iPhone 18 Pro
iPhone 18 Pro

Apple's flagship smartphone hasn't taken a year off from its updates since 2007, and barring a massive surprise, 2026 won't be any different. The Cupertino-based tech giant is widely expected to launch a new lineup of iPhones later this year, including the new iPhone 18, the 18 Pro, and the rumored iPhone Ultra, the company's first-ever foldable.

A September Launch, With a New CEO Taking the Stage

If you're in the market for a new iPhone, you should circle September in your calendar. That has been the month for Apple's big showcase event for a very long time, and there's no reason to believe Apple will change that in 2026. Expect to see new Apple CEO John Ternus take the stage to introduce it; his term of office officially begins September 1.

A Price Increase Is Coming

Thanks to the ongoing RAM shortage caused by the AI industry, sometimes called "RAMageddon," tons of smartphones, laptops, and gaming consoles are seeing huge price hikes. Experts who've spoken to Mashable say that trend isn't going to stop anytime soon.

Outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook took the unusual step of preparing customers for a pricier iPhone. "Price increases are unavoidable," Cook told the Wall Street Journal in an interview. The Journal quoted an analysis showing that the memory chip components in the iPhone 18 Pro will cost Apple $150 more than those in the iPhone 17 Pro. The Journal estimated $1,299 for the iPhone 18 Pro, $200 more than last year's model.

The Lineup of Models Expected

Barring a huge turn under Ternus, Apple will release a base iPhone 18, an iPhone 18 Pro, and an iPhone 18 Pro Max in late September or early October. Apple may also launch or announce a foldable iPhone alongside the normal iPhone 18 models, rumored to be called the iPhone Fold or iPhone Fold Ultra. It's not strictly a member of the iPhone 18 family by name, but is expected to be unveiled around the same time.

Design: Evolution, Not Revolution

Apple has not released any official teasers or other imagery for the iPhone 18 lineup yet, so anything reported to date could be wrong. Still, from the sum total of all reports, it sounds like Apple isn't really reinventing the wheel design-wise this cycle. But Ternus, a hardware guy, is reportedly bringing the company's industrial design group into the center of Apple's planning process. Looking further into the future, the iPhone 20 is said to bring bigger changes, including a curved waterfall display.

Display sizes are expected to remain roughly the same as last year: 6.3 inches for the iPhone 18, 6.3 inches for the iPhone 18 Pro, and 6.9 inches for the iPhone 18 Pro Max. However, display quality might differ this year. Prominent leaker Instant Digital shared on Chinese social media that Apple's brightness demands are unusually high this year, suggesting much brighter displays than in previous years.

A Smaller Dynamic Island for the Base Model

The base iPhone 18 could also have a smaller camera bump compared to previous models. There are reports of a slightly redesigned Dynamic Island on the screen itself, with the pill-shaped notification hub potentially being made smaller in the iPhone 18 models. One alleged leaked image purports to show an iPhone 18 Pro with a downsized Dynamic Island cutout, though that smaller cutout reportedly applies only to the base model — Apple is expected to retain the bigger camera plateau seen on the iPhone 17 Pro for the iPhone 18 Pro specifically.

Color Options Already Leaking

For the iPhone 18 Pro, at least, it seems the color options have already leaked. Previous rumors indicated Apple was experimenting with a "deep red" color for the iPhone 18 Pro, and a report from MacWorld backs that up. According to that reporting, the color lineup for the iPhone 18 Pro will be silver, gray, light blue, and a color called "dark cherry," likely the deep red previously reported. Fans of black iPhones appear to be out of luck again.

Hardware: Standardized RAM and New Chips

The lineup is expected to have a standardized 12GB RAM count across the board. In previous years, the Pro models had 12GB of RAM, while the base model had only 8GB. According to Korean outlet The Bell, Apple will be upgrading the base model so that it matches the Pro models in that regard. It's also widely expected that Apple will adopt new A20 and A20 Pro chips for the base and Pro models, respectively, along with a new C2 modem for improved cellular connectivity, possible 5G satellite support, and a new N2 chip for better Wi-Fi performance.

A Bigger Battery for the Pro Models

For the iPhone 18 Pro, the current expectation is that Apple will improve the battery size in the premium iPhone 18 models this year. Leaker Digital Chat Station on Weibo reported that the batteries could exceed 5,000mAh, an improvement over the iPhone 17 Pro. Instant Digital also posted in a separate Weibo leak that the back glass of the iPhone 18 Pro has been altered, resulting in a new unified look, as opposed to the two-tone look of the iPhone 17 Pro.

Major Camera Upgrades Expected

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, a source of many spot-on iPhone reports, says the iPhone 18 Pro, in particular, will have "some of the biggest camera hardware upgrades in the lineup's history." The telephoto camera is expected to have a larger aperture, but more significant is a rumored variable aperture, first reported by Digital Chat Station on Weibo. Variable aperture would let the iPhone 18 Pro camera capture different amounts of light for different situations, potentially leading to a major leap in photo quality. For instance, the bokeh effect famously associated with portrait mode on iPhones would become possible in-camera rather than through software processing, resulting in more natural and generally better-looking shots.

What to Expect From AI Siri

One of the first things many users will want to know about the iPhone 18 is what the new, revamped, AI-upgraded Siri experience is like. Apple first promised users a newer, smarter, Apple Intelligence-powered Siri two years ago, and the company has since faced lawsuits after it failed to deliver, ultimately settling a class action suit related to those claims for $250 million.

Post-WWDC, more is now known about Apple Intelligence in general: Siri will understand what's on a user's screen, and the assistant will be smarter overall, powered by Gemini. Apple software chief Craig Federighi has also been clear about the boundaries of the new assistant's personality. "Siri really wants to say, 'I can help you get things done. I can help you learn about the world,'" Federighi said. "But if you try to engage Siri as a romantic partner, Siri's not up for that. Siri's 100 percent not into that."

With Apple's official announcement still months away, the coming weeks and months are likely to bring a continued stream of leaks and rumors as manufacturing partners and supply chain sources offer further glimpses into the iPhone 18 lineup's final specifications. Given the scope of changes already reported — from standardized RAM and a variable aperture camera to a likely price increase tied to the broader RAM shortage — this year's iPhone lineup appears positioned to represent a meaningful hardware and software upgrade, even as Apple has yet to confirm any of the details through official channels ahead of its expected September event.

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