Leaker: Apple to Downgrade iPhone 18 in Two Ways

[Happy_John]

Apple would hike up the price by $50.

Does McDonald's stop selling Big Macs if the price of beef doubles?

This has already happened with McDonalds. Their response was to increase the price of the product, not to stop selling the product or to change the product.

 

[JPack]

Do you really think the e series is to Apple what the Big Mac is to McDonalds? 🤨 It's an ancillary product line, at best.

And they could do that, but if the purpose of the e series is to hit a particular price point—and that seems to be the case—then it doesn't make much sense to raise that price point, particularly in a year/cycle that will apparently see at least five other iPhone models.

Users enter the Apple ecosystem at $599. Just like the MacBook Neo, the iPhone E-series is a Trojan horse to lock in users at a young age. It's not ancillary, it's about investing into the next billion iPhone users.

Where's the next growth market for iPhone? Developing markets like India. Those consumers have no chance buying a $799 iPhone when their average annual salary is $3,000 to $4,000.

 

[Plutonius]

Most consumers will probably not notice unless it is pointed out to them.

 

[macbookj0e]

Remove the camera button before lowering screen quality

Absolutely spot on!

 

[dumastudetto]

60Hz is fine, brightness can be cut, keep the same processor, slower storage starting at 128GB, use the iPhone 17e camera system, same great price.

 

[Happy_John]

Users enter the Apple ecosystem at $599. Just like the MacBook Neo, the iPhone E-series is a Trojan horse to lock in users at a young age.

Where's the next growth market for iPhone? Developing markets like India. Those consumers have no chance buying a $799 iPhone when their average annual salary is $3,000 to $4,000.

A huge amount of people buy phones and buy for them monthly on carrier deals. This is what the iPhone e is aimed at, both in established markets and emerging markets. The sticker price from Apple ( less bulk discount) is for the carrier, not the users.

When talking about India, you have to remember you are talking about a country with a population of 1.46 billion. While the average annual salary is very low, there is a growing middle-class which can happily afford iPhones. It's only a small percentage of the overall population, but a small percentage of 1.46 billion is still a hell of a lot of people.

 

[JPack]

A huge amount of people buy phones and buy for them monthly on carrier deals. This is what the iPhone e is aimed at, both in established markets and emerging markets. The sticker price from Apple ( less bulk discount) is for the carrier, not the users.

Emerging market consumers have little credit to begin with. They buy phones outright. In mature markets, these are prepaid phone customers. The main reason they're on prepaid is because they don't have enough credit.

All of this means the $599 iPhone is critical for Apple, not just a side thought.

 

[jz0309]

Most consumers will probably not notice unless it is pointed out to them.

And f it is pointed out to them, will they care then? Doubtful, the average consumer will have replaced their 3-5 year old phone and be happy with the new one, regardless of specs

 

[colef1502]

There are more differences between the a19 and a19pro than just an extra gpu core. Double the level 2 cache, higher memory bandwidth etc.

 

[Happy_John]

Emerging market consumers have little credit to begin with. They buy phones outright. In mature markets, these are prepaid phone customers. The main reason they're on prepaid is because they don't have enough credit.

All of this means the $599 iPhone is critical for Apple, not just a side thought.

See the second part of my post. ( fair enough - I hadn't finished when I originally posted).

No, I don't think there will be a "new" $599 iPhone model. You may get last year's e model for this price, however.

 

[Deliro]

Well, this is a first. First time that Tim Cook doesn’t get on stage and say ltoday we introducing the best iPhone ever”.

 

[JPack]

Most consumers will probably not notice unless it is pointed out to them.

Pretty much this.

Tech bros said Neo wouldn't succeed because it only had 8GB RAM. Guess what, most people buying Neo don't even know what RAM is.

Same thing here. We've got nerds saying it's a showstopper because of fewer nits or GPU cores. Most people buying iPhone 18 couldn't care less.

