We’re still a good few months out from Apple’s next iPhone reveal, but as happens every year, the leaks are already painting a pretty decent picture of what’s coming when it comes to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
Apple’s widely tipped to completely rejig its usual September launch strategy this year, with talk of a split rollout that’ll shine the spotlight firmly on its premium models (and a long-rumoured foldable) later this year in September, while punting the standard iPhone 18 into 2027.
As for the upgrades? Don’t expect a dramatic redesign. Early rumours suggest the iPhone 18 Pro could feature a slightly refined design with a smaller Dynamic Island, alongside a new variable aperture main camera and an upgraded telephoto lens. Most of the biggest changes are expected under the bonnet, including Apple’s next-gen A20 chip and improved 5G and satellite connectivity. I’ve pulled together every iPhone 18 rumour so far, from release date to price and more.
Read more: These are the best refurbished iPhone deals
Apple iPhone 18 Pro release date
The release timeline for the iPhone 18 and subsequent iPhones could look a lot different going forward. In late 2025, the ever-reliable Apple insider Mark Gurman claimed that the company will be moving away from its annual autumnal launch extravaganza. Instead, Gurman claimed it will be spreading its iPhone launches throughout the year.
According to Gurman, the reason for the shift is that Apple’s decision to cram everything into September has become burdensome. It gives the company fewer opportunities to spread out revenue across the year, while also straining its marketing and engineering teams and overloading suppliers.
So Apple’s predicted to shake up its launch window entirely. Gurman says we won’t be seeing the regular iPhone 18 unveiled in September this year. Instead, Apple will only launch the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, as well as its first foldable phone.
The tech giant is then predicted to launch the regular iPhone 18 in the spring of 2027, alongside the iPhone 18e. There’s precedent for this – we’ve just seen Apple launch the iPhone 17e in March, for example. Gurman says the brand could also launch a follow-up to the iPhone Air.
As for the actual release date of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, that’s still fairly easy to predict, given that the date of Apple’s September spectacle isn’t expected to change.
Apple almost always announces its new line of smartphones in the second week of September. To give you an idea, the iPhone 17 was announced on Tuesday 9 September 2025, the iPhone 16 was announced on Monday 9 September 2024, the iPhone 15 on Tuesday 5 September 2023, the iPhone 14 on Wednesday 7 September 2022 and the iPhone 13 on Tuesday 14 September 2021.
Labor Day in the US is on Monday 7 September this year, so Apple is unlikely to unveil its latest launches then. I’m expecting Apple to show off the iPhone 18 Pro on either Tuesday 8 September or Wednesday 9 September – most likely the latter, with pre-orders going live on Friday 11 September. The iPhone 18 Pro could then be released on Friday 18 September.
Apple iPhone 18 Pro price
While I always take pricing rumours with a grain of salt, there’s been a lot of chatter this year due to the skyrocketing prices of DRAM and NAND storage, which has caused havoc among tech firms.
Samsung notably increased the price of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra this year by £30. Could the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max receive a similar price hike?
Right now, analysts are suggesting Apple will absorb any extra costs. According to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max will cost the same as the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. In a February 2026 research note obtained by MacRumours, Pu said Apple was looking at keeping the prices the same or similar by focusing on “cost management”.
In the research note, Pu said Apple had been negotiating with Samsung and SK Hynix to achieve relatively “favourable” memory chip deals, and was looking to lower the costs of other parts, such as the camera and display.
The pricing prediction was first raised by the ever-reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who said in January that Apple was looking to keep the price of the iPhone 18 Pro the same as the previous generation.
A few quick thoughts on Apple/iPhone memory price hikes:
— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) January 27, 2026
1. The 1Q26 LPDDR price hikes mentioned in the news are pretty close to what I’ve heard. NAND flash increases, however, are a bit lower.
2. iPhone memory pricing is now negotiated quarterly instead of every six months, so…
Apple iPhone 18 design and display
While the iPhone 17 Pro looked dramatically different to the iPhone 16 Pro, leakers right now are predicting the iPhone 18 Pro will look fairly similar to the iPhone 17 Pro. The biggest design change is that the Dynamic Island will be shrunk slightly, so that it doesn’t take up as much screen real estate.
In January this year, leaker Ice Universe claimed the Dynamic Island will be 35 per cent narrower than the current version, with a width of around 13.5mm, down from 20.7mm. The leaker shared a mock-up of what that could look like. Ice Universe’s track record has been fairly good for Samsung leaks, but a bit mixed when it comes to Apple.
The Dynamic Island cutout width on the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max has been reduced from 20.76 mm to 13.49 mm, representing a reduction of approximately 35%. pic.twitter.com/dLnUdCts7z
— Ice Universe (@UniverseIce) January 23, 2026
Earlier rumours suggested Apple was testing a smaller hole-punch cutout instead of a Dynamic Island, with Face ID moving under the screen. This would give the iPhone a screen without interruptions for the first time. However, in January 2026, Weibo leaker Instant Digital stated this had been a mistranslation, and that there would be no hole-punch cutout instead of a Dynamic Island or under-the-screen Face ID.
Instead, the Face ID flood illuminator is the only component that will be moved under the screen, because it’s relatively small. Display industry analyst Ross Young claims Apple will keep this smaller Dynamic Island until at least 2027.
Of course, I was saying that not all Face ID components will be under a transparent area of the display, resulting in a smaller notch. I could have said that more clearly. We expect this look to last for both 2026 and 2027…
— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) January 21, 2026
Several leakers have since backed up Ice Universe’s claim. In late March, X account Early Apple shared a supposed prototype image of the iPhone 18 Pro with a shrunken Dynamic Island. The camera flash also appears to illuminate a faint circular area on the display, hinting at the Face ID flood illuminator being hidden under the screen.
