A lot of changes are being planned for the iPhone 18 series, which could make next year’s lineup Apple’s biggest smartphone release yet. Clearly, the launch is a full year away, but the leaks are rolling in fast, and we already have some interesting details about the iPhone 18 family that we’d love to share.
You may remember the Apple C1 modem that came with the iPhone 16e. Well, a successor to that chip, a C2 modem, will land on the iPhone 18 lineup in 2026, so Apple could finally cut ties with Qualcomm. That C2 has a potential for better mmWave support and even more power efficiency than the original C1.
There’s another big upgrade possibly coming to the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max cameras. They plan on giving these iPhones a variable aperture, and it could be a huge deal for shutterbugs. Apple has been stuck at F/1.78 static aperture for more than three years now, so this is a huge step forward for better depth of field, more light intake, and sharper subject focus.
Those are the surface-level upgrades, but a customary change we are all hoping for is the Apple A20 chip. They say it could be a first 2nm chip for Apple's latest iPhone models, and its performance might jump by 15% over the A19, and may show 30% more power efficiency.
We found another leak that said Apple’s taking a page out of Nothing’s book next year. It’s designing a partly transparent look for one of its iPhone 18 Pro models, with a see-through section on the back. They’ll probably use it to show off their new vapor cooling chamber.
You may have heard this one before. The change was supposed to come with the iPhone 17 lineup, but it’s now looking to be a real possibility with the iPhone 18 lineup — a shrunk-down camera island.
There’s one more report that says Apple might be able to completely hide the Face ID under the screen by 2026 and leave only a punch hole cutout for the selfie shooter. That was claimed by Ross Young months ago, and there’s still some hope for this prediction to pass.
It turns out, the side camera button was not as big a hit as Apple thought it would be. The data shows there’s very low engagement among users, and it’s very costly to produce. Since people don’t really use it that often, Apple will axe the camera button on the iPhone 18 series.
A folding iPhone is still a possibility, by the way, but no one knows exactly when it’s coming. Some experts say it’s due in fall 2026 amid the iPhone 18 launch. There was, however, a leak after the iPhone 17 launch, which said the folding iPhone is being pushed to spring 2027. More details are slowly pouring in. Keep watching the news so you don’t miss a thing.