 

[npmacuser5]

"too many people are opting for the standard model instead of pro, let's fix that"

Apple iPhone 17 sales higher than iPhone 16 by a significant number. The real reason is that customers are watching pricing more closely today. Correct, Apple needs a wider feature difference between the two models, Pro and Standard. The real focus is increasing both Pro and Standard sales numbers by not raising the price of the Pro with a wider feature difference.

 

[geta]

If this is true, there is no reason to keep the 18 in the lineup. 18e, Air 2, 18 Pro/Pro Max is more than enough.

 

[JPack]

See the second part of my post. ( fair enough - I hadn't finished when I originally posted).

No, I don't think there will be a "new" $599 iPhone model. You may get last year's e model for this price, however.

The definition of middle class for Indians is anyone making US$300 or more per month. The low cost of living works in India, but not for buying an iPhone. The number of Indians in a middle class comparable to the U.S. is less than 1%.

 

[apple contributor]

I dont get it. Why would you have pro phones, increase the lineup of budgets phones, and delete the middle ground??
Written like this it starts to make sense tho

 

[egdiroh]

I think this might be a relative downgrade. That is that the gap between the iPhone and iPhone pro may grow again with this revision. I doubt that they will release a quantifiably worse product without reducing the price.

 

[bluespark]

Welcome to the new boss
Same as the older boss

This decision would have been made while Tim was CEO, and he continues to be CEO until late summer.

 

[Zenman12]

I use the camera control button 95% of the time to launch the camera and then about 50% of the time to take a picture or adjust it. I use the action button multiple times per day -- mostly set as turning on the "flashlight" but I'll change it to other actions sometimes as well. Those two buttons were the most useful upgrade with my 16 Pro from my 13 Pro and the major reason I upgraded.

That's just one anecdote, but I'd miss both buttons if either disappeared. They are just too useful for me.

Do you think the action button could suffice if it was coded as such?

 

[Zenman12]

Yes, that's why I don't get the whole "narrowing" the gap between the two. The gap is not that wide.

Currently, the only real differences are: better screen and two cameras not eh base model (and the camera control, but that's very much a non-factor for the vast majority of people.

The "e", which is a very good phone, but, as you say, has little going for it over the base phone except a lower price, and that price difference is leveled out by going for an older model.

So I think the target market for the "e" is:

1) as a corporate phone, bought in bulk by corporations for the staff
2) for phone network carriers - as they can offer the "e" as the "no money up front, and paid for in 24 installments added onto your carrier fee" option." The carrier then can add on a couple of hundred bucks / euro / pounds as a up front fee for the base iPhone.

I thought it was for kids (that is what one person said). But interesting. I didn’t know companies buy iPhones in bulk.

 

[aggravated_raspberry]

There's a lot here warranting extreme skepticism:


Zero chance that Apple reduces the specs of the 18 display as compared to the 17. AFAIK Apple has never done something like that on any product in the modern era (i.e. post-Jobs II). The specs might be—in fact likely will be—the same as the 17, but not worse.


...what? Apple uses binned A- and M-series chips all the time and has never found it necessary to change the name of the chip. Nor do I think one less CPU core even approaches a significant enough "downgrade" to necessitate such a "disguise."


Again, what? The rumor is that Apple will "downgrade" the 18 but not "downgrade" the (presumably) forthcoming 18e, such that the product lines will effectively merge?

None of this makes any sense.

Totally agree, none of it makes any sense whatever way you look at it. The easiest and most efficient thing to do would be to keep shipping the 17 as is and find some bs way to market it as an upgrade, certainly not downgrade it. Absolutely no way the screen is going backwards in particular.

 

[Happy_John]

I thought it was for kids (that is what one person said). But interesting. I didn’t know companies buy iPhones in bulk.

Big companies do, because they give staff phones for "company only" use. They don't want people using their own devices for non-company work.

 

[SF7]

Following the emergence of a rumor that Apple is planning to downgrade the iPhone 18 to cut costs, further detail has emerged suggesting that display and chip specifications will see downgrades.

