{"id":4186,"date":"2026-09-28T11:30:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T15:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yichpro.com\/?p=4186"},"modified":"2026-09-28T11:30:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T15:30:17","slug":"iphone-18-pro-and-iphone-18-pro-max-long-term-review-7-features-id-really-miss-on-any-other-iphone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yichpro.com\/en_us\/iphone-18-pro-and-iphone-18-pro-max-long-term-review-7-features-id-really-miss-on-any-other-iphone\/","title":{"rendered":"iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max Long-Term Review: 7 Features I\u2019d Really Miss on Any Other iPhone"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello! I’m Yuan Hehe. Please follow me for more exciting content! iPhone 18 Pro Max long-term review<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I have been using the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max for the past few weeks, and I have pretty much experienced all the changes in the A20 Pro chip, battery life, and camera system of this generation. After using them for a while, I realized that what truly makes this Pro series so good to use is not just the stronger performance, but the fact that many small features have gradually become part of my daily habits.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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For example, the variable aperture, dedicated telephoto lens, Face ID, and professional imaging features like ProRAW and ProRes might not seem indispensable on their own. However, once you get used to them, switching back to an iPhone without these features makes you clearly feel like something is missing.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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So if I were to re-evaluate the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max now, I feel their true advantage isn’t that any single specification is particularly exaggerated, but rather that Apple has packed performance, imaging, operation, and professional features into a complete package. The following 7 features are what I find most indispensable after using them for a while.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

MagSafe has now become a must-have for me<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

MagSafe is no longer just an ordinary feature to me; after using it for a long time, it’s really hard to give it up. The things I use most often are the MagSafe wallet, desktop stand, and car mount. The magnetic attachment area on the back of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max is very well-aligned, so the wallet doesn’t stick out, and the stand attaches very naturally. It’s basically just pick it up, snap it on, and forget about it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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What truly makes it indispensable for me isn’t actually the 15W wireless charging, but the fact that this entire set of accessories has gradually become a habit. I stick a card holder on when going out, place it on the mount while driving, and switch back to the charger when returning to my desk, without having to worry about compatibility in between.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So after using it for so many years, switching to an iPhone now makes me really care about whether the MagSafe experience is complete. For me, it’s long ceased to be just an optional feature on a spec sheet.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The variable aperture is one of my favorite upgrades this generation.<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

I really like the variable aperture on the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max this time. The main camera features four stops ranging from \u0192\/1.48 to \u0192\/4.0. When shooting at night, I’ll use the widest aperture to let in more light; for daytime landscapes or group photos, narrowing the aperture makes it easier to keep both the foreground and background in focus. The most interesting part is the \u0192\/4.0 setting\u2014when shooting streetlights at night, the starburst effect actually appears naturally, rather than just being an algorithmic effect.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Plus, it can now be adjusted together with the manual shutter and white balance. In the past, I basically just picked up my iPhone and took photos, but this generation actually makes me willing to pause for a moment and think about exactly how to take the shot.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It’s not the kind of feature that everyone would adjust every day, but if you already enjoy photography, this variable aperture system really makes me feel for the first time that the iPhone 18 Pro is more like a camera you can actually control.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Action Button\u2014once you use it for a while, there’s really no going back.<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

When the Action Button first came out, I didn’t really think it was that important, but by the time I got to the iPhone 18 Pro generation, I’ve become very accustomed to this button.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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My most frequently used features are the flashlight, camera, and shortcuts. Sometimes I just want to quickly turn on the light or open the camera directly without having to unlock the phone and find them on the screen; a single press does the trick. It might only save a step or two each time, but after using it many times a day, the difference is quite noticeable.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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And the best part is that you can customize it yourself. I can set it to whatever I need at the moment, without being stuck with a single function. Apple now offers plenty of options, and you can even run Shortcuts directly.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So now, if I were to go back to an iPhone without the action button, I would actually feel like something is missing. It’s not the most prominent upgrade on the iPhone 18 Pro, but it is definitely one of the features I use most every day.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Camera Control, which I’m actually finding more and more intuitive the more I use it<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

