iPhone 18 - 2026
With the iPhone 18 lineup that's planned for 2026, Apple is making major changes. There will be tweaks to the launch timelines of various iPhone models, plus 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 Pro, the iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the all-new iPhone 18 Fold, though naming for the new foldable hasn't been established. That's a lot of iPhones, so the expensive models will launch in fall 2026 and the less expensive models will follow in early 2027.
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A Split Launch Strategy
With the iPhone 18 lineup, Apple is going to change the timing for new iPhone releases. The more expensive iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max iPhones will launch in the fall of 2026 as usual, alongside the new foldable iPhone, but the more affordable iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e models won't come out until spring 2027.
The First Foldable iPhone
Multiple rumors suggest that Apple's first foldable iPhone will launch in the fall of 2026, with the device coming alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models. It's not clear what Apple plans to name the device at this time.
Design and Display
The first foldable iPhone will open up book style, which means it will have a smaller outer display and then a larger, wider open display. Design wise, it will be similar to the Pixel Fold or the Galaxy Fold.
When folded, the iPhone will have a display that's around 5.5 inches, and when open, it will have a much larger 7.8-inch display. It could be as thin as 4.5mm when unfolded, and around 9mm when it is closed, though rumors have differed on thickness. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo thinks it will be 4.5mm, while Weibo leaker Instant Digital says it's going to measure in at 4.8mm thick when open.
The outer display will be usable when the device is closed, but opening it up will provide access to the larger inner display. Apple is expected to use a titanium casing, 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, while the inner display will use under-display camera technology.
No Crease
Rumors suggest the first foldable iPhone will have no visible crease or a nearly invisible crease, unlike most 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 combination of titanium and stainless steel for the hinge, along with liquid metal. The design minimizes creasing and improves durability.
No Face ID
The foldable iPhone might use some version of Touch ID in a side button instead of using Face ID.
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 current iPhone models have 48-megapixel lenses.
Pricing
The foldable iPhone could cost nearly twice as much as the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and Apple could price it somewhere between $1,800 and $2,500, which is double what the iPhone 16 Pro costs.
The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max
Apple's first foldable will see the addition of a new high-end flagship model to the iPhone lineup, but Apple is still planning to launch standard iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max devices.
Sizing
Apple isn't expected to change the sizes of the iPhone 18 Pro models, and they will feature the same 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes as the current models.
Under Display Face ID and Design
The two iPhone 18 Pro models are expected to feature under-display Face ID, with the TrueDepth camera hardware located under the display. The front-facing camera won't be under the glass, though.
The Information's Wayne Ma has suggested that the iPhone 18 Pro models will have no Dynamic Island with just a pinhole cutout located at the upper left of the display, but other rumors suggest there's still going to be a Dynamic Island.
According to display analyst Ross Young, the iPhone 18 Pro models could have under-display Face ID, but that doesn't mean there won't be no Dynamic Island at all. Instead, the Dynamic Island will be smaller. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has also said that iPhone 18 Pro models will have a slimmed down Dynamic Island, which contradicts rumors of no Dynamic Island.
Renders
Developer Filip Vabroušek created renders of what the iPhone 18 Pro's display might look like if Apple opts for a design without a Dynamic Island.
As a reminder, it is not clear if the iPhone 18 Pro will have a full under-display Face ID setup with just a hole punch camera as rumors have disagreed on this point. It could still have a Dynamic Island, just a smaller version of it. Vabroušek also designed a render with a smaller Dynamic Island, showing what that version of the iPhone 18 could look like.
Variable Aperture Lens and New Sensor
The Main camera in the iPhone 18 Pro could have a variable aperture, which would provide users with more control over how their photos look. iPhone users would be able to manually adjust how much light gets to the sensor, cutting down on overexposure and providing new customization options for lighting and depth of field.
The 2026 iPhone models could also use a three-layer stacked image sensor that Samsung is developing. It would improve camera responsiveness, cut down on noise, and boost dynamic range.
C2 Modem
Apple's next-generation C2 modem chip is expected in 2026, and it is expected to be more capable than the current C1. The C2 will feature mmWave 5G connectivity, and it will be closer in performance to the Qualcomm modem chips that it will replace.
A20 Chip
The iPhone 18 Pro models and the foldable iPhone will use Apple's A20 chip. 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 percent faster and 30 percent more efficient than A19 chips. Apple is also expected to use TSMC's Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module (WMCM) chip packaging technology. WMCM will see RAM directly integrated on the chip's water with the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine.
Incorporating RAM this way could bring faster performance for overall tasks and Apple Intelligence, better thermal management, and improved Apple Intelligence.
iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e
The lower cost iPhone models won't be Apple's focus in the fall of 2026, and we know little about them other than they are in development at the current time. Apple won't release them until spring 2027.
Launch Date
The foldable iPhone, the iPhone 18 Pro, and the iPhone 18 Pro Max could come out in September 2026, while the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e could follow in spring 2027.
