iPhone 18 Pro Teardown [Video]

iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max went on sale as of September 18. iFixit’s teardown of the iPhone 18 Pro examined the variable aperture, under-display Face ID camera and cooling system. The aperture consists of six small blades operated by electromagnets and works independently of OIS. During the teardown, one blade flew out, showing that the camera module would need to be replaced instead of the component even in the event of a failure.

While Face ID’s infrared camera was moved under the display, the selfie camera and IR dot projector remained in the Dynamic Island. Thinning the pixel rows and using an infrared-transmitting filter make it possible to conceal the sensor.

The A20 Pro uses packaging that places the silicon die and memory side by side. The new vapor chamber’s surface area is three times that of the one in the iPhone 17 Pro, and the chip is cooled directly.

The plastic frame around the display was damaged in three of the four devices. It remains unclear whether this poses a design risk. Despite the adhesive-free battery compartment and modular camera, the models provisionally received a score of 7 out of 10 because major repairs require access through the display.

Why it matters

The significance of the review lies in the fact that the new components affect not only the technical specifications but also the device’s service procedures and the cost in the event of a failure. Because the failure of a single component inside the camera may require replacing the entire module instead of carrying out component-level intervention, it narrows the scope of repairs. The under-display placement reduces visibility while highlighting the design balance between the display layers and sensitive components. The larger cooling structure and the packaging of the memory and processor make engineering choices regarding sustainable performance more apparent. By contrast, it remains unclear whether the frame damage is a reproducible design problem or a result specific to disassembly conditions, and to what extent major repairs will be made easier.