The iPhone 18 Pro Max has been on sale in France since 18 September 2026, from €1,629 (about 1,069,000 FCFA) for 256 GB. It is the longest-lasting iPhone ever released, with a battery that is nearly 12% bigger and an A20 Pro chip built on a 2 nm process, and the first to offer a variable aperture on its main camera. It costs €150 more than its predecessor, weighs 249 g and still goes without the new Siri in the European Union. It is aimed at people who film, travel or work far from a power socket.
Introduction: the iPhone 18 Pro Max, Apple’s big-screen phone for 2026
Apple presented its Pro models at the keynote of 9 September, with pre-orders opening on the 12th and sales starting on the 18th. With the arrival of the foldable iPhone Duo, the iPhone 18 Pro Max is no longer Apple’s most expensive phone, but it remains the most complete of the conventional models.
Compared with the iPhone 18 Pro, which sells for €150 less, the chip, the camera sensors and the software are identical. The big model adds a 6.9-inch display instead of 6.3, a battery that is a third larger and 38 g on the scales.
The price increase is partly down to the shortage of memory chips noted by MacRumors, which we detail in our article on the RAM crisis. This page relies on the official specifications and on the reviews published since launch; the editorial team has not handled the device.
Verdict in brief: our take on the iPhone 18 Pro Max
Verdict in 30 seconds
The longest-lasting and most powerful of the conventional iPhones, with a variable aperture that speaks mainly to photographers and videographers. Score based on the spec sheet and published reviews, without a trial by the editorial team.
For whom People who film, travel or play a lot, and owners of an iPhone 15 Pro Max or older who want to keep their phone for six or seven years.
Avoid if You already own an iPhone 17 Pro Max, you are looking for a light phone or you are waiting for the new Siri in France.
We like
- Record battery life for an iPhone, measured as higher by reviews
- A20 Pro chip and cooling that are clearly more stable in games
- Variable aperture and manual settings for photo and video alike
- A 6.9-inch display that reaches 3,000 nits
- Faster wired charging, MagSafe at 25 W
We like less
- Price up by €150, as much as €3,129 for 2 TB
- 249 g, which is 16 g more than the previous model
- Siri AI unavailable on iPhone in the European Union
- Aluminium chassis that marks easily according to reviews
- Variable aperture barely visible in automatic mode
iPhone 18 Pro Max specs
| Écran | 6,9 pouces OLED Super Retina XDR, 1 320 x 2 868 px, ProMotion 120 Hz |
|---|---|
| Luminosité max | 3 000 nits en extérieur |
| Processeur | Apple A20 Pro (2 nm), CPU 6 cœurs, GPU 7 cœurs |
| Mémoire vive | 12 Go (selon iFixit, non communiqué par Apple) |
| Stockage | 256 Go, 512 Go, 1 To, 2 To |
| Appareil photo principal | 48 Mpx, ouverture variable f/1,48 à f/4 |
| Ultra grand-angle | 48 Mpx |
| Téléobjectif | 48 Mpx, zoom 8x |
| Batterie | Environ 5 400 mAh (double SIM), 43 h de vidéo |
| Recharge | Filaire 50 % en 15 min env. ; MagSafe 50 % en 30 min |
| Dimensions et poids | 163,4 x 78 x 8,75 mm, 249 g |
| Étanchéité | IP68 |
| Sortie en France | 18 septembre 2026 |
| Launch price | 1 629 € |
Three lines of this spec sheet matter more than the others. The battery: 5,391 mAh on the model with a SIM tray sold in Europe, against 4,823 mAh last year, according to MacRumors and the iFixit teardown. The variable aperture, from f/1.48 to f/4, a first on an iPhone. And finally the weight: 249 g.
Design: 249 g, forged aluminium and a smaller Dynamic Island
Seen from the back, the iPhone 18 Pro Max looks a lot like its predecessor: a unibody chassis in forged aluminium, a wide camera plateau and a Ceramic Shield back. The dimensions do not move, at 163.4 mm tall, 78 mm wide and 8.75 mm thick. Two colours, burgundy and glacier, join black and silver.
Part of Face ID moves under the display
On the front, Apple has moved some of the face recognition sensors under the panel, which shrinks the Dynamic Island by around 25% according to Gizmodo, or 30% according to TechRadar. The pill now shows three live activities at once. We covered this work in detail in our article on the under-display Face ID of the iPhone 18 Pro.
