You want to know about the next iPhone release? Then maybe you’re after the iPhone 18 line, which is planned for a 2026 launch. Here at Cell Phone Parts Express, we believe Apple is planning some major changes. There will be tweaks to the launch times of various iPhone models. Also, rumors suggest that Apple is planning to debut its first-ever foldable iPhone!
The full iPhone 18 lineup is expected to include the iPhone 18, the low-cost iPhone 18e, the iPhone 18 Air, the iPhone 18 Pro, the iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the all-new iPhone 18 Fold. The naming of this foldable model hasn’t yet been established. As you can see, a lot of iPhones are on the way. These four expensive models will hit the market in fall 2026, and the relatively inexpensive ones will follow in early 2027. The iPhone 18 Air, Pro, Pro Max, and Fold will come in September 2026, while the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e will launch in 2027.
The Split Launch Strategy
With the iPhone 18 lineup, Apple has plans to change the timing for new releases. The more expensive iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Max devices will launch in the fall of 2026 as usual, along with the new foldable iPhone and the iPhone 18 Air. The more affordable variants, iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e, won’t come out until spring 2027.
The First Foldable iPhone
Multiple rumors suggest that the first foldable iPhone model will launch in the fall of 2026. This one will come alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. There isn’t enough information on what Apple plans to name the device at this time.
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Design and Display
The first foldable iPhone will open like a book, which means it’ll have a smaller outer display and then a larger, wider open display. From a design perspective, it’ll be just like the Pixel Fold or the Galaxy Fold.
When folded, the iPhone’s display will be around 5.5 inches. When open, it’ll have a much larger screen, measuring around 7.8 inches. It can be as thin as 4.5mm when unfolded, and around 9mm when closed. However, the rumors differ on the thickness. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo thinks it’ll be 4.5mm, while Weibo leaker Instant Digital claims it’s going to measure in at 4.8mm when open.
Buyers will be able to use the outer display when the device is closed, but after opening it, they’ll have access to a larger inner display. Apple is probably going to use a titanium casing for the next iPhone release, and the design is meant to minimize the creasing.
Apple will use ultra-thin glass for the foldable iPhone, with Samsung set to create the displays. The outer display is expected to have a hole-punch rear camera, whereas the inner display will use under-display camera tech.
Analyst Jeff Pu believes the foldable iPhone will have a frame that’s made from titanium and aluminum. Apple could use titanium for the stress-bearing parts of the frame to ensure it doesn’t bend. Aluminum could help with heat dissipation, and the overall weight of the device is low.
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No Crease
Rumors suggest the first foldable iPhone won’t have a visible crease or an almost invisible crease. This isn’t going to be like any of the foldable devices on the market. Apple pursued eliminating the crease regardless of cost, and ensuring no crease is why it took Apple so long to design a foldable iPhone.
Apple is using a combo of titanium and stainless steel for the hinge, along with liquid metal. The design minimizes creasing and improves durability.
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No Face ID
The foldable iPhone might use some version of Touch ID in a side button instead of using Face ID. However, the brand isn’t planning for under-display Touch ID.
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Rear Camera
The foldable iPhone camera will have a Main lens and an Ultra-Wide lens with no Telephoto lens. Rumors suggest that both lenses will be 48 megapixels, which isn’t too surprising because present iPhone models have 48-megapixel lenses.
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Front Camera
Based on what we’ve learned, the iPhone Fold is expected to feature a 24-megapixel under-display camera, marking a first in the industry. There are a few Android devices that utilize under-display cameras, but not at such high resolutions.
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Battery Life
The foldable iPhone could have a battery in the 5,400 to 5,800 mAh range, which would make it the largest battery capacity that Apple has used in an iPhone. The iPhone 17 Pro Max has the current largest battery at 5,088 mAh.
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Pricing
The foldable iPhone could cost almost twice as much as the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and Apple could price it somewhere between $1,800 and $2,500, which is double the price of an iPhone 17 Pro. The latest rumors suggest it’ll be on the higher side of this estimate.
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No SIM
Apple’s foldable iPhone won’t have a SIM slot and will use an eSIM, much like the iPhone Air.
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Possible Delay
One rumor claims the foldable iPhone might be delayed until 2027 because Apple hasn’t made key design decisions for components like the hinge. It isn’t clear whether this info is accurate.
The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max
The first foldable from Apple will witness the addition of a new high-end flagship model to the iPhone lineup, but Apple is still planning to launch the standard iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max devices.
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Design
The iPhone 18 Pro models are expected to have the same general design as the iPhone 17 Pro models. They’ll have a triple-lens rear camera system with camera plateau. We only deal in mobile phone parts, but we’ve heard rumors suggesting that the Ceramic Shield area for MagSafe charging could be “slightly transparent,” but it isn’t clear what this means.
The iPhone 18 Pro Max will be thicker, which will also add to its weight. Rumors suggest that it could be the heaviest iPhone to date, weighing in at over 240 grams. The iPhone 17 Pro Max weighs 233 grams.
The iPhone 18 Pro models may not have a two-tone look like the iPhone 17 Pro models. Apple has reportedly changed the back glass to reduce the color difference between the glass and the aluminum frame for a more unified appearance.
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Colors
Rumors suggest that Apple is probably going to introduce three colors for the “special” iPhone 18 Pro color. Options include burgundy, purple, and a brown coffee-like shade.
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Sizing
Apple might not change the sizes of the iPhone 18 Pro models, and they’ll feature the same 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes as the current models.
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Under Display Face ID and Design
There have been rumors suggesting the iPhone 18 Pro models will include an under-display Face ID system, with the TrueDepth camera hardware located under the display. However, there has been disagreement over whether we’ll actually see the under-screen technology next year.
