The iPhone 18 Pro has an official Philippine price: ₱94,990 for the 256GB model, rising to ₱99,990 for the iPhone 18 Pro Max. Apple announced both phones at its September 9 event alongside its first foldable, the iPhone Duo, the Apple Watch Series 12, and AirPods 5 — and, for the first time in years, there is no standard iPhone in the fall lineup. Local price lists went up within a day of the event, even though Apple has not yet said when the phones will actually reach Philippine stores.
iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max: the A20 Pro and a camera that changes its aperture
The headline upgrade is the A20 Pro chip, which Apple says is built on a 2-nanometer process. It pairs a 6-core CPU with a 7-core GPU that Apple claims is up to 40 percent faster than the A19 Pro, plus a dual 16-core Neural Engine — 32 cores in total — that doubles the AI processing of last year's chip. That is why Apple is positioning the phone as an AI device first, a point 9to5Mac's launch coverage also highlighted.
The other big change is mechanical. The 48MP Fusion main camera now has a variable aperture built from six laser-cut blades. It can open to f/1.48 for low light and narrow to f/4 when you want more of the frame in focus — the kind of control that used to require a dedicated camera.
Apple also quotes its biggest battery figures yet: up to 36 hours of video playback on the eSIM-only iPhone 18 Pro and up to 45 hours on the eSIM-only Pro Max. Both phones ship with iOS 27 and come in black, silver, glacier, and burgundy.
Philippine prices for every storage tier
- iPhone 18 Pro: ₱94,990 (256GB), ₱110,990 (512GB), ₱142,990 (1TB), ₱189,990 (2TB)
- iPhone 18 Pro Max: ₱99,990 (256GB), ₱115,990 (512GB), ₱147,990 (1TB), ₱194,990 (2TB)
In the US, the iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 (around ₱75,000) and the Pro Max at $1,299 (around ₱81,200), so the Philippine list prices carry the usual local premium. REVU's pricing rundown confirms the same peso figures across all tiers.
iPhone Duo: Apple's first foldable
The iPhone Duo is the product Apple spent the most stage time on. TechCrunch's report describes a book-style foldable with a 7.6-inch inner display and a 5.4-inch outer display, both reaching 3,000 nits. The hinge uses more than 100 components, the FaceTime camera sits under the inner display, and a nano-texture finish helps hide the crease. Two details stand out for anyone used to recent iPhones: the Duo relies on Touch ID rather than Face ID, and it is eSIM-only. There is no telephoto camera — just dual 48MP main and ultra-wide sensors — and Apple Pencil support is promised later in 2026.
"iPhone Duo is the most transformational change to iPhone since the original," Apple CEO John Ternus said in the company's announcement. It is his first major product launch since taking over from Tim Cook.
The Duo starts at $1,999 (around ₱125,000) in the US, and Apple's Philippine site already lists it at ₱159,990 for 256GB. Pre-orders open October 16 and availability starts October 23 in more than 70 countries — but the Philippines is not on Apple's published launch list, so there is no confirmed local date yet.
No standard iPhone 18 until 2027
Apple confirmed the run-up reports: the event covered only the Pro models and the Duo, exactly as signaled when the September 9 event was announced. Reports now point to a spring 2027 window for the standard iPhone 18, alongside a budget iPhone 18e. Apple has not given an official reason, but the practical effect is clear: this year's "new iPhone" starts at Pro pricing.
What this means for Filipino buyers
Pre-orders for the iPhone 18 Pro open Saturday, September 12 at 5 a.m. Pacific Time — 8 p.m. in Manila — with the global release on September 18 in more than 65 countries. The Philippines is not on the first-wave list, and past launches suggest a local gap of weeks. If you were waiting for a regular iPhone 18 at a mid-range price, the wait now stretches to next year; the cheapest new-generation iPhone a Filipino buyer can get in 2026 is the ₱94,990 Pro, a jump from the pricing expectations that circulated before the event. The rest of the event lineup does have local prices too: the Apple Watch Series 12 starts at ₱28,990, and AirPods 5 were announced with upgraded noise cancellation, with local availability to follow.
