want to see massive hardware advancements look to chinese brands. big brands don't expect to see massive year on year upgrades.
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iPhone 18 Pro Already Rumored to Have These 6 New Features
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obviously won't happen, people have shown al isn't a selling point in buying a phone not when there are plenty of apps in the app store which offer great al for those who need it.
Redesign - Terrible and step back
New telephoto - Yes, normal. At least one new sensor per year. But .. 18 Pro will have better main, which is more important than the niche telephoto.
Anti reflective coating - It's barely better and it casts greenish tint all over the screen. Way worse than S25U.
New screen - The screen is exactly the same from 16 Pro (which was new) using the M14 OLED materials by Samsung. 14 Pro/15 Pro used the same with M12. The difference is that Apple "unlocked" it's potential with voltage. Also it does have still PWM. You can check WekiHome's video to see it.
Battery - Yes, that's the case every year.
Vapor chamber - Probably the only good feature.
40%+ GPU - But for what? CPU stays the same. 2nm is based on GAAFET and it's next HUGE step unlike N3P, which is just node shrink.
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Just add an iphone wallet on the back and your problem has been solved. However, if Apple were to listen to you, they would create a whole new problem for everyone with an iphone wallet on the back of their phone. Sales of new iphones and those accessories would plummet immediately if your wish were to come true.
Not even close. The S years where always same or very similar exterior chassis with mostly interior upgrades and maybe small fixes or adjustments to the exterior. The 16 Pro was more of an S year to the 15 Pro. The 17 is very clearly not an S year.
As someone who really doesn't want AI everywhere. I find it kind of a perk that they dropped the ball with it honestly.
The so called "S" years are generally better, because you not only getting the usual hardware improvements, but also a lot of refinements. 15 Pro felt like beta version of 16 Pro. 17 Pro to the 18 Pro will be the same.
oh I’m not one that necessarily wants/needs a flat back. I’m just saying that if they made the iPhone heavier (by making the back uniform or otherwise), I wouldn’t mind.
I use a magsafe wallet. a new one I just bought from Dior actually and I LOVE the combo of the phone and that. makes it great to hold and great to leave on a table.
Each year, we see the same headlines “5 features coming to the next iPhone” or “8 upgrades you’ll actually notice.” But honestly, I haven’t used a single new feature in years that’s truly changed how I use my phone or improved my productivity.
I keep defaulting to something simpler, and yet Apple keeps doubling down on the same busy UX. The focus on surface-level design tweaks—like “Liquid Glass” animations—feels absurd when the core experience hasn’t evolved meaningfully in over a decade.
At this point, the hype cycle feels more like marketing than innovation. The iPhone isn’t really a phone anymore—it’s a camera with phone capabilities. The interface has become cluttered with endless icons, buried settings, and a sense of complexity where there used to be elegance. Sometimes it feels like Apple and simplicity broke up years ago—and neither has moved on since.
I keep defaulting to something simpler, and yet Apple keeps doubling down on the same busy UX. The focus on surface-level design tweaks—like “Liquid Glass” animations—feels absurd when the core experience hasn’t evolved meaningfully in over a decade.
At this point, the hype cycle feels more like marketing than innovation. The iPhone isn’t really a phone anymore—it’s a camera with phone capabilities. The interface has become cluttered with endless icons, buried settings, and a sense of complexity where there used to be elegance. Sometimes it feels like Apple and simplicity broke up years ago—and neither has moved on since.
The market has proven they don’t care about AI in the phone given the strong iPhone 17 sales. You can download Gemini, Grok or chatGPT from the App Store and set it to the action button. The only product Apple really needs to improve AI on is the HomePod and Apple Watch.
The camera improvement could be a game changer for photographers. Likewise, the N2 is going to be the biggest leap probably in 8 years. Additionally, the Dynamic Island being shrunk will be very welcomed.
Regardless of brand, why do people keep buying a new smartphone every year or so depending on release? I really don't get it. I own mobile phones since the 90s, other than a few times (for example my first camera phone) I only bought a new one when the old one died or was about to, or there was a new phone with drastically better tech/features in it.
The smartphones for several years now all look the same (in a racist way lol), and the vast majority of features are easily missed. Yet so many people keep buying the new model as soon as it is released.
STOP CONSUMING JUST TO CONSUME!
The smartphones for several years now all look the same (in a racist way lol), and the vast majority of features are easily missed. Yet so many people keep buying the new model as soon as it is released.
STOP CONSUMING JUST TO CONSUME!
A feature?
"Dynamic Island" was simply a Marketing term created by Apple to distract everyone from calling it s notch. Apple was tired of notch this and notch that...it still is a notch. They have never intended on keeping the hardware side. If you have a look at the timeline, it was gone after about 4-5 revisions.