Apple is reportedly testing under-screen Face ID for the iPhone 18 Pro models using a spliced micro-transparent glass window that’s built into the display. The special glass may allow the TrueDepth system’s infrared sensors to pass through the panel without distortion.
Wayne Ma from “The Information” believes that the iPhone 18 Pro will have no Dynamic Island with just a pinhole cutout located at the upper left of the display. Other rumors suggest there’s still going to be a Dynamic Island. Mark Gurman from Bloomberg also said that the iPhone 18 Pro will have a relatively slimmer Dynamic Island, which negates the rumors of no Dynamic Island. Chinese Leaker Instant Digital says that there’ll be a smaller Dynamic Island, but no under-display Face ID or under-display camera.
The iPhone 18 Pro could feature a smaller hole in the display for the front-facing camera. Apple is probably testing miniaturization technology to reduce camera size, which might lead to a smaller Dynamic Island.
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Variable Aperture Lens and New Sensor
The Main camera in the iPhone 18 Pro might come with a variable aperture. This would provide users with more control over how their photos look. iPhone users would be able to manually adjust how much light enters the sensor, cutting down on overexposure and providing new customization options for lighting and depth of field.
At least one of the iPhone 18 Pro models could feature a new three-layer stacked image sensor developed by Samsung. The advanced image sensor would make the camera costlier. Additionally, it could cut out excess noise, increase dynamic range, and more.
The Main and Telephoto lenses in the iPhone 18 Pro models could feature a larger aperture, allowing for more light in poor lighting conditions.
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C2 Modem
The next-gen C2 modem chip from Apple is expected to arrive in 2026. It’s also expected to be more capable than the current C1 and C1X. The C2 could feature mmWave 5G connectivity, and it’ll be closer in performance to the Qualcomm modem chips that it’ll replace.
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A20 Chip
The next iPhone release will use Apple’s A20 chip, and we mean the iPhone 18 Pro and foldable models. The A20 will use TSMC’s 2nm process for power and efficiency improvements.
The transition to 2nm will allow for more transistors in each chip, which will boost performance. The A20 chips could be up to 15% faster and 30% more efficient than A19 chips.
The A20 chip will be packaged with TSMC’s Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module (WMCM) technology, but it isn’t clear if this change will be limited to the higher-end models.
With WMCM, the A20 chips will have RAM integrated directly onto the same wafer as the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine, rather than the RAM being adjacent to the chip and connected via silicon interposer. The update to WMCM could bring faster performance for Apple Intelligence and longer battery life, while also cutting down on the size of the A20 chip to allow more space inside the iPhone for other components.
The A20 chip that Apple has planned for the iPhone 18 models could be much more expensive than prior-generation A-series chips because of the 2-nanometer technology. Apple supplier TSMC has apparently told the tech giant that 2nm chip pricing will be at least 50% higher than 3-nanometer processors because of the cost of manufacturing and equipment. The high cost could see the 2-nanometer chips restricted to higher-end iPhone 18 models.
Now, some rumors suggest that Apple will only make high-end variants of its 2-nanometer chip. Other rumors claim Apple is planning both 2nm A20 and A20 Pro chips. The iPhone 18 could get the A20, with the iPhone 18 Pro to get the A20 Pro.
iPhone 18 Air
Apple wants to continue the “Air” series in 2026, and the iPhone 18 Air could be released in September 2026 alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models and the new foldable iPhone.
The next iPhone Air will presumably use the same form factor as the current iPhone Air, with Apple adding an updated chip, a new modem, and other under-the-hood improvements.
iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e
Apple isn’t going to focus on the lower-cost iPhone models in the fall of 2026. We don’t know much about them other than they’re in development currently. Apple won’t release them until spring 2027.
The iPhone 18 models could feature a simplified Camera Control button without a capacitive sensor, which would cut costs. Pressure sensing will still be available for all the button functions.
The standard iPhone 18 could be upgraded to 12GB RAM in 2026.
All iPhone 18 models will include a 24-megapixel front-facing camera, up to 18 megapixels.
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Camera Control Button
The iPhone 18 models could have a simplified Camera Control button, which would cut down on costs. The current Camera Control button features both capacitive and pressure sensors for detecting touch gestures and pressure levels, but the next-generation version could eliminate the capacitive sensing layer. Pressure sensing would instead be used for all Camera Control functions.
Closing Statements
The foldable iPhone, the iPhone 18 Pro, the iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the next iPhone Air could come out in September 2026, while the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e could follow in spring 2027.
At Cell Phone Parts Express, we offer mobile parts wholesale and accessories. We’ve acquired all this info from reliable sources.
FAQs
Q1. Will older iPhone models still be supported after the iPhone 18 release?
A1. Apple usually supports older iPhones for several years after new releases. You can expect software updates, security patches, and repair parts to remain available for many existing models.
Q2. Will the foldable iPhone use the same repair parts as regular iPhones?
A2. The foldable iPhone will likely use unique parts due to its hinge and dual displays. Standard screens and batteries from regular iPhones probably won’t fit or work properly.
Q3. Could the new iPhone designs affect repair difficulty?
A3. Yes, thinner frames, foldable screens, and new materials may make repairs more complex. However, better tools and clearer guides usually follow, helping both technicians and DIY users adapt.
Q4. Are iPhone prices expected to rise with the new technology?
A4. New features like foldable displays, advanced chips, and premium materials often raise prices. High-end models may cost more, while standard models usually remain closer to current pricing levels.
Q5. Should users wait for the iPhone 18 or buy an older model?
A5. If your current phone works well, waiting makes sense. Older models often drop in price after new releases and still offer strong performance for everyday use.
