Gurman: iPhone 18 Pro Could Be Underwhelming

[FattiesGoneWild]

Yet, it will be the biggest iPhone seller EVER! Always say it, the yearly iPhone no one wants but everyone buys. Facts!

 

[MyDogPia]

Apple's upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models "won't be a big update," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that the iPhone 18 Pro models will "represent minor tweaks from last year's iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max." He compared the upgrade to Apple's past practice of appending the letter "S" to its more minor generational iPhone releases.

There will still apparently be several important internal changes, such as a new camera system with a variable aperture, the A20 chip, and the custom C2 modem. Nevertheless, the new Pro models likely won't be "the star of Apple's iPhone launch this fall," with the company's first foldable claiming the spotlight instead.

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Article Link: Gurman: iPhone 18 Pro Could Be Underwhelming

What could it have to be "overwhelming".

Smartphones reached the final form. There's nothing they can do to blow people away! It's all about delta improvements now.

Even for foldables, most people don't care much about them and would only buy a foldable if they make them cheaper.

Ha! No they haven't! Did you see the December 2025 Apple patent? It's a radical change. First of a kind for phones. Basically, they can attach different camera sizes, they can add a health pack (multiple new sensors), attach a larger speaker for outdoor use, a computing module and an array of other modules.

 

[GlassFingers]

If front camera goes from 18 to 24 megapixels… count me in for an “underwhelming” purchase!

 

[ClaraStahlbaum]

It will pretty much just be the same thing as the 17 with a few upgrades, but overall the same design - it will most likely just be the same phone with a different name and a slightly faster chip.

 

[Farquar]

I seems like you don't hear a word from Gurman until someone at Bloomberg starts wondering why they hired him in the first place, and suddenly he publishes something.

No kidding the 18 Pro will be underwhelming. But it will sell bananas. Only Apple-followers are comparing iPhones year over year. Apple buyers are comparing what they have to what was just released. A 14 or 15 Pro users looking for an upgrade will see the 18 Pro as mighty fine.

But with the Ultra coming, the pro will most definitely take a back seat to the press attention.

 

[Zenman12]

I wonder if they’ll do any external design tweaks, like maybe rounding the edges more on the camera plateau to prevent scuffing. Otherwise, totally expected for it to be an “S” year after a big design change with the 17 Pro.

Would love to have a black model this year.

That’s supposed to be something they’ll fix. It’s that, color of the back glass, Dynamic Island being smaller, and the bezels possibly being thinner.

Don’t look for big physical changes.

I’m willing to bet people will go with the 17 and save $100. The 18 is a rough spot. It needs to justify its price tag or else people will buy the 17. The 16 will tank and be difficult to sell (even with the $100 even lower). The 17 will probably be the best bang for your buck.

 

[Zenman12]

I’m still on a 13 PM and can’t find a reason to upgrade. I have used my wife’s 16 PM many times and it’s a tad zipper, a little better cam, besides that…nothing. And AI is hardly a selling point.

My bar (ignoring the mfi hearing aid situation and Bluetooth if Apple can get its **** together), is
1) full screen display (the bezels are thin enough for me now. So anything extra is a bonus).
2) usb 4 (or for god’s sake do usb 3 gen 2. I refuse to pay $600-$1200 for usb 2 or usb 3).

 

[MyDogPia]

What could it have to be "overwhelming".

Smartphones reached the final form. There's nothing they can do to blow people away! It's all about delta improvements now.

Even for foldables, most people don't care much about them and would only buy a foldable if they make them cheaper.

 

[Saturn1217]

Whether you love or hate it, the Pros just got some of the biggest design changes we've seen on the Pro phones since the iPhone 12 pro/promax.

Of course the generation after that is going to be a minor change. Anyone who expected otherwise hasn't been paying attention.

Keep refining. Don't make anything worse. And give us better colors next year. That's all I ask.

 

[Seanm87]

Tbh iPhones have been underwhelming updates for years now. Nothing wrong with that its just a mature product.

 

[1BadManVan]

Considering the 17 pro's were just a fresh redesign from last year, i wasn't expecting another design overhaul a year later anyways, was anyone? Don't think you need to be an expert to guess about that lol

 

[Unregistered 4U]

I never understand why people say this. How does technology getting upgraded more often affect you negatively? If you don’t need/want a phone, don’t buy it.

When you do unexpectedly need a phone, I’m sure you’ll be glad it’s 3 month old tech instead of 15 months old.

It’s the same thinking of the folks that want the EU to regulate doom scrolling. “I can’t control myself, so I need the world to control me! For MY sake!”

 

[DownUnderDan]

To be honest every year is disappointing, with minor changes, I don’t call the redesigned back on the 17 pro anything major

iPhone is now a commodity. Saying your disappointed in its revisions is a bit like being disapponted when you see this years Westinghouse fridge at the store and realise its just another fridge.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

“Underwhelming” ???

