Apple likes order. It likes people queuing up to give them money for an iPhone [insert number here] year after year. Historically, this takes place in September — close to Christmas. According to a new leak from Weibo leaker Fixed Focus Digital (via 9to5Mac), Apple is readying a shift in that strategy for the upcoming base iPhone 18.
iPhone 18, when?
That still leaves two iPhones on the shelves come September– possibly four, if the rumours of an iPhone Fold and Air 2 are true. The base iPhone 18 is now reportedly targeting an early 2027 release, coinciding with Apple’s more affordable iPhone ‘e’ range. The latest addition, the iPhone 17e, was only revealed at the beginning of March.
If the base iPhone 18 were to be postponed, we could expect to see it crop up around the same time, in 2027.
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The reasons for the delay are still unclear. But if Apple really is gearing up to release the iPhone Fold and Air 2 alongside the iPhone 18, it makes sense to clear some room. The Fruit Company may also be hoping to convert customers who would normally choose a ‘base’ iPhone into fans of the pricier Pro and Pro Max variants.
It would also allow Apple to manufacture the iPhone 18 simultaneously with the iPhone 18e. Fixed Focus Digital reckons this is exactly Apple’s plan to “downgrade” manufacturing processes for the smartphone. Exactly what cost-cutting methods it’ll implement, however, is still under wraps. Goodbye, aluminium body?
