Apple Inc. is reportedly planning to delay the release of the iPhone 18 until 2027 as it deals with manufacturing complexity and longer production development cycles.
According to MacRumors, the iPhone 18 is not expected to arrive until the spring of 2027, leaving the iPhone 17 lineup as the latest standard model for more than 18 months. If it happens, it would be the first time Apple skips an entire calendar year without releasing a new generation of its flagship non-Pro iPhone.
The delay is reportedly tied to challenges around the development and manufacturing of new display and camera technologies. The iPhone 18 has been rumored to feature a substantial redesign, including a fully uninterrupted display with Face ID and camera components placed beneath the screen.
If Apple were to extend its design cycle, it would allow the company to manage supplier risk at a time when advanced component fabrication has become increasingly complex and capital intensive.
As smartphone hardware matures, delivering meaningful design changes has become harder, even for a company with Apple’s scale and resources.
The iPhone remains Apple’s largest revenue driver, accounting for more than half of the company’s total sales and demand has remained strong despite relatively incremental year-over-year changes.
Apple is still expected to continue updating its Pro models annually while using the extended gap between standard iPhone generations to realign its broader hardware strategy.
The company has not commented on the report and Apple typically only confirms product details at launch.
This isn’t the first time that reports have suggested that the iPhone 18 base model may be delayed. Back in May, renowned industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that he expected Apple to split its flagship iPhone lineup between two launch windows annually.
Kuo said at the time that he expects iPhone 18 Pro models and a new foldable iPhone will arrive in the second half of 2026, while the standard iPhone 18 and an updated iPhone 18e will follow in the first half of 2027 and when it comes to analysts, Kuo is more often right than wrong.
Another motivating factor, as suggested by Kuo, is that there is a “marketing gap” created by mainly Chinese competitors who typically release flagships in the first half of the year. Splitting iPhone launches into two would mean Apple would have new products coming to market — albet the base model iPhones — that would better compete for attention in the first half of the year.
Image: News/Ideogram
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