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No iPhone 18 in 2026, Another Report Claims

mech986 said:
While I/we understand your fondness for the smaller iPhones and phones in general, the overwhelming sales in smartphones are larger models. The sales of iPhone Mini’s and SE models never rose above 5-6 million per sales year, out of over 220-240M iPhones sold. While a vocal group, not much in actual buying.
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I was going to suggest that a mini – or at least less enormous – iPhone might have reeled in millions of users like me still stuck on an iPhone 13 mini.

But I hadn’t realised we were so pitiful a share of the Apple pie.

My entire iPhone history is 5 (2012) > SE (2016) > 13 mini (2021).

So I’m due a new phone but really can’t decide what I want based on the current rumours. Clearly I’ll be getting a much larger device than my previous phones.
 
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JCCL said:
I'm sure most Pro Max users won't be interested in a Fold at least at the price it will launch.....
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For a long while the pro max was the best selling model.
You'd be surprised at how many people out there simply move the slider to the end and simply buy "the best one"
 
Ah yes, they're giving it the iPhone Mini treatment. Don't launch it with the expensive models to force people into spending more money and boosting flagship sales figures to cook the books. Later, release cheaper model and potentially drop it with data showing that fewer people bought it so there's no demand.

Classic.
 
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TracesOfArsenic said:
Ah yes, they're giving it the iPhone Mini treatment. Don't launch it with the expensive models to force people into spending more money and boosting flagship sales figures to cook the books. Later, release cheaper model and potentially drop it with data showing that fewer people bought it so there's no demand.

Classic.
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It'd be strange to have a pro model, and a "e" model and not have a base model.
But i don't disagree, putting it on the later release, especially if it's going to have a 6 (or worse yet 18) month old chipset; is just going to push people to the e; or push people to wait and save another 6 months to get the next pro.

I struggle to see the base model do as well as it had been in the last couple years.
 
Considering about 1/3 of sales go to the standard iPhone base model, that's a bold and possibly stupid move by greedy af Tim Cook. Apparently he learned nothing from the Vision Pro disaster.

Does he really think not having a base model available will make those same people pay more for the Pro models? And who exactly does he think is going to pay $2k for a device that amounts to both the worst iPhone and the worst iPad available? A million units to the people who buy anything/everything doesn't count. That doesn't hold a candle to base model iPhone sales.
 
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dandyryan said:
damn apple really said

eyj4re61ibe21.jpg
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I wonder if she has a Vision Pro..

I could see that one.
 
Lounge vibes 05 said:
I think it’s pretty clear that, just like the MacBook Air before it, the iPhone air is very likely to replace the regular iPhone to create more of a differentiation between it and the pros.
It’s likely to take a couple years, though, but eventually I would not be surprised if the lineup is just E, Air (two sizes), Pro and Pro Max, Fold.
There are four iPads, there are four watches, there are four MacBooks, there are four AirPods, four iPhones is the next logical step.

Plus with the regular iPhone not getting a new design and the “17e” set to adopt several features from the standard like the Dynamic Island, it makes sense They will eventually just be one model instead of two separate ones.

So you’ll have the thicker standard economy model, the thin colorful attractive regular “Air” model, the thicker pro model, and the folding model.
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There's already 4 models in the iPhone Line-up, e, regular, Pro and Pro Max. Do you think the foldable will replace Pro or Pro Max?
 
GioGiusi said:
Considering about 1/3 of sales go to the standard iPhone base model, that's a bold and possibly stupid move by greedy af Tim Cook. Apparently he learned nothing from the Vision Pro disaster.

Does he really think not having a base model available will make those same people pay more for the Pro models? And who exactly does he think is going to pay $2k for a device that amounts to both the worst iPhone and the worst iPad available? A million units to the people who buy anything/everything doesn't count. That doesn't hold a candle to base model iPhone sales.
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I think it'd be successful.
Apple are infamous for using the pricing ladder.

Omitting a $800 option, but introducing a new $900 option (17 air) means people have to choose between ponying up $100 to get the new model or wait 6+ months, and it's not hard for impatient people to justify $100 vs waiting.

In contrast in previous years, people had to weigh up $200 extra for the pro; or go for the base which was available at the same time. Which required more mental gymnasitcs to justify.
 
SactoGuy18 said:
I wonder will we see a change in the number naming convention for the iPhone? Will the new models be called iPhone 26, iPhone 26 Air, iPhone 26 Pro and iPhone 26 Pro Max? And in 2026, we'll have the iPhone 26e in spring 2026 and iPhone 27 Pro, iPhone 27 Pro Max and the new iPhone 27 Fold in September 2026?
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God, I hope not. That would really confuse everyone.
 
