Apple Skipping iPhone 18 Launch This Year

[snipr125]

This is why the iPhone 17 is so good, to hold people over for 18 months until the Spring. They use the same strategy for the Macbook Air also. Basically Pro models released first, then Mid range options 6 months later.

 

[Ray2]

Good business strategy but reflects a saturated market with a narrowing user base of fanboys. Hopefully the departure of Timmy will bring back some innovation.

 

[lazyrighteye]

Wait - I thigh this was already public knowledge. Regardless, why would they not spread revenue across multiple quarters?

 

[sdfox7]

Not a good headline.

Many people would associate all iPhone 18 models in one bucket, and equate the title with no new iPhone this fall.

 

[TrailorSwift]

I'm sure the overwhelming majority of iPhone owners will feel seen being put in the back of the line.

The overwhelming majority of iPhone owners probably don't know what model they have, and roll their eyes when a new one gets announced thinking it’s way too soon.

 

[lenningj]

'we think you'll love waiting a few more months' 🙃

 

[Pitogyro]

Name one country whose economy is doing well enough to support this strategy. I’ll wait.

 

[Nugget]

Name one country whose economy is doing well enough to support this strategy. I’ll wait.

I genuinely don't understand your point here.

 

[Imperial926]

I bought the standard 17 a month ago. I never buy this late in the cycle but this time was different. I was close to 80% on my iPhone 13 battery and the 17 is available on 0% interest in the UK. Add that to the general approval of the 17 and the late arrival of the 18 and I decided not to wait.
Is this what Apple would have expected and do they lose money if many have done what I did? Seeing the price increases and confused situation in the US my wife and I updated our phones and laptops so we would avoid the price increases.
It will be interesting to see if purchases flatten out and whether manufacturers respond appropriately in a few years time. I do hope that customers make the point and we see a nosedive in all these company's profits but I won't hold my breath.

 

[jakeowens]

I also wish they would change the Mac release cycle so the Pro ones (Mac Studio) with an Ultra chip came out before all the lower end models. Currently they come out and then soon after they release the new updated chips.... making their single core technically lower score than the low end macs. 🙁

 

[cdsapplefan]

Given that Apple will likely skip the “19” denomination, maybe there will be a major renaming next year to solve that problem, instead of just going “20”.

Klasma Cookie 🍪 Monster, I know you can’t wait to get that iPhone Air 2 with Apple’s new C2 efficient custom modem and iOS 27 with Siri AI 📱

 

[ducknalddon]

I'm wondering whether the base 17 model will go up in price at the same time the pro models are launched. I had been planning an upgrade next year as my SE will be five years old but if the prices go up I'll put it off for another year.

 

[Oblivious.Robot]

With the software riddled with bugs from the get go, I feel buying the iPhone in March is just better for those who are happy to wait as you get discounts on the Pro models by that time to compare. I do hope people actually wait longer, and this upsell strategy backfires spectacularly on Apple.

 

[Cheesehead Dave]

There's the danger of people using the iPhone 15 that will pay off their 3-year contract in September, deciding to wait until next spring, then suddenly realize how nice it is to just be paying for service without the extra phone payment and decide that they kind of like that and hold off until the 19.

 

[I_love_money]

I’m happy with my 16e and don’t plan on upgrading until 2029. If Apple changes the design of the pro until then I might get it.

 

[oceptis]

There are only a few manufacturers - they can be influenced by some people.

🤦‍♂️

 

[HadrianQ]

This moves it look like the standard iPhone just became the SE model. That does not feel good.

 

[oceptis]

Name one country whose economy is doing well enough to support this strategy. I’ll wait.

Freedonia - Mrs. Teasdale is footing the bill.

 

[bodonnell202]

The tricky part about the iPhone 18 is that its processor would also be the thing going into the next gen Neo, its going to be hard for them to keep up.

The processor in the next Neo will most likely be what's in the current iPhone 17 Pro. The chips won't be as big of bottleneck as shortages of RAM and NAND storage.

 

[gloss]

It’s not a problem if Apple discontinues the numbers, as they have already started prototyping with the iPhone Air.
If the pros launch in the fall as simply iPhone Pro, and the Airs launch in the spring as simply iPhone Air, then there’s no problem.

they can just treat it like their laptops - iPhone (Pro, A19, 2026)

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Good business strategy but reflects a saturated market with a narrowing user base of fanboys. Hopefully the departure of Timmy will bring back some innovation.

Even if the new CEO brings “back some innovation” (whatever that means?) it’s definitely not going to be on the slab iPhones.
Phones, especially your standard glass sandwich slabs, aren’t really a place that are ripe for big changes and massive innovations. That era ended somewhere around a decade ago.
It’s like laptops by the late 2000s, sure, between the first Macintosh portable in 1989 and the first MacBooks in 2006, there were quite a few changes over the years, but once the modern metal and glass designs were solidified around 2008-2009 laptops have all pretty much looked the same for the last 20 years. A little bit thinner there, faster processor here, better display there, bigger trackpad here, but the basic design has remained unchanged.

 

[everlast3434]

Im skipping all the 18s too 🙂

 

[klasma]

Klasma Cookie 🍪 Monster, I know you can’t wait to get that iPhone Air 2 with Apple’s new C2 efficient custom modem and iOS 27 with Siri AI 📱

Nah, the Air is much too big and has an ugly camera plateau. I’ll hold on to the iPhone mini as long as it’s viable (2030 maybe), and if Apple doesn’t have anything I like by then, I may get something like this:

 

[Ray2]

Even if the new CEO brings “back some innovation” (whatever that means?) it’s definitely not going to be on the slab iPhones.
Phones, especially your standard glass sandwich slabs, aren’t really a place that are ripe for big changes and massive innovations. That era ended somewhere around a decade ago.
It’s like laptops by the late 2000s, sure, between the first Macintosh portable in 1989 and the first MacBooks in 2006, there were quite a few changes over the years, but once the modern metal and glass designs were solidified around 2008-2009 laptops have all pretty much looked the same for the last 20 years. A little bit thinner there, faster processor here, better display there, bigger trackpad here, but the basic design has remained unchanged.

I’m talking about new product lines. Certainly not a $1,000+ slab that does communications just as well as its predecessor did a decade ago.

 

[cdsapplefan]

Nah, the Air is much too big and has an ugly camera plateau. I’ll hold on to the iPhone mini as long as it’s viable (2030 maybe), and if Apple doesn’t have anything I like by then, I may get something like this:

The closest thing your gonna get to your iPhone Mini is the 16e or 17e 🔋 or the new 18e