When I first started using Camera Control, I actually thought it was a bit redundant. After all, opening the camera and taking photos can be done just as easily by tapping the screen.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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But after using the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max to take a lot of photos lately, I’ve actually become more and more accustomed to this button. My most frequent uses now are adjusting the focal length and exposure. Once the composition is mostly set, I can just lightly slide my finger on the Camera Control to zoom in a bit or dial down the exposure, without having to reach out and pinch the screen. When taking a lot of photos, this really makes the process much smoother.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Sometimes I also use it to directly lock focus and exposure, especially after the shot is already framed and I don’t want the parameters to jump around again due to recomposing. It’s quite convenient in such cases.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So my view on camera control is completely different from when I first started. It’s not the kind of feature that blew me away on day one, but once I got used to it, I find myself relying on it more and more when taking photos.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to post-processing, I really can’t do without ProRAW and ProRes.<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

For casual snapshots, I rarely keep ProRAW and ProRes on all the time, as the files are indeed huge. But whenever I come across a photo I really want to edit seriously, or a video I plan to edit on my computer, I basically switch them on.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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The most useful thing about ProRAW for me is that it’s much more forgiving during post-processing. Whether the exposure was slightly off, I wanted to pull out more detail from the shadows, or the white balance was off at the time, adjusting it later is much easier and more flexible than with a regular photo.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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The same goes for ProRes. The file sizes are indeed huge, but when editing on a computer, especially with color grading, I still prefer using this less compressed format. The iPhone 18 Pro can now even record 4K 120fps ProRes to external storage, and it also features a dedicated professional video storage space.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So I might not notice their presence in my daily use, but when it comes to post-production, I absolutely don’t want to be without them. For me, this is also one of the areas where the Pro series remains hard to replace.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Log recording makes a huge difference when it’s time for color grading.<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Apple Log 2 is also a feature I absolutely cannot do without when shooting videos now. The raw footage actually looks terrible at first\u2014the image is grey and the colors are washed out. If I were just going to post it immediately after shooting, I definitely wouldn’t bother turning it on. But as long as I plan to edit the footage seriously later, I basically always use Log.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Its true advantages only shine through when it comes to color grading. You can easily pull back the highlights if the sky is too bright, and it’s much more forgiving when you want to lift the shadows. Especially in scenes with high contrast, it’s significantly easier to handle in post-production compared to the standard mode.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I often mix iPhone footage with camera footage in my edits, and that’s where Log becomes even more useful. The colors aren’t completely locked into Apple’s default look, making it much easier to unify the grade later on. So while it might not feel essential on a daily basis, once I start working seriously on a video, I find it hard to do without it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I really do take photos and videos in the space occasionally.<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

I don’t use the space photos and videos every day, but when I come across some scenes I really want to capture, I will still switch over to take them.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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It doesn’t really feel like much when viewing it on an iPhone, but once you actually put it into the Apple Vision Pro, the depth between the subject and the background instantly pops out. Especially when taking portraits, it still feels quite different from the flat look of a regular photo.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So I don’t consider it a must-have feature right now; it’s more like keeping an extra version for when I run into family, travel, or scenes I might want to revisit later. I might not think about it much on a daily basis, but if this feature were gone, I’d actually find it a bit of a shame.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If you like this article, please consider tipping, and don’t forget to share, like, comment, and follow!<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hello! I’m Yuan Hehe. Please follow me for more e…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,1,8,3],"tags":[2012,2011,2013,2010,1994],"class_list":["post-4186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-apple","category-phone","category-tech","category-evaluation","tag-iphone-18-pro-features","tag-iphone-18-pro-long-term-review","tag-iphone-18-pro-max-features","tag-iphone-18-pro-max-long-term-review","tag-iphone-18-pro-vs-iphone-18-pro-max"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yichpro.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yichpro.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yichpro.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yichpro.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yichpro.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4186"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.yichpro.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4189,"href":"https:\/\/www.yichpro.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4186\/revisions\/4189"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yichpro.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yichpro.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yichpro.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yichpro.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}