If you spot this new 'hello' sign hidden away in your local Apple Store, it's there because of the new iPhone 18 Pro

Look out for the small blue 'hello' signs in Apple Stores They're to help test the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max cameras The new phones are now available to purchase in retail stores The next time you head into an Apple Store, you should be able to spot a small blue 'hello' sign somewhere, as per report

<![CDATA[ <article> <ul><li><strong>Look out for the small blue 'hello' signs in Apple Stores</strong></li><li><strong>They're to help test the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max cameras</strong></li><li><strong>The new phones are now available to purchase in retail stores</strong></li></ul><p>The next time you head into an Apple Store, you should be able to spot a small blue 'hello' sign somewhere, as per reports on <a href="https://x.com/safaricheung/status/2100821968581009760" target="_blank">social media</a> — and the appearance of these little signs is apparently connected to the launch of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.</p><p>As per <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2026/09/18/apple-stores-have-new-hello-easter-egg/" target="_blank">MacRumors</a>, the signs are there to help customers test out the optical zoom capabilities of the new handsets. Both models offer up to 8x optical zoom, so having something specific to zoom in on is going to be helpful.</p><p>While the iPhone 18 Pro and <a href="https://www.techradar.com/phones/iphone/iphone-18-pro-and-iphone-18-pro-max-review">iPhone 18 Pro Max</a> have a variable aperture feature on one of their three rear cameras now, the optical zoom capabilities are actually the same as the iPhone 17 equivalents that launched in September of last year.</p><p>There are also new Pro controls on the latest handsets, so settings for lens aperture, shutter speed, and white balance can be tweaked shot by shot — something else you might <a href="https://www.techradar.com/cameras/photography/it-took-exactly-one-photo-for-me-to-realize-the-awesome-power-of-the-iphone-18-pros-variable-aperture">want to test out</a> in an Apple Store.</p><h2 id="now-available">Now available</h2><div class="see-more see-more--clipped"><figure><blockquote class="twitter-tweet hawk-ignore" data-lang="en" cite="https://twitter.com/cantworkitout/status/2100929531376709741"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">از امروز تمام اپل استورها این نشان hello رو یه جایی دارن که باهاش بتونن زوم دوربین آیفون‌ها رو به مشتری‌ها نشون بدن pic.twitter.com/gpLv7CPawe<a href="https://twitter.com/cantworkitout/status/2100929531376709741">September 18, 2026</a></p></blockquote></figure><div class="see-more__filter"></div></div><p>The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max arrived <a href="https://www.techradar.com/phones/iphone/apple-iphone-18-pro-and-18-pro-max-deals">in Apple's retail stores</a> on Friday, September 18, six days after preorders started. Prices for the handsets start at $1,199 / £1,199 / AU$2,099 and $1,299 / £1,299 / AU$2,299 respectively (for 256GB of storage).</p><p>New Apple CEO John Ternus made an appearance at the Apple Store in New York to help celebrate the wider availability of the flagship iPhones — as well as the Apple Watch Series 12, the Apple Watch Ultra 4, and <a href="https://www.techradar.com/phones/airpods-5-and-airpods-5-with-wireless-charging-are-like-a-greatest-hits-rollout-of-airpods-pro-just-without-the-hearing-health-or-heart-rate-modules">the AirPods 5</a>.</p><p>He didn't mention anything about the new 'hello' signs in stores, but they've been <a href="https://x.com/alirezza/status/2100929531376709741" target="_blank">spotted by customers</a> nevertheless. They look to be located on higher shelves and fixtures, perhaps to put off anyone wanting one as a souvenir.</p><p>And if you're wondering where the iPhone 18 is and when you'll be able to test that out, don't panic — it's rumored <a href="https://www.techradar.com/phones/iphone/the-iphone-18-is-rumored-to-be-on-track-for-an-early-2027-launch-while-the-iphone-18-pro-may-get-minimal-design-changes">to be showing up</a> around March time, alongside the iPhone 18e and the iPhone Air 2.</p><div data-widget-type="multimodelreview" data-widget-title="Today's best iPhone deals" data-model-name="Apple iPhone Duo,Apple iPhone 18 Pro,Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max"></div> </article> ]]>