Earlier this week, the leaker known as "Fixed Focus Digital" said that the iPhone 18 features "certain manufacturing downgrades" that bring it more into line with the low-cost iPhone 18e model. The decision is said to be "a cost-cutting measure."

Now, the leaker has provided further detail. For example, the iPhone 18's display specifications will be downgraded, resulting in inferior screen quality. The manufacturing process itself is said to be "taking a step backward."

The iPhone 17 features a 6.3-inch display with ProMotion and up to 3,000 nits of peak outdoor brightness. Since ProMotion was among the biggest upgrades for the device last year, it seems likely that brightness could be among the display specifications to be reduced.

In a follow-up post, the leaker provided some insight into Apple's decision. Rather than increase the price of the iPhone 18, the company plans to downgrade certain components, including the chip, to maintain the same price point.

Although both the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17e feature the A19 chip, the iPhone 17's variant has a five-core GPU, instead of the iPhone 17e's four-core version. The iPhone 17 Pro's A19 Pro chip is essentially the same but has a six-core GPU.

As a result, a reduction from five to four GPU cores in the iPhone 18 could be among the planned downgrades. Fixed Focus Digital added that it is "highly probable" that Apple will tweak the name of the device's A-series chip in an effort to disguise the extent of downgrade.

The Weibo leaker ultimately doubled-down on the move, saying that "the downgrade in the standard iPhone 18 model's specifications has now been confirmed." Engineering Validation Testing (EVT) of the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e are apparently set to take place simultaneously in June.

The leaker's previous report outlined Apple's decision to implement new cost-control strategies for the device, including specific downgrades to manufacturing processes, chips, memory, and more. The move will "effectively bring it in line with the '18e' model."

With the iPhone 17e and iPhone 17, the biggest differences are the Dynamic Island, display size, ProMotion, brightness, the front facing camera, the Ultra Wide camera, and battery life. It is not clear which key differentiators will remain between the two devices in their next iterations.

• iPhone 17e vs. iPhone 17 Buyer's Guide: 35+ Differences Compared

The leaker apparently verified the information using multiple sources. They noted that the information originates from the same source who correctly confirmed that the iPhone 17e would continue to feature a "notch," contrary to false reports that the device would have a Dynamic Island.

The standard iPhone 18 is expected to launch months after the iPhone 18 Pro models as part of an all-new split launch strategy. Apple's usual fall iPhone announcement is expected to include the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the so-called foldable "iPhone Ultra." The iPhone 18e, iPhone 18, and iPhone Air 2 will likely follow in the spring of 2027.

Article Link: Leaker: Apple to Downgrade iPhone 18 in Two Ways

Let me distill this down to what it will very likely mean:

iPhone 18 will probably have the same size notches the iPhone 17 series and not receive the smaller Dynamic Island cut-out.

iPhone 18 will have a four core GPU A20, instead of five.

iPhone 18 will not get the LTPO+ panels that the iPhone 18 Pro and Fold/Ultra will receive. It will stick with the current LTPO. Apple will *NOT* downgrade the 3000 nits brightness.

It’s possible that the 18 Pro models will have higher than 3000 nits brightness.

 

[JPack]

There's a lot here warranting extreme skepticism:


Zero chance that Apple reduces the specs of the 18 display as compared to the 17. AFAIK Apple has never done something like that on any product in the modern era (i.e. post-Jobs II). The specs might be—in fact likely will be—the same as the 17, but not worse.

3D Touch says hi.

iPhone 11 Pro/Max users remember.

 

[transpo1]

This still sounds like a very un-Apple move. The way they've usually handled improved specs for devices is to wait longer than their cutting-edge competitors to add a new feature or spec, but once it's added, it'll never be taken away/downgraded in future iterations of the device.

If true, this is a horrible move and will result in reduced customer satisfaction scores and less sales. It’s worth it for them to just eat the cost of keeping it the same as 17.