iPhone 18 Pro leak puts pressure on Samsung’s aging flagship strategy

Samsung is gearing up to launch a barely upgraded Galaxy S26 series in the coming weeks, hoping to take on the iPhone 17 series with renewed vigor. While Samsung mostly stagnates even on its Plus and Ultra flagships and might do so for yet another generation, Apple is preparing for another big change with the iPhone 18 Pro series and is finally entering the foldable market with the iPhone Fold, likely in September. Now, specs for all these upcoming iPhones have leaked again, and it’s not looking great for Samsung unless it pulls up its socks.

Noted analyst Jeff Pu (h/t 9to5Mac) has shared detailed specifications of all the iPhone models expected in the second half of this year.

Apple is largely expected to launch just three iPhones in the second half of 2026: the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and iPhone Fold (name to be confirmed). The regular iPhone 18 is expected to launch in 2027 alongside the iPhone 18e and possibly the iPhone Air 2.

According to Jeff Pu, the iPhone 18 Pro series and iPhone Fold are expected to feature the Apple A20 Pro processor, manufactured on a 2nm process, and WMCM (Wafer-level Multi-Chip Module) packaging. Apple is also expected to equip all three phones with 12GB LPDDR5 RAM, and an 18MP front camera — the iPhone Fold gets two of them, one each on the outer and inner displays.

The highlight of the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max is expected to be a “structured light” Face ID sensor. YouTuber Jon Prosser from FPT says this is an under-display FaceID sensor on the left side of the display. The front camera is also being moved to the left.

These changes are expected to force Apple to reduce Dynamic Island’s size as well (since it no longer needs to hide the Face ID sensor), but the core functionality should remain. The iPhone Fold is expected to ditch Face ID in favor of Touch ID, though.

Jeff Pu notes that the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max could come with variable aperture on the primary rear camera. This feature would allow the phone to physically control the amount of light entering the sensor, giving users better results across a wider range of lighting conditions.

Samsung actually introduced variable aperture with the Galaxy S9 series back in 2018, but it has since abandoned it (and just upgrading the cameras generally, too, from the looks of it). So far, it doesn’t look like Samsung is in a position to fight against the iPhone 18 Pro, at least not with the Galaxy S26 Plus.

Jon Prosser notes that Apple is testing three new colors for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max: Burgundy, Brown, and Purple. The leaker has also shared mockups of these colors:

Prosser also says that the Camera Control button will lose its capacitive functionality, relying only on pressure-based sensing to make it easier to manufacture and repair.

Apple is also said to be working on supporting 5G networks over Satellite, which could be a game-changer for connectivity. We haven’t heard of Samsung exploring this feature yet, and that’s one more way in which the Galaxy S26 series could be left behind in a matter of months. Hopefully, Samsung gets a wake-up call before the Galaxy S27 series arrives — we’re crossing our fingers for a meaningful Galaxy S27 Ultra at the very least.