The iPhone 18 Pro is my Phone of the Year because it feels like the best of
an ending era

Date:
Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:51:54 +0000

Description:
The Apple iPhone 18 Pro is our Phone of the Year for 2026 here's why.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter In the year of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 , Honor Robot Phone , and recently released iPhone Duo , it feels almost blasphemous to hand TechRadars Phone of the Year award to the iPhone 18 Pro , but there is something quietly brilliant about Apple s latest flagship.

Contrary to those aforementioned headline-grabbers, the iPhone 18 Pro is not
a flashy product in almost any way. Heck, it even swaps the Cosmic Orange excitement of the iPhone 17 Pro for a more sophisticated, wine-tasting-in-Sonoma Burgundy shade, as if it wants to emerge from your pocket with as little fanfare as possible. And yet underneath the iPhone 18 Pros muted exterior is a phone so consistently competent that its hard to
find anything to complain about. Not only is it one of the best camera phones money can buy, but it also brings market-leading performance, a gorgeous OLED display, impressive battery life, and refreshing software simplicity to the table. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here:

The iPhone 18 Pros well-roundedness is what makes it a cut above the rest. Sure, youll find larger camera sensors on the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra or bigger batteries in the Oppo Find X10 Pro Max and Xiaomi 17 Ultra . Youll
even find a variable aperture feature on a handful of Android phones from the last decade (Huawei Mate 50 Pro, anyone?). But if I had to recommend a phone that does everything at an 8/10-level or above, its the iPhone 18 Pro. iPhone 18 Pro Review: A Better Camera Phone Than the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra? - YouTube Watch On And I really do mean everything . You may like iPhone 17 Pro vs iPhone 18 Pro: 5 key differences between Apple's best I just tried the iPhone 18 Pro and Apple gave me two reasons to upgrade Apple iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max review: better in all the right places

In recent years, Apples flagships have been excellent phones with embarrassingly limited AI capabilities compared to the competition. But following Siris long-awaited glow-up in iOS 27, the iPhone 18 Pro no longer feels like a hamstrung device (dont let the naysayers fool you Siri AI is good ).

Even if youre not fussed about AI and are wondering whether the iPhone 18 Pro is a meaningfully different device to the iPhone 17 Pro, Im inclined to say, no, but thats not really the point. Most people arent upgrading from a previous-generation flagship, and Apple is hardly alone in shipping iterative upgrades year after year. The iPhone 18 Pro is familiar but formidable. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Image 1 of 3 (Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol) (Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol) (Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol) Image 1 of 3 View Original Image 2 of 3 View Original
Image 3 of 3 View Original I also think the arrival of new form-factor
devices like the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and iPhone Duo will remind people not to
take the iPhone 18 Pro for granted. Consumers have long berated Apple for shipping boring new-generation iPhones, and yet critics of the Duo are lamenting its thickness, awkward button placement, and lack of Face ID and
Pro camera components.

Weve been spoiled by the consistency of Apples flagship phones, just as
soccer star Erling Haaland who regularly scores 30+ goals every season is rarely mentioned in conversations surrounding the most exciting players in
the world. Haalands excellence has been normalized so as not to be exciting anymore: he's the iPhone 18 Pro of the soccer world (Lamine Yamal is the iPhone Duo in this metaphor I wont be explaining further).

The question now is: where do candybar flagships go from here? It feels like were approaching the end of an era, not only because the margin for year-on-year improvements is as small as it's ever been, but also because foldables are finally entering the mainstream conversation. What to read next Meet the TechRadar Product of the Year 2026 winners iPhone 18 Pro vs iPhone 17: which should you choose? Call me boring, but the iPhone 18 Pro's big battery boost is easily its most tempting upgrade

What's more, smartphones as we know them might soon be replaced by smartphone-adjacent wearables, especially if OpenAI and Jony Ive get their
way .

But if youre asking me right here, right now, for my pick as the best smartphone of 2026, my answer is the iPhone 18 Pro. Its the boring choice,
but in my opinion, the right one. We've reached peak smartphone, and the iPhone 18 Pro is what peak smartphone looks like.

I now invite you to (*deep breath*) debate me in the comments. Today's best iPhone 18 Pro deals Contract Deals Sim Free voucher gift Apple iPhone 18 Pro 48 months Unlimited mins 25GB data 30 upfront 69.03 /mth View at EE See all prices voucher gift Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max 48 months Unlimited mins 25GB
data 30 upfront 57.73 /mth View at EE See all prices We check over 250
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/phones/iphone/the-iphone-18-pro-is-my-phone-of-the-y ear-because-its-the-swiss-army-knife-of-flagships-and-possibly-the-end-of-an-e ra


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