Able to share this now.
— Early Apple (@earlyappleleaks) March 27, 2026
First look at iPhone 18 Pros shrunken Dynamic Island.
Stay the same on base models. pic.twitter.com/ocVMQLU6sw
Ice Universe also claimed in late March that the bezels on the iPhone 18 series will remain the same as the iPhone 17 and iPhone 16, while reiterating that the Dynamic Island will be smaller.
iPhone 18 series bezel are the same as iPhone 17 and iPhone 16.
— Ice Universe (@UniverseIce) March 27, 2026
But all three iPhone 18 reduce the width of Dynamic Island. pic.twitter.com/g50BKPPiws
Another interesting rumour from Instant Digital is that the iPhone 18 Pro Max could be slightly thicker than the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and could weigh roughly 243g. If true, it would make it the heaviest iPhone Apple’s ever produced. That’s 10g heavier than the iPhone 17 Pro Max and 3g heavier than the iPhone 14 Pro Max (the current heavyweight record holder).
Other than that, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max could look similar to the previous models, boasting 6.3in and 6.9in displays as well as a triple-lens system with the plateau design introduced on the iPhone 17 Pro.
Apple iPhone 18 Pro colours
One interesting decision Apple made for the iPhone 17 Pro was to give the handsets a two-tone design. Controversially, the glass back for MagSafe charging is a different colour to the aluminium frame, making it look less uniform. Apple is reportedly looking to reduce this contrast for the iPhone 18 Pro.
In November 2025, Instant Digital reported that Apple had changed the phone’s back glass process to help minimise the two-tone look seen on the iPhone 17 Pro, giving the phones a more unified look.
In late February, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman also claimed that Apple was testing a deep red colour for the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Fold.
Apple iPhone 18 Pro cameras
Of all the features to receive the biggest shake-up, it’s almost always the camera system
In December 2024, Ming-Chi Kuo claimed the main rear camera on the iPhone 18 Pro will feature variable aperture for the first time, making it act more like a DSLR camera. Variable aperture would enable iPhone users to control how much light comes through the lens. Kuo claimed Dutch manufacturer BE Semiconductor would supply the assembly equipment used to produce the aperture blades.
Several reputable leakers have since corroborated this leak in recent months, with ETNews the latest to do so, in October 2025. The iPhones have had fixed apertures for years, so this could be a significant upgrade.
Apple is also reportedly testing a new telephoto camera for the iPhone 18 Pro. Weibo leaker Digital Chat Station claimed in October last year that the telephoto lens will also feature a larger aperture, being upgraded from the iPhone 17 Pro’s f/2.8 telephoto lens.
Another (fairly old) leak, from January 2025, comes from Taiwanese publication DigiTimes. The publication claimed that Samsung has developed a new three-layer stacked camera sensor system specifically for the iPhone 18. According to DigiTimes, this would make the iPhone 18’s cameras more responsive and reduce noise.
Apple iPhone 18 Pro specs
Spec details for the iPhone 18 Pro are still fairly thin on the ground, but several leaks suggest Apple’s next-generation A20 chip will power the devices.
According to Jeff Pu, the A20 chip is expected to use TSMC’s new 2nm manufacturing process, which could make it up to 15 per cent faster and 30 per cent more efficient than the current A19 chip.
An August 2025 report from Ming-Chi Kuo also suggests the A20 could use a new chip packaging method that integrates RAM directly with the processor, potentially improving performance for Apple Intelligence features, while freeing up space inside the phone.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman also claims iPhone 18 Pro models will feature Apple’s next-generation C2 modem. The chip is expected to improve 5G performance and could add support for mmWave connectivity, bringing it closer to the Qualcomm modems Apple currently uses. Weibo leaker Fixed Digital also suggested, in February 2026, that it could support new satellite connectivity standards, potentially allowing for full internet access over satellite networks when traditional coverage isn’t available.
In terms of battery life, according to Digital Chat Station, the iPhone 18 Pro Max could feature a larger battery in the region of 5,100mAh to 5,200mAh, with additional efficiency gains coming from the new A20 chip.
I’ll be rounding up all the latest leaks right here on this page as more rumours come in, so stay tuned.
The best iPhone 17 Pro carrier deals
Don’t want to wait months to get your hands on a new iPhone? The iPhone 17 Pro is a splendid phone and, right now, it doesn’t look like the upgrade to the iPhone 18 Pro will be massive. Below, we’ve rounded up some of the best iPhone 17 Pro carrier deals in the UK.
iPhone 17 Pro with 100GB data: £53 per month, £39 up-front, Affordablemobiles.co.uk
Affordable Mobiles currently has one of the cheapest iPhone 17 Pro deals. You can get the phone with 100GB of data for £53 per month and a £39 up-front cost. The deal is with mobile network Three, meaning you get access to Three+ rewards and free wifi on the London underground.
iPhone 17 Pro Max with 25GB of data: £49.99 per month, Tescomobile.co.uk
Tesco Mobile currently has one of the best iPhone 17 Pro Max deals right now. Clubcard members can get the iPhone 17 Pro Max with 25GB of data for £49.99 per month, down from £55.99 per month. That’ll save you £216 over the course of your contract. Tesco Mobile piggybacks off O2’s network, so you’ll still get the same speeds as if you were with O2 direct.
For more, we’ve reviewed the latest iPhone 17e to see if it’s worth the price tag
