I was worried about Apple’s rumored iPhone 18 release plans but now I think users will benefit

When reports trickled out that Apple could stagger its iPhone release schedule — essentially splitting up when it released the standard and Pro models of its phones — I had some concerns that the move might short-change people who didn't want to pay up for Apple's more expensive models. But with Apple's rumored plans coming into focus, I'm starting to see how all kinds of iPhone customers can benefit from different release times.

In case you're not up to date on your rumblings about iPhone release schedules, 2026 is supposed to usher in a new approach for Apple when it comes to introducing updated phones. In the past, Apple has shown off all its flagships all at once, with only the lower-end iPhone SE/iPhone E series models launching separately. Under the new plan, first reported by The Information last May, Apple would split up the iPhone Pro release from the regular iPhone.

In practical terms, this would mean that Apple's fall 2026 iPhone launch would only feature the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. (There's also talk of an iPhone Fold joining that launch party, but let's just focus on the main flagships here.) Meanwhile, the iPhone 18 would cool its heels until the following spring, when it would presumably launch alongside an iPhone 18e.

To put it another way, if reports of Apple's emerging strategy are accurate, the only lower-end iPhone we're going to see this year is a rumored iPhone 17e release, expected to happen sometime in the first half of the year. From then on, it's nothing but Pro models, at least until 2027.

Apple is reportedly heading in this direction to jazz up phone sales. By staggering the releases in this way, it might encourage more people to pony up for the more expensive Pro models — or so the thinking goes.

The risk, of course, is that Apple ends up alienating budget-minded customers. Not everyone wants to spend $1,099 or more on a phone, and that's the lowest price you can pay for an iPhone Pro model these days, after the iPhone 17 Pro saw a bump to its starting price last fall. What about those of us who prefer that the cost of our next handset remains in the triple digits?

I concede that this was my original line of thinking when reports of Apple's new approach to iPhone first emerged. But as I've had time to mull it over and see the iPhone 18 Pro rumors that have emerged, I'm beginning to think the move could pay off — not just for Apple, but for iPhone customers, too.

We don't need new phones all the time

The business of phone making is built around the idea that new phones have to come out every year to keep those sales figures and upgrade numbers climbing forever upward. But that's not how a lot of us are buying phones anymore.

Depending on who's doing the counting, the average person holds on to a phone for two to three years, and I imagine that period is getting extended even further as handset prices go up and the number of year-over-year improvements between models diminishes. While I have the luxury of trying out a lot of different phones as part of my job, I went roughly four years before upgrading to an iPhone 17 as my personal device last fall.

So the fact that Apple's allegedly going to come out with an iPhone 18 some 18 months after the iPhone 17 should be viewed not as with the suspicion that value-minded buyers are getting the short end of the stick but with relief that we're being spared the steady drumbeat of annual upgrades, even if it's just for one cycle. It's very likely that the absence of a new standard iPhone this fall will make the heart grow fonder for whatever Apple shows off in spring 2027.

iPhone 18 to benefit from trickle-down effect?

Any move to spread out the iPhone launch to Pro and non-Pro windows pretty much confirms what everybody already knows — the iPhone Pro models are going to get first dibs at the primo features, which eventually trickle down to the standard iPhone. That's certainly not going to change regardless of how Apple chooses to launch the iPhone 18 series, but splitting up those rollouts could increase the pace at which the entry-level model gets more premium features.

We've noticed in the last two iPhone updates that the base model has been closing the gap with its Pro counterparts. For example, the iPhone 16 picked up existing Pro features like the Action button and improved macro photography capabilities. The iPhone 17 took an even bigger leap forward, finally adding a fast-refreshing display, along with a 48MP ultrawide camera and 256GB of storage in the base model.

For the most part, the standard iPhone picks up those features a year or two after they appear in the iPhone Pro models. But with staggered launch windows, you could see some of the premium Pro features finding their way into the base model faster, as Apple won't feel as much pressure to make the Pro models stand out when all its iPhones are released at once.

Don't get me wrong — I still expect big differences to exist between the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18 Pro. When the standard model appears next spring, it's going to feature an A20 chipset and not the A20 Pro that the iPhone 18 Pro will offer in the fall. And forget about the regular iPhone gaining a dedicated telephoto lens. That feels like a feature Apple will reserve for its Pro models.

But other aspects like display improvements, design tweaks, and new battery technology? Those could move from model to model more rapidly, with just a six-month gap instead of the year-long wait standard iPhone users face now.

iPhone 18 outlook

This all supposes that the reporting we've heard so far pans out and that Apple winds up following through on a staggered iPhone 18 launch. But if it does, I'm a lot less worried about the prospect than I used to be.

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