Where Is the IPhone 18?
Today’s Apple “Surprise and Shine” presentation was different from previous ones: we didn’t see the iPhone 18 unveiled.
For the first time since Apple started releasing multiple iPhone models per year (that was back in 2013 with the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s, when times were simpler), we have multiple Pro models without a standard version included. So what’s behind this change? And has the iPhone 18 been canceled? Apple, as expected, isn’t saying anything, but we have enough clues to make an educated guess.
Why Apple Hasn’t Announced the iPhone 18
If you’ve been following Apple rumors since the iPhone 17’s release, you know this has been predicted for a long time—specifically by the industry’s most respected source of Apple leaks, journalist Mark Gurman. Back in November 2025, Gurman predicted in Bloomberg that the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the foldable iPhone Duo wouldn’t arrive until 2026.
The reason? According to Gurman, this allows revenue to be distributed more evenly throughout the year, rather than introducing most iPhones every September. It also reduces the burden on Apple’s marketing teams and reduces the likelihood of mishaps like the Siri AI update, which was announced long before it was ready . Gurman also stated that this will likely become the norm for “many years to come,” so get used to it.
However, Gurman wasn’t the first to report this news. In May 2025, Wayne Ma of The Information reported that Apple would keep the standard iPhone 18 model in production until 2027, based on conversations with anonymous supply chain sources. According to this report, one of the reasons for this decision was to free up more space for a foldable iPhone, which makes sense given that this is Apple’s first attempt at creating a smartphone in this form factor.
Just a day later, renowned and usually well-informed Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo confirmed this information, stating that we would see the foldable iPhone, iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and iPhone Air 2 (then still called iPhone 18 Slim) in September 2026. With the exception of the latter model, he was right.
Kuo added another reason for the changes: competition from Asian phone makers. Many of these manufacturers, including Samsung, release their flagship models in the first half of the year, and Apple will have to catch up by September.
Here’s when the iPhone 18 is expected to be announced.
While the iPhone 18 wasn’t unveiled at the “Surprise and Shine” event, there’s no indication it’s been canceled. Apple still wants to target those who prefer to spend a little less on their iPhones (the iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,119), and the best guesses we’ve seen point to the base version of the phone arriving sometime in March.
It’s unlikely to launch alone. We also expect the iPhone 18e and iPhone Air 2 to launch simultaneously, followed by the iPhone 17e (released in March 2026) and the original iPhone Air (released in September 2025, along with the iPhone 17 series).
It was this “e” series of phones that laid the groundwork for the shift in release schedule we’re seeing now with the standard iPhone 18 model. The first of these more affordable phones, the iPhone SE, arrived in March 2016, followed by the iPhone SE 2 (April 2020), iPhone SE 3 (March 2022), and iPhone 16e (February 2025). This demonstrates that Apple has been eyeing the February-March-April period for its entry-level iPhone models for a full decade.
Rumors suggest the iPhone 18 will use the A20 chipset and likely feature a RAM upgrade . We now know that the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max feature a smaller Dynamic Home Island capable of displaying up to three active screens in real time, and this should be retained in the standard model (along with iOS 27 ).
Apple didn’t mention the iPhone 18 at all today—not even in the post-credits scene—but it would be a big surprise if this phone didn’t arrive late sometime in the first quarter of next year. If this is the iPhone you want, you’ll just have to wait a little longer.