in third-party apps. You can also adjust shutter speed, focus and white balance. A slow shutter speed turns car headlights into streaks, while white balance lock prevents skin tones from changing as you move between rooms with different lighting.

All these commands are located inside the same six point buttonas well as the aperture adjustment. What’s great is that you can customize the Camera app for easier access to your favorite controls. Tap and hold the controls at the top of the Camera app, then drag which ones you want to keep at all times.

Photographic Styles were introduced with the iPhone 13, but the functionality has changed a lot since then. If you’re not familiar with them, Photo Styles allow you to change the appearance of a photo (from contrast to shadows and colors) by adjusting only specific layers of the image, unlike a basic filter. And for those who own an iPhone 18 Pro, two new controls are available: grain and texture.

Take a photo with one of your new iPhone’s cameras, then open the editing menu and tap Styles to see the new options. Select Personalizethen go to Texture tab to adjust. Here you can soften skin tones without affecting the rest of the image, add some sparkle, or apply a film effect to highlights. If you like that old-fashioned grainy effect, that’s also possible. Playing around with all these new styles is a great way to make your photos look prettier.

One of the coolest features of modern iPhones is Dynamic Island. Apple took a hardware limitation and turned it into a cool iOS feature: a simple cutout around the front camera becomes an area for displaying useful information. On iPhone 18 Pro, Apple reduced the size of Dynamic Island so you can see more of your content when it’s not active. And when Dynamic Island is used, it can now do even more.

Dynamic Island now displays not one, but up to three live activities at a time. This means you can control your music, check the progress of a timer, and track the score of a sporting event all at the same time. Everything works like previous models, where you long-press each live activity on the dynamic island to expand it. All applications that already work with Dynamic Island can benefit from these improvements.

Apple says the batteries in the new iPhones last longer, and while that’s true, they won’t last forever. But when it’s time to charge your iPhone 18 Pro, you can do it much faster than before. It charges from 0 to 50% in about 15 minutes, or 30 minutes if you use a MagSafe charger. Forgetting to charge your iPhone overnight will no longer be a problem.

There is, however, a catch. To get the most out of fast charging, you need the right power adapter. The fastest wired speed requires a USB PD 3.1 adapter with an adjustable voltage supply of 60 W or more, and Apple conducted its testing with its own dynamic 40 W power adapter, which peaks at 60 W. Additionally, these estimates only cover the first half of the battery charge; the rest of the charging process will be a little slower to preserve battery health. Still, it’s an improvement for emergency situations when you need an extra boost.