The teardown, posted on iFixit’s site, shows the iPhone 18 Pro’s six‑blade variable aperture driven by electromagnets – a system that operates independently of the phone’s optical image‑stabilisation. During disassembly one of the tiny blades detached from the lens stack, underscoring how difficult a component‑level repair would be; iFixit says a stuck aperture would likely require replacement of the entire main‑camera module.
Apple’s under‑display Face ID infrared camera also received attention. The sensor is hidden beneath the OLED panel by omitting every other row of pixels above it, while an IR‑pass filter beneath the display blocks visible light. Under a microscope the filter creates an “eclipse effect” toward the edges of the opening.
The iPhone 18 Pro’s cooling system has been enlarged, with a vapor chamber three times the surface area of the iPhone 17 Pro’s. Apple’s A20 Pro chip is packaged side‑by‑side with memory, removing the memory from the thermal path and allowing direct contact with the vapor chamber, a design iFixit captured in detail.
A more concerning finding is that the plastic frame surrounding the display was cracked in three of the four units iFixit opened. While other teardowns have not reported the same damage, iFixit notes the frame has been used since the iPhone 15 Pro and suggests the new thermal architecture may be pulling heat away from the display as the heating pad softens the adhesive. A cracked frame could prevent the screen from sitting flush after reassembly and may compromise water‑resistance.
Overall, iFixit gave the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max a provisional repairability score of 7 out of 10. The score reflects retained strengths such as a glue‑free battery tray and modular camera assemblies, but also persistent challenges like the need to remove the display for most major repairs and the difficulty of accessing the USB‑C port, which requires extensive internal disassembly.
iFixit said it will continue testing additional units before determining whether the display‑frame issue is an isolated anomaly or a broader repairability concern, and it will update the score as more data become available.