Apple’s color choices rarely dominate the conversation before launch, however the iPhone 18 Pro Max has flipped that script months before its drop. A new batch of iPhone 18 Pro Max leaks have given us our clearest look yet at the flagship, and one shade in particular has me looking for an upgrade sooner than my wallet.
Black Cherry is the one I would buy
Tech insider Jon Rettinger shared the highlight, posting what appear to be real images of the device he ended up calling Dark Cherry. He also published a shot of Light Blue and Black, and was upfront that no AI tools affected the images. The Dark Cherry tone reads bright without veering into flashy territory, landing somewhere between supreme restraint and a splash of confident personality.
Cherry’s direction is consistent with what other analysts have signaled for months. Sonny Dickson, who nailed the palette for last year’s iPhone 17 almost exactly, sent dummy units looking at the same color, and Mark Gurman reported that a deep red sat on the front of Apple’s test. To me, cherry feels like a natural successor to Cosmic Orange—bold enough to stand out, restrained enough to age well.
About that black model
One wrinkle worth noting concerns the Black option in Rettinger’s photos. Various reports have suggested that Apple is saving the black on its first foldable iPhone while steering the Pro line towards warmer colors, so the black Pro Max in these photos muddies the picture a bit. I would treat the black variant as the least certain of the three until further confirmation emerges.
The design plays it safe, and I agree with that
Apple looks set to carry the iPhone 17 Pro blueprint instead of reinventing it. It’s an aluminum unibody with a glass back that houses wireless charging, although leakers expect Apple to match the color of the glass and metal so closely that the seam almost disappears at any angle. The Dynamic Island could also be shrunk by almost half as Apple tucks part of the Face ID array under the display, while screen sizes hold 6.3 inches on the Pro and 6.9 inches on the Pro Max.
Coming from someone who wants a phone that disappears into a jacket pocket, the regular shadow suits me just fine. Strong redesigns every year tend to wear out the previous model overnight, and the stable design keeps last season’s highlights feeling current.
The camera is where it gets interesting
The camera system carries a very meaningful upgrade. Ming-Chi Kuo reports that the main wide-angle lens gets a variable aperture, allowing the sensor to control how much light reaches it, although the ultrawide and telephoto make the change for now. That new optic costs about 50% more than Apple’s current high-end lens, and Sunny Optical is supplying part of the components alongside main partner Largan.
As someone who shoots in dirty indoor lighting, manual command over depth of field is a feature I’ve wanted for years. Swapping from a cool background to a shiny background without any software trickery can change the way I install everything.
A chip, RAM, and battery that moves slowly
Under the hood, the A20 Pro chip built on the 2 nm process should power both models, paired with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage at the base. Battery gains remain modest, sadly. Digital Chat Station paid the Pro Max close to 5,000 mAh for the SIM slot and about 5,200 mAh for the eSIM-only version, a bump of about 100 mAh over its predecessor.
An extra 100 mAh won’t reshape my day, and I’d happily accept a smaller cell’s thicker chassis. Still, the 2 nm chip and performance-oriented modems should stretch daily endurance beyond what the raw number suggests.
Satellite data and the silent story of communication
Communication is seeing subtle changes that should be flagged. Apple’s C2 modem handles cell phones while the N2 chip manages Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Thread for smart home gear. Aaron Tilley and Wayne Ma of The Information report that the iPhone 18 Pro can send and receive data via satellite, although the Globalstar deal behind the feature is not sealed.
The satellite angle pleases me more than anything. I spend enough weekends without reliable coverage to appreciate any cable that doesn’t rely on a nearby tower, even one stuck behind a deal Apple needs to close.
No one enjoys price talk
Rising memory costs and a more expensive camera module are squeezing Apple’s margins, and Kuo expects the company to fight hard to hold the line. Current targets are up to $1,100 for the iPhone 18 Pro at 25 6GB and around $1,200 for the Pro Max, assuming component prices behave between now and the fall.
Apple may also only launch its flagships in September, pushing the standard iPhone 18 to arrive in the spring of 2027 alongside the second-generation iPhone Air and the budget 18e. So the Pro and Pro Max can handle all the fall highlights themselves, raising the bar for getting the colors right.
My decision for now
The iPhone 18 Pro Max feels like a year of refinement rather than a refresh, and the cherry finish may end up selling more than the spec sheet. The camera that opens the variable area and the 2 nm chip are welcome, however the title remains a color that manages to look adult and fun at the same time. We’re still 3 months away from the announcement, so treat everyone here as a target until Apple takes the stage. I, of course, mentally put money aside for Dark Cherry.
Grigor Baklajyan is a technical copywriter at . His contributions include product reviews, buying guides, how-to articles, and more.