What exactly are people expecting in these yearly releases? Good grief.

Underwhelming was chosen specifically for it click-baiteyness. Gurman knows it doesn’t matter if it really is or not (and he genuinely has no idea if it will be or not). By the time it’s released, he’ll be making up something else with no basis in reality that, for now, will help to maintain his relevance (paycheck).

 

[Unregistered 4U]

I seems like you don't hear a word from Gurman until someone at Bloomberg starts wondering why they hired him in the first place, and suddenly he publishes something.

No kidding the 18 Pro will be underwhelming. But it will sell bananas. Only Apple-followers are comparing iPhones year over year. Apple buyers are comparing what they have to what was just released. A 14 or 15 Pro users looking for an upgrade will see the 18 Pro as mighty fine.

But with the Ultra coming, the pro will most definitely take a back seat to the press attention.

I’m sure he’s under pressure to drive ever more ad views to Bloomberg. And, since he wants to keep his cushy gig of making up stuff and getting paid, he’s got to keep up a steady stream of “stuff”. Even though he used to only have to do it once a week or so. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a schedule up for what stuff to make up on what day. For Feb, he created it towards the end of Jan, makes up stuff for the month of Feb, then, towards the end of Feb, makes up stuff for March.

That would explain why it’s consistently incredibly obvious AND why anything with a decent level of specificity ends up being wrong, so he has to say “I’m not wrong, Apple changed their plans at the last minute.” So, you mean to tell me the same sources that told you it was going to happen… did not tell you two days BEFORE that “Oops, my bad, it’s not happening, now,” so you could walk it back BEFORE reality caught up with you?

Hmmmmm…

 

[CATiNTHESTORE]

How much Gurman pays to macrumors for those Bala bla bla

 

[dotnet]

In other news: Bloomberg's Apple coverage could improve soon!



Nah, just kidding... 😀

 

[miq]

People actually pay money to read this guy’s articles?!

 

[Roy]

Apple's upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models "won't be a big update," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that the iPhone 18 Pro models will "represent minor tweaks from last year's iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max." He compared the upgrade to Apple's past practice of appending the letter "S" to its more minor generational iPhone releases.

There will still apparently be several important internal changes, such as a new camera system with a variable aperture, the A20 chip, and the custom C2 modem. Nevertheless, the new Pro models likely won't be "the star of Apple's iPhone launch this fall," with the company's first foldable claiming the spotlight instead.

​

Article Link: Gurman: iPhone 18 Pro Could Be Underwhelming

The main things I would be interested in is:

1..New 2 nanometer A20 chip
2.. new camera system with variable aperture

 

[RKYA8866]

We haven’t had a significant upgrade since the iPhone 13. How is this news?

 

[Roy]

We haven’t had a significant upgrade since the iPhone 13. How is this news?

Seems like that’s your opinion. I previously had iPhone 14 Pro Max. My 17 Pro Max is definitely an upgrade to my 14 Pro Max. And that’s my opinion.

 

[dampfnudel]

Shine will be on the iPhone Fold this fall with the main factor for the regular Pro being new color options I guess

Yeah, burgundy or “coffee” will be the highlight for the 18 Pro/18 Pro Max. The iPhone Fold will be the star of the show.

 

[CarlJ]

Smartphones reached the final form. There's nothing they can do to blow people away! It's all about delta improvements now.

More precisely, smartphones have reached a plateau. We won't know if this is (was) the final form for a decade or more, at which time we can point back at the correct moment. Right now, they're in a bit of a holding pattern, with continual small tweaks. There may or may not be some substantial improvement coming in the near future - though likely not this year (there was a time when the belief was held tht people simply couldn't survive travel faster than 25mph, turns out that was wrong).

 

[CarlJ]

When you do unexpectedly need a phone, I’m sure you’ll be glad it’s 3 month old tech instead of 15 months old.

I've been saying this for years - so many people take it as a personal affront if the new model iPhone doesn't blow away their current one (which may very well be last year's model), when that is a good thing. People should be keeping their phones until the wear out, or something new comes out that has a feature that will make your life substantially better.

I'm using a 16 Pro. That was a really substantial upgrade from my previous iPhone 8. I feel no desire to upgrade to a 17 Pro, I'll likely keep my 16 Pro until it breaks. I'll enjoy going and looking at the 18/19/20 series when they come out, but it's not something I need.

People shouldn't insist that Apple only improve their phone lineup when they personally want to upgrade - that's ridiculously selfish.

 

[bLackjackj]

So this is an ‘S’ year according to Gurman? 🙄🤦‍♂️

1. Under-display Face ID
2. Smaller punch-hole front camera
3. A20 Pro chip
4. New chip packaging
5. Apple C2 modem
6. Variable-aperture main camera
7. New stacked camera sensor
8. Higher storage 2tb tier
9. Battery life improvement
10. 16GB RAM

Ahhh, okay.