I think there will be just one Pro.
Fold, Pro (Max), Air + Regular and/or SE
 
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Think this will be true. With foldable launching in 2026, expecting Apple to have a new base model and 'e' variant in the first half of the year from 2027. Second half for Pro models, foldable and the slim iPhone.
 
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So 2026 will be a terrible year for the bottom line, with a sharp recovery in 2027. Noted.
 
Moreplease said:
I was going to suggest that a mini – or at least less enormous – iPhone might have reeled in millions of users like me still stuck on an iPhone 13 mini.

But I hadn’t realised we were so pitiful a share of the Apple pie.

My entire iPhone history is 5 (2012) > SE (2016) > 13 mini (2021).

So I’m due a new phone but really can’t decide what I want based on the current rumours. Clearly I’ll be getting a much larger device than my previous phones.
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I'm in the same boat. I skipped all the big models and jumped from 8 to 13 mini directly. Still using it to this day. Hopefully something more ergonomic will come back on offer. Otherwise I might look elsewhere.
 
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As I posted a few months ago. The base model will cease to exist with the Air and E series filling its place.

Less (cameras, features etc) for a high price.
 
If they adopt the software numbering with their hardware it'll be the iPhone 26 (or 27). 18 would be bypassed.
 
GioGiusi said:
Considering about 1/3 of sales go to the standard iPhone base model, that's a bold and possibly stupid move by greedy af Tim Cook. Apparently he learned nothing from the Vision Pro disaster.

Does he really think not having a base model available will make those same people pay more for the Pro models? And who exactly does he think is going to pay $2k for a device that amounts to both the worst iPhone and the worst iPad available? A million units to the people who buy anything/everything doesn't count. That doesn't hold a candle to base model iPhone sales.
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AVP is a beautiful example of the world's most successful big tech firm moving in some excellent new tech. Apple even sold more than 100k units of the initial tech demo device at $3,500 each. Only haters or really, really unaware people call the AVP "the Vision Pro disaster."

As to foldable phones, again only haters or really, really unaware people make inane statements like "the worst iPhone and the worst iPad available" when no one has even seen a foldable yet.

Plus of course as a new category of device its merit will not be in whether or not it is a superb iPhone or a superb tablet. Its merit will be how well it performs as a new device [foldable].
 
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CATiNTHESTORE said:
That's exactly what it is: greedy marketing. Nowadays, the price differences and configurations are not good enough to justify choosing more expensive models.
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So buy cheaper if that is your preference, or buy used. However building product lines at varied price points and shipping at different times of year is simply good business, not "greedy marketing." Good business is good for all of us.
 
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Allen_Wentz said:
AVP is a beautiful example of the world's most successful big tech firm moving in some excellent new tech. Apple even sold more than 100k units of the initial tech demo device at $3,500 each. Only haters or really, really unaware people call the AVP "the Vision Pro disaster."

As to foldable phones, again only haters or really, really unaware people make inane statements like "the worst iPhone and the worst iPad available" when no one has even seen a foldable yet.

Plus of course as a new category of device its merit will not be in whether or not it is a superb iPhone or a superb tablet. Its merit will be how well it performs as a new device [foldable].
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You couldn't be more wrong in a single comment. Vision Pro sales were a disaster, which is why no second generation and no cheaper model have been announced 1.5 years since it was released, why there are barely any apps for it, why there is barely any content for it. It is a flop. It is well known that it was the tech demo hardware for the Apple Glasses, and Tim Cook was not willing to wait 5-10 more years to ship it. Regardless of the price, its total sales amount to about 1 days worth of Apple's revenue. It's a flop.

And yes, we have already heard plenty about the foldable, and to pretend otherwise is disingenuous. We know the approximate size, and specific feature choices from the most reliable Apple sources that exist. It is a short and fat iPhone aspect ratio, something no other iPhone has ever been, without Face ID, and it unfolds to almost the size of the iPad mini, which until this comes out, is currently the worst iPad. Hence, worst iPhone and worst iPad. This is easy enough to state now from the available information.
 
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frownface said:
I think it'd be successful.
Apple are infamous for using the pricing ladder.

Omitting a $800 option, but introducing a new $900 option (17 air) means people have to choose between ponying up $100 to get the new model or wait 6+ months, and it's not hard for impatient people to justify $100 vs waiting.

In contrast in previous years, people had to weigh up $200 extra for the pro; or go for the base which was available at the same time. Which required more mental gymnasitcs to justify.
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Apple already trialed this with iPhone 14 by releasing the Pro models a month before the other models, and by not updating the base model at all that year, just repackaging the iPhone 13. The ASP was still the same, and the spread was still the same, by the end of the fiscal year.
 
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