I agree and repeat my example of the design and functional innovation that was iPod, see below. Not all iPods had all features, and they were priced from low to medium. Why not have the same approach to the iPhone? A different iPhone, with different features and functionality, for different users and different price points?
Perhaps Apple need to make a "feature phone" !!! Something that is a step up from one of those old Nokias, but much much less than the need-to-get-into-weight-training heavy slabs of metal and glass they call Pro Max. They could start with the iPod nano (31 grams, 1.1oz) and morph it into the iPhone Nano at say 60 grams (2oz).
Whoops I forgot! Apple does not care about innovation, it just cares about protecting its 40% margins. Apple regards innovation as enemy No.1 !
Variable deph of field between all in focus, and even more all in focus. Very usefull.
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still nearly a year away, a handful of new features and changes have already been rumored for the devices.
Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far.
Smaller Dynamic Island
The standard iPhone 18, iPhone 18 Pro, and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with a slightly smaller Dynamic Island, but the devices will not feature under-screen Face ID, according to the Weibo account Instant Digital.
There were conflicting rumors about whether the iPhone 17 Pro models would have a smaller Dynamic Island, but its size did not change. Now, the rumor is back on the table for the iPhone 18 series, and there is a decent chance it will be true this time around, as it would be a stepping stone towards the rumored 20th-anniversary all-glass iPhone.
Under-screen Face ID, however, is no longer expected until the iPhone 19 Pro models or later.
Instant Digital has around 1.5 million followers on Weibo, a popular Chinese social media platform. The account has accurately leaked information about future Apple products in the past, such as the iPhone 17 Pro models featuring a vapor chamber cooling system, the Yellow finish for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, and the Apple Watch Ultra 2's Titanium Milanese Loop. However, the account does not have a perfect track record, and some of the other iPhone 17 rumors it shared in recent months did not materialize.
'Translucent' MagSafe Area
Overall, the iPhone 18 Pro models will feature a similar design as the iPhone 17 Pro models, according to Digital Chat Station, a previously-accurate leaker with more than three million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo.
The leaker said the devices will have the same rear camera system design as the iPhone 17 Pro models, with a "plateau" housing three lenses in a triangular arrangement. They also expect the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max to have the same 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes used since the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Notably, the leaker claimed that the Ceramic Shield area on the back of the iPhone 18 Pro models will feature a "slightly transparent design," without elaborating.
Perhaps this just means the Ceramic Shield cutout on the back of the iPhone 18 Pro models will have a more frosted appearance than it does on the iPhone 17 Pro models, but we will have to wait for additional rumors to surface for clarification.
Variable Aperture
The main 48-megapixel Fusion camera on both iPhone 18 Pro models will offer variable aperture, according to supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
With variable aperture, users would be able to control the amount of light that passes through the camera's lens and reaches the sensor. The main cameras on all of the iPhone 14 Pro through iPhone 17 Pro models have a fixed aperture of ƒ/1.78, and the lens is always fully open and shooting with this widest aperture. With the iPhone 18 Pro models, users would be able to manually change the aperture, according to this rumor.
A variable aperture on iPhone 18 Pro models should provide users with greater control over depth of field, which refers to how sharp a subject appears in the foreground compared to the background. However, given that iPhones have smaller image sensors due to size constraints, it is unclear exactly how meaningful this improvement would be.
None of the iPhone 17 Pro cameras offer variable aperture.
Other Rumors
Read our iPhone 18 roundup for more information.
- A20 Pro chip fabricated with TSMC's latest 2nm process, for more significant year-over-year performance improvements
- Apple's custom-designed C2 modem, with mmWave 5G support in the United States
- A redesigned Camera Control button, with a focus on pressure-sensitive controls, rather than swipe gestures
Article Link: iPhone 18 Pro Already Rumored to Have These 6 New Features
In the apple world, minor meaningless changes get called features.
In the real world we'd call them changes or gimmicks.
In the real world we'd call them changes or gimmicks.
Now I come to think of it, not having iPhone 18 launch at the same time could mean the C2 Modem to be N2 as well.
Feels like it's going to be an 'S' year and that's OK.
However, if Apple can move to new battery tech, that's going to be the standout feature.
And on the Air, that will likely make the device more than compelling for regular iPhone users (let's hope that they can get a second lens on there).
However, if Apple can move to new battery tech, that's going to be the standout feature.
And on the Air, that will likely make the device more than compelling for regular iPhone users (let's hope that they can get a second lens on there).
I’m sure we all have our varying opinions. I went from a 13 Pro to a 17 Pro. No desire to go back. I held onto the 13 for a few years because I was overall very happy with the phone. But after four years, was considering an upgrade. Decided to see what the 17s were offering. I liked the new design when I saw it. It feels bolder to me, which I find appealing. Have seen a number of people on this forum who upgraded from 12 pros, 13 pros etc. who also seem to be happy with their new phones. And, in general, the phones appear to be selling well. To each their own, eh?