The iPhone 17 might have just arrived, but we've already been hearing plenty of rumors about what the next generation of iPhones might offer. iPhone 18 rumors have been popping up online for months, and with each new one, we're starting to form a picture of what next year's phones might have to offer.
It's still early on, and those rumors could easily change in the coming months — some of them already have, in fact. Despite many rumors promising that Face ID would disappear under the iPhone 18 Pro's display, recent reports claim that it won't actually be the case. On top of that, while we'd love to see a 2nm A20 Pro chip debut next year, we've been hearing rumors about that particular upgrade for a couple of years — and it hasn't happened yet.
But, skepticism aside, iPhone 18 rumors have been coming in and they're not going to stop anytime soon. Here are 7 of the biggest iPhone 18 rumors we've heard so far.
A brand new release schedule
The most shocking rumor we've heard about the iPhone 18 so far is that the iPhone 18 may not be released in September, as is usually the case. Instead, rumors suggest that Apple will use the Fall launch event to announce the iPhone 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max, and the foldable iPhone Fold. The iPhone 18 is allegedly going to arrive in March 2027, alongside the iPhone 18e. It's not clear what will happen with the iPhone 18 Air.
That would be quite the change, considering Apple has always aimed to release all of its flagship iPhones during the September event. The only time it missed that deadline was in 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic affecting operations enough that the iPhone 12 launch event had to be pushed back to October.
While it makes sense Apple wouldn't want to overwhelm a launch event with too many iPhones, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to push the standard model back by around six months.
Under display Face ID may have to wait
While we have heard a bunch of rumors about the possibility of Face ID finally vanishing below the screen on iPhone 18 Pro, that may no longer be the case. That's according to Weibo leaker Instant Digital, who claims that the iPhone 18 series "does not have a single camera" with Face ID hiding under the screen. According to the leaker all we're going to get next year is a slightly narrower Dynamic Island pill.
So there's a chance we may not see an iPhone with a single hole-punch camera cutout next year. Or at all, since the iPhone 19 (or iPhone 20) is rumored to have an uninterrupted display with no visible cutouts for either Face ID or the front camera.
No major design changes on the 18 Pro
Considering the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max just underwent a pretty major design change, it's no surprise to hear that the iPhone 18 Pro won't be changing things up. After all, Apple just introduced the new aluminum unibody design and full-width camera bar/forged plateau, and it wouldn't make sense to scrap it so soon afterwards. It doesn't matter how controversial the design (ahem, Scratchgate) might end up being.
Digital Chat Station is the source of this rumor, and claims that the Pro and Pro Max will retain their respective 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch displays next year, which is also not a massive shock. However, there may be some subtler changes, such as a "transparent finish" to the rear glass panel on both phones. But that should still leave us with a familiar look on both phones.
Apple's C2 Modem
The road to Apple launching its own modem has apparently been full of potholes, with various issues popping up that slowed down development. But all that changed with the launch of iPhone 16e, which was the first phone to feature the new Apple-made C1 modem.
So far the only other iPhone with an Apple modem is iPhone Air, which has the updated C1X chip, but we may see the C2 modem appear in even more devices next year. According to reports, that could mean improved efficiency and, as a result, better battery life.
The main obstacle to this is that Apple has a deal for Qualcomm to supply iPhone modems until some unspecified point in 2027. So while we may see more iPhones feature the C2 modem next year, some phones may have to miss out on the Apple-made chips. But which ones? Only time will tell.
Camera Control may be changing
We've heard a bunch of crazy rumors about Apple's plans for Camera Control — including some claims that Apple may add a second dedicated camera button to the top of the iPhone 17 Pro. There's also been a rumor that Apple might ditch the button entirely, though a more recent rumor from Instant Digital claims it'll actually just be undergoing some changes — though maybe not good ones.
The leaker claims that Apple may end up trying to simplify the Camera Control button to reduce costs. That could involve removing the capacitive button feature and introducing a button that only offers pressure-sensitivity. However, the new button could still support the same gesture controls that we've seen on iPhone 16 and iPhone 17.
Which doesn't sound like a particularly huge change, though we won't know for sure until we can actually see this hypothetical new Camera Control button for ourselves.
2nm A20 chipset
Ever since Apple introduced the 3nm A17 Pro chipset a few years back, there have been plenty of rumors suggesting that the first 2nm A-series chip is on the horizon. As it turns out, A-series manufacturer TSMC ended up just utilizing improved versions of the 3nm process instead. Those offered benefits, but not nearly as many as the leap to a 2nm process might.
So what's the benefit? A 2nm chip would be much denser than a 3nm one, which increases the overall transistor count inside. That allows for better performance, while simultaneously reducing power consumption. So you end up with a more powerful phone with a longer battery life. On top of this, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims that changes to the physical production process should further increase yield and efficiency.
The A17 Pro wasn't as big a deal as everyone initially expected, so we might want to temper our expectations here. But considering Apple has already been pushing the limits of performance and battery life on iPhones, this should see the iPhone 18 series get a much bigger boost than we otherwise would have gotten.
An all-new Ultrawide camera
While the Pro iPhones have had an improved 48MP ultrawide camera for a couple of years now, the standard iPhone has missed out. The good news is that this upgrade is coming, and might make an appearance on the iPhone 18. The bad news is that at least one rumor claims that it won't happen until the iPhone 19 instead.
But should the iPhone 18 get this long-awaited upgrade, it's claimed that Samsung may start providing Apple with new image sensors to make that happen. Specifically, a 1/2.6-inch 48MP three-layer stacked "CMOS" image sensor. While that is very technical, the benefit to this new design is that it offers faster camera readout speeds, reduced rolling shutter effects, while also improving frame rates and low-light performance. All in all, that means you get a massive boost to overall image quality.
But whether those upgrades will come to all iPhone cameras, or just the ultrawide camera, isn't entirely clear right now.
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