With the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max now on store shelves, iFixit has put Apple’s latest flagships under the knife. The teardown gives us an up-close look at the new variable aperture camera, the larger cooling system and a possible repair challenge.
It also reveals how Apple shrunk the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 18 Pro without affecting Face ID’s functionality.
Variable aperture is already a complex technology, typically used in DSLRs and high-end professional cameras or lenses. Adding it inside a smartphone camera is challenging, though Nokia, Samsung and Xiaomi have done this in the past.
Such systems are almost impossible to repair or require specialized tools. As iFixit finds in its iPhone 18 Pro teardown, Apple’s implementation is smart and sophisticated. But it suffers from the same problem.
Photo: iFixit
“Very few repair enthusiasts on this planet will have the tools, techniques, or knowledge to get this variable aperture mechanism apart in a way that allows it to go back together. The tolerances are tight, the glues are gummy. We’re reluctant to call a repair “impossible,” but this is about as close as it gets,” says iFixit.
On the bright side, the camera module itself is easily replaceable. So, if the variable aperture mechanism fails, you can swap it out with a new sensor altogether.
Battery replacement pitfalls
The battery replacement process on iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max remains the same as the iPhone 17 Pro. Only a front-entry approach is possible, which requires opening the glued-down screen.
The problem is that the white plastic frame around the display panel broke in three of the four teardowns the iFixit team conducted. This might be an isolated issue or a result of a change Apple made.
But otherwise, Apple is sticking to the same battery replacement process on the iPhone 18 Pro as before. A metal tray holds the battery, with conductive glue in place to secure it.
Face ID infrared camera moves below the display
Photo: iFixit
Apple highlighted the smaller Dynamic Island on the iPhone 18 Pro during its September 9 event. IFixit teardown reveals how the company achieved this. It has moved the infrared camera to the left, and it now sits below the display.
To ensure the IR camera works properly, Apple has removed every other row of pixels from there. This is something that’s not obvious to the naked eye unless you look really hard or see under a microscope.
The iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max received a provisional repairability score of 7 out of 10, the same as the iPhone 17 Pro. However, iFixit points out that the rating takes a hit due to the front-only display replacement method.
Rajesh has been writing about consumer technology for over a decade, with a strong focus on iPhones, Macs and Apple’s ecosystem. He enjoys digging into Apple software updates, hardware changes, and discovering new Mac apps that make work faster and more enjoyable.
You can reach out to him at mail[at]rajeshpandey.me.
