If Apple indeed manage to fit all the current iPhone 17 tech into Air body, without any of the current compromises (two cameras, stereo speakers and battery capacity), while also keeping the price similar to 17, I will seriously consider it. For now, however, it remains a pretty concept.
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No iPhone 18 Launch This Year, Reports Suggest
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If Apple indeed manage to fit all the current iPhone 17 tech into Air body, without any of the current compromises (two cameras, stereo speakers and battery capacity), while also keeping the price similar to 17, I will seriously consider it. For now, however, it remains a pretty concept.
Its what? The iPhone Pro is the flagship. By definition, the other models, including the iPhone, are not.
That is probably why they are doing it. Trying to get those impulse buyers to pick up the higher-earning pro models for apple's bottom line. They made the base model too good so they have to do something to hamstring it and push the sales of their pro/fold models up.
The difference between the iPhone 17 and iPhone 16 is pretty noticeable though. That's why it's selling so well.
- larger and higher resolution display
- 120Hz pro motion
- always on display
- higher peak nits
- improved cameras with center stage
- big jump in battery life
- bigger improvements to A chip
But the difference between the iPhone 18 and iPhone 17 is expected to be small, similar to the difference between the iPhone 16 and 15, or the difference between the iPhone 15 and 14, or the difference between the iPhone 14 and 13, so I doubt the iPhone 18 will sell as well as the iPhone 17.
Pushing back the iPhone 18 release to 2027 allows Apple to focus marketing on the (high-priced and higher margin) iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro max.
The article did not mention at all iPhone 17e coming according to most rumors around feb-april 2026. It's important to add this to the big picture of why Apple could delay base 18 for extra 6 months than usual.
Many rumors suggest than Apple plan to launch Pro/Foldable in the classic Sept window and pushing "e"/base models of same generation 6 months later to convince even more people toward the higher profits models.
I feel like Apple strategy is more convincing maxmium number of people and not just enthusiasts toward most expansive models rather than having a line up that make sense from a supply/demand standpoint
TLDR : $$$$ move
Many rumors suggest than Apple plan to launch Pro/Foldable in the classic Sept window and pushing "e"/base models of same generation 6 months later to convince even more people toward the higher profits models.
I feel like Apple strategy is more convincing maxmium number of people and not just enthusiasts toward most expansive models rather than having a line up that make sense from a supply/demand standpoint
TLDR : $$$$ move
Agreed, and Steve still happened to be in charge. I wonder if he’d have allowed it (and Apple itself) to become this fragmented.
Just like the RAM situation this could create a shortage and push the iPhone prices way up even older ones.
Launching with a higher priced / higher end model before introducing a lower priced / lower end one is a business strategy known as price skimming.
Many decades have shown this is a successful strategy that allows a business to maximize returns in the shortest amount of time from those willing to pay a premium because they're impatient, not price sensitive, early adopters, etc.
I agree with you but main selling points over base 16 are just : double storage, double Hz, better selfie cam, 0.2 more inches of screen for same MSRP of base 16 previous year.
Sure SoC upgrade, more nits etc are great too but that’s not enough to convince a mainstream audience especially for a base model
He would have discontinued the base iPhone with the release of the first Pro.
We've been getting only one new iPhone model per year for quite some time now. Some people might use "series" or "generation" in lieu of "model" but they all refer to the same thing.
In 2019, we got iPhone model # 11
In 2020, we got iPhone model # 12
In 2021, we got iPhone model # 13
In 2022, we got iPhone model # 14
In 2023, we got iPhone model # 15
In 2024, we got iPhone model # 16
In 2025, we got iPhone model # 17 (unless you consider the iPhone Air a completely different model from the 17)
This year, we'll get iPhone model # 18
Maybe you mean one iPhone trim? iPhone 17 is one trim. iPhone (17) Air is another trim. iPhone 17 Pro is another trim. iPhone 17 Pro Max is yet another trim.
Then there are the different variants: 256GB Lavender, 256GB Sage, 256GB Mist Blue, 256GB White, 256GB Black, 512GB Lavender, 512GB Sage, 512GB Mist Blue, etc.
But it’s too popular. Apple really wants you to be paying more, hence why they’re now going to go with the Pro devices getting a 6 month lead over the regular model. Apples hoping it pushes more people towards the more expensive models.
100% agree. Removing the base model release from the holiday gifting season is a bonehead move.
Feature parody is arguably the main reason the iPhone Air hasn't caught on. Its A19 chip parodies the A19Pro in the iPhone 17 models. Its one sad single camera parodies the two or three cameras in other iPhone models. Its C1 modem parodies the Qualcomm modems found in better iPhone models. And so on. Once the iPhone Air matures and its features reach parity instead of being clear downgrades from more capable iPhone models, only then will it have a chance to take its place as the entry-level iPhone.
Maybe it’s just me, but base should come out first and then Pro models. This goes for everything, including MacBooks.
This should make many commenters here happy. I can’t count how many times over the years I’ve read people calling for Apple to not update products as frequently.
back to school in spring? what??
if anything, bts purchasers would be more incentivized to wait the month between school start (september) and iphone release, rather than purchase a phone in spring for school starting six months later.
overall, i agree with what you’re saying. but saying that bts would be a motivator for spring iphone purchases is rather far-fetched.
How?
Who is the person out there thinking of updating that would make the update to an entire different product category, for likely twice the price, because of a lack (allegedly) of the standard iPhone update?
I know some won’t like this but I think the pro and pro max should be combined for just a pro max. And they should have three tier system (high mid budget). Which would lower cost and prevent price hikes and even lower them across the board (if they weren’t greedy 😂).