Apple's rumored plan to split its iPhone launch cycle beginning this year has gained additional credibility, with a new report from Nikkei Asia corroborating earlier claims from The Information, Bloomberg, and Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
According to Nikkei's sources, Apple will prioritize its first foldable iPhone along with iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models for the second half of 2026, while the standard iPhone 18 will ship in the first half of 2027.
An updated iPhone 18e is also expected to appear in the first half of 2027. Nikkei's report does not mention this. It does note however that a second-generation iPhone Air is in Apple's pipeline, though it is not expected this year.
The staggered approach aims to both optimize resources and maximize Apple's revenue from premium models amid rising memory chip costs and supply chain pressures, according to the report.
One supplier executive told Nikkei that a smoothly functioning supply chain is "one of the key challenges" this year, adding that a marketing strategy change also factored into Apple's decision to prioritize its premium devices.
The report also notes that Apple is facing additional pressure as some of its suppliers have shifted resources toward AI companies like Nvidia, Google, and Amazon. Notably, Apple explicitly mentioned iPhone supply constraints during its recent earnings call on Thursday.
The pressure comes at a key time for Apple's ambitious new device: mass producing a foldable iPhone requires more complicated manufacturing techniques and new materials, so it's crucial for Apple to minimize production issues leading up to and during its expected launch in the fall.
For Apple's part, it has not officially confirmed any changes to its traditional annual fall iPhone release schedule.
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