iPhone 18 Pro is getting thicker. Not by a hair, but by roughly 2mm, a leaker known as Fixed Focus Digital posted on Weibo, citing leaked materials from Apple supplier Tata. The final figure "will indeed be somewhat surprising," the leaker wrote.
That 2mm delta pushes the iPhone 18 Pro to an estimated 9.9-10.9mm thickness, up from 8.75mm on the iPhone 17 Pro. The camera plateau grows proportionally.
Dummy models shared in April already showed the Pro Max's camera bump reaching 11.54mm, compared to 11.23mm on its predecessor. The added bulk traces directly to a redesigned main camera system. Apple is introducing the iPhone's first variable aperture lens, a component that reportedly costs the company 50% more than the current fixed-aperture module.
Production is ramping up at LG Innotek and Sunny Optical. A variable aperture lets the camera physically adjust its opening to control light intake, giving photographers more control over depth of field without relying entirely on software processing. It requires a more complex mechanical assembly, which explains the extra real estate.
Fixed Focus Digital's posts also confirmed Apple is sticking with aluminum alloy mid-frames for the Pro lineup, the material introduced with the iPhone 17 Pro. The leaker said aluminum is "going to be used in straight-edge phones for a long time to come," dismissing speculation of a return to titanium. The alloy offers "indeed excellent" heat dissipation, according to the leaker, though they warned buyers to be cautious about color options given the discoloration and surface chipping that affected some iPhone 17 Pro units.
Separate Chinese certification filings back up the thicker design with battery data. The SIM-card iPhone 18 Pro carries a 4,056mAh cell, up from 3,988mAh in the iPhone 17 Pro. The Pro Max jumps more significantly to 5,391mAh from 4,823mAh.
The eSIM-only US variants see smaller gains: 4,288mAh for the Pro (up from 4,252mAh) and 5,567mAh for the Pro Max (up from 5,088mAh). The thickness increase is the most notable physical change to the Pro chassis in years. Apple has spent the better part of a decade shaving millimeters off its iPhones.
This reversal signals that camera hardware, not thinness, is now the priority.
Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max alongside its first foldable iPhone at a September event. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said the event is most likely to take place on Tuesday, September 8 or Wednesday, September 9, with pre-orders potentially opening on Thursday, September 10.