Reviewers remain measured. The Verge considers the space gained to be anecdotal, and Business Standard reports a few occasional misses in face recognition.
A big phone that carries its weight
The iPhone 18 Pro Max weighs 16 g more than the 2025 model. PhoneArena headlines its review with a phone that needs to slim down. A thin case seems sensible: several reviews point out that aluminium scratches and dents more quickly than the titanium of the 15 and 16 generations.
The IP68 certification holds for six metres of depth for thirty minutes. In the rainy season or in the dust of the harmattan, that is reassuring, even if the warranty does not cover damage caused by liquids.
Good to know: iFixit gives a provisional repairability score of 7 out of 10. The battery comes out easily thanks to a screwed-in bracket. On the other hand, the plastic frame of the display cracked on three of the four devices taken apart, and the iris of the variable aperture, made of six blades as thin as a hair, cannot be repaired: if it fails, the whole camera module has to be replaced.
Display: 6.9 inches, 120 Hz and 3,000 nits in full sun
The Super Retina XDR OLED panel keeps its 6.9-inch diagonal and its resolution of 2,868 by 1,320 pixels, or 460 pixels per inch. ProMotion technology varies the refresh rate up to 120 Hz.
Apple quotes 1,000 nits in typical use, 1,600 nits on HDR content and up to 3,000 nits outdoors. That last figure is the one that counts under the sun of Douala or Dakar: reading a map or framing a photo at midday is not a problem on a panel of this level.
Next to the 6.3-inch model, the extra surface changes the comfort of reading, editing a video or watching a match. For making a call with one hand on public transport, it is the opposite.
Performance: the A20 Pro chip and cooling that is finally up to the job
A chip built on 2 nm
The A20 Pro combines a six-core processor, a seven-core graphics unit and two sixteen-core neural engines. Apple promises up to 40% better graphics than the iPhone 17 Pro. The published measurements point the same way: Gizmodo records a 24% gain on one core and 26% on several, and 9to5Mac between 40 and 45% for the graphics side.
On Geekbench 6, the scores reported by the press hover around 4,740 points in single-core and 12,790 in multi-core. That lead matters for video exports, for the heaviest games and for the longevity of the device.
Heat and stability in games
The real progress of the iPhone 18 Pro Max is thermal. The vapour chamber takes up three times the surface and sits flat against the chip, which iFixit confirms. In the 3DMark stress test, the stability score goes from 65.2% to 79.4% according to the figures compiled by Mobidevices. Gizmodo and 9to5Mac no longer report any troublesome overheating.
Memory, storage and the C2 modem
Memory stays at 12 GB, as in 2025. Storage ranges from 256 GB to 2 TB, with no memory card, and the USB-C port transfers files at 10 Gb/s. The C2 modem, designed by Apple, equips the models sold in Europe, with advertised speeds up to 50% higher. Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and emergency calls by satellite complete the list.
Camera: is the variable aperture of the iPhone 18 Pro Max real progress or a gimmick?
A main camera that opens and closes
The 48 MP main camera receives a mechanical diaphragm with four positions: f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8 and f/4. Wide open, it captures more light, and Apple talks about performance that is around 50% better in low light. Stopped down, it enlarges the zone that is in focus, which is useful for a document or a group portrait.
Opinions differ. TechRadar sees a new creative dimension in it and Wired praises the manual settings for aperture, shutter speed, white balance and exposure. The Verge and Engadget, on the contrary, consider the differences between f/1.48 and f/4 to be minimal in automatic mode.
On a sensor of this size, the diaphragm does not transform background blur the way it does on a mirrorless camera. It becomes interesting in video, where keeping a constant shutter speed in broad daylight has so far required a filter in front of the lens. Videographers gain a tool.
Zoom and ultra-wide
The 48 MP telephoto lens of the iPhone 18 Pro Max offers a 4x optical zoom, and a crop into the sensor provides an 8x equivalent to 200 mm at 12 MP. The 48 MP ultra-wide lens is equivalent to a 13 mm. These two modules change little, Business Standard notes.
Long-range zoom remains the area where Apple does not dominate: the tests compiled by Mobidevices give it no advantage over the high-end Samsung phones. Chinese camera phones, such as the Vivo X500 Pro Max and its 200 MP periscope, go further still.
Video and selfie camera
Video remains Apple’s favourite ground. The iPhone 18 Pro Max films in 4K Dolby Vision at up to 120 frames per second, and the variable aperture works during recording. On the front, the 18 MP Center Stage camera reframes automatically to fit everyone in.
iPhone 18 Pro Max battery life and charging: the new strong point
This is where the iPhone 18 Pro Max justifies its weight. Apple quotes up to 43 hours of video playback, six more than the previous generation, and 38 hours of streaming. The battery of the European version gains 11.7% in capacity; the American model, which has no SIM tray, climbs to 5,567 mAh.
Independent measurements confirm a real increase, though a more modest one than the promise. Tom’s Guide records 18 hours and 27 minutes in its web browsing test, against 17 hours and 54 minutes for the iPhone 17 Pro Max. The Telegraph ends its days with 35 to 40% of battery left. An average user can aim for two days, and a heavy user gets through the day without looking at the gauge.
When the power cuts out, a full charge in the morning covers the day and an evening of load shedding. The best Chinese phones nevertheless pack much more, 8,000 mAh and above thanks to silicon-carbon, like the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max.
Faster charging, with no charger in the box
Apple promises 50% in around fifteen minutes with a 60 W adapter, and MagSafe wireless charging tops out at 25 W. Tom’s Guide measures 44% in a quarter of an hour on the big model. Journal du Geek reports a full charge in 1 hour and 7 minutes, against 1 hour and 25 minutes before. The power adapter is not supplied.
Software: iOS 27 and Apple Intelligence, what works in France
The iPhone 18 Pro Max ships with iOS 27, available since 14 September. The update refines the Liquid Glass interface and enriches RCS exchanges with Android phones.
Siri AI, the big absentee in Europe
The headline feature is called Siri AI: an assistant able to hold a conversation, search through your messages and your calendar, read the screen and act inside apps.
On Apple’s French website, the wording is clear: the feature is not available at launch in the European Union on iOS. Apple cites the Digital Markets Act, which would force it to open the same access to rival assistants, and gives no timetable. Siri AI is also launching in beta and in English; French arrives with iOS 27.2, in beta since 16 September according to iPhoneAddict.
The block targets the European Union, not the language: French speakers in Switzerland or Canada should benefit from it as soon as iOS 27.2 is released. For an iPhone used in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire or Senegal, everything will depend on the region of the account and of the device, a point that Apple does not spell out.
What Apple Intelligence does in French
The features launched since 2025 remain accessible in France and in French: writing tools to rephrase or summarise a text, image generation with Image Playground, and a Clean Up eraser able to remove larger elements.
Updates: longevity as a selling point
Apple does not commit to a number of years, but its track record speaks for it. iOS 27 still installs on the iPhone 11, released in 2019. An iPhone 18 Pro Max bought in 2026 can reasonably aim for 2032, which also supports its resale value.
iPhone 18 Pro Max or iPhone 17 Pro Max: is it worth upgrading?
The 2025 model, launched at €1,479 (about 970,000 FCFA), shares with its successor the format, the display, the memory, the telephoto lens and the ultra-wide lens. The new one gains the 2 nm chip, a more generous battery, quicker charging, the variable aperture and a more discreet Dynamic Island.
Journal du Geek talks about consolidation more than revolution, and finds the move from a 17 Pro hard to justify. Our page on the iPhone 17 Pro takes stock of what the 2025 generation is still worth, and the match between the iPhone 17 Pro Max and the Galaxy S26 Ultra is still relevant. From an iPhone 15 Pro Max or older, on the other hand, the jump can be felt everywhere.
iPhone 18 Pro Max price and availability
Prices in France
Apple sells the iPhone 18 Pro Max on its French store in four capacities, in all four colours:
- 256 GB: €1,629 (about 1,069,000 FCFA)
- 512 GB: €1,879 (about 1,233,000 FCFA)
- 1 TB: €2,379 (about 1,561,000 FCFA)
- 2 TB: €3,129 (about 2,052,000 FCFA)
The big retail chains listed the same prices as Apple when pre-orders opened, according to Presse-citron. The 512 GB version seems to us the best compromise for anyone who films in 4K; the 2 TB tier is only justified for professional video use.
Where to buy the iPhone 18 Pro Max at the best price
Le très grand iPhone de 2026, avec puce A20 Pro en 2 nm, capteur principal à ouverture variable et batterie agrandie.
- Fnac1,629.00 € Best priceSee at Fnac
- Darty1,629.00 €See at Darty
- CdiscountSee at Cdiscount
Prices checked on October 1, 2026. Prices and availability may change.
Some links on this page are affiliate links: Wanda-techs may earn a commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. This does not influence our opinion.
The iPhone 18 Pro Max in Cameroon and in West and Central Africa
Apple has no official store in West and Central Africa: the iPhone 18 Pro Max arrives there through resellers and through imports. In Senegal, the AppleDakar site lists it at between 1,100,000 and 2,200,000 FCFA depending on capacity, with a twelve-month seller warranty. In Douala, Yaoundé or Abidjan, expect prices of the same order, higher than the converted French price.
Check the version first: the European model keeps a nano-SIM tray in addition to eSIM, whereas the American model is eSIM-only, which complicates life with most carriers in the region. Then insist on an invoice and a sealed device, because Apple only honours the warranty in countries where it has authorised service centres. On the network side, 4G poses no problem.
Pros and cons
Pros
- The best battery life ever measured on an iPhone
- The power of the A20 Pro and clearly improved thermal stability
- Manual photo and video settings, variable aperture included
- A very bright and well-calibrated 6.9-inch display
- Long software support and good resale value
Cons
- A price up by €150, and very expensive storage options
- A weight of 249 g and a chassis that marks
- Siri AI missing on iPhone in the European Union
- Long-range zoom behind the best Android phones
- No charger supplied, and a camera module that is costly to repair
Alternatives to the iPhone 18 Pro Max
Vivo X500 Pro Max
The iPhone 18 Pro offers the same chip and the same sensors in 211 g, with shorter battery life. On the Android side, the Galaxy S26 Ultra keeps its stylus and a more versatile zoom. The Vivo X500 Pro Max, expected in Europe in early November, bets on a 200 MP periscope and a much bigger battery. Google fans will look at the Pixel 11 Pro.
Conclusion: should you buy the iPhone 18 Pro Max?
Yes, if you are coming from an iPhone from 2023 or earlier and you want the model that lasts the longest, through the day as well as through the years. The published reviews converge: market-leading power, heat under control, better battery life and benchmark video.
No, if you own a 2025 model, if the weight puts you off or if the voice assistant counts in your choice: in France, the new Siri has no date.
Our pick
iPhone 18 Pro Max 512 GB: the right balance for filming in 4K without keeping an eye on free space, at €1,879 (about 1,233,000 FCFA).
Frequently asked questions
How much does the iPhone 18 Pro Max cost in France?
Apple sells it for €1,629 (about 1,069,000 FCFA) with 256 GB, €1,879 with 512 GB, €2,379 with 1 TB and €3,129 with 2 TB. That is €150 more than the 2025 model at equal capacity. French retailers charged the same prices at launch. The charger is not included: add a 60 W USB-C adapter to take advantage of fast charging.
What is the battery life of the iPhone 18 Pro Max?
Apple quotes up to 43 hours of video playback and 38 hours of streaming. The battery of the European model reaches 5,391 mAh according to iFixit and MacRumors, nearly 12% more than in 2025. In reviews, Tom’s Guide measures 18 hours and 27 minutes of continuous web browsing, and The Telegraph ends its days with 35 to 40% in reserve.
How much does the iPhone 18 Pro Max cost in Cameroon?
There is no official price, for lack of an Apple store in the country. The French starting price is equivalent to about 1,069,000 FCFA, to which resellers add transport, customs duties and their margin. In Senegal, one reseller lists it at between 1,100,000 and 2,200,000 FCFA depending on storage. Favour the European version with a nano-SIM tray and ask for an invoice.
Do Siri AI and Apple Intelligence work in France on the iPhone 18 Pro Max?
In part. The Apple Intelligence features already known, such as the writing tools, Image Playground or the Clean Up eraser, are available in French. The new Siri AI of iOS 27, however, is not offered on iPhone in the European Union at launch, including on the iPhone 18 Pro Max. Support for French arrives with iOS 27.2, but it will first benefit French speakers located outside the Union.
Should you move from the iPhone 17 Pro Max to the iPhone 18 Pro Max?
In most cases, no. The two devices share the display, the format, the memory and two of the three rear sensors. The iPhone 18 Pro Max brings a faster chip, a bigger battery, quicker charging and the variable aperture. Those gains matter for a videographer or a keen gamer, much less for ordinary use. The change becomes worthwhile from an iPhone 15 Pro Max.
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