The iPhone 18 Pro is nowhere near release, but plenty of claims have already been made about Apple's next flagship. Here's what the rumor mill thinks is coming.
With its 2025 iPhone lineup, Apple's high-end models underwent significant changes, both visually and functionally. Titanium was replaced with aluminum as the case material, and the familiar rear camera bump expanded into a rectangular camera plateau.
Its planned successor, the iPhone 18 Pro, more than likely won't deliver significant design alterations. In many ways, we expect an iterative upgrade, but that doesn't mean it won't include major performance enhancements.
Although the iPhone 18 Pro is still more than several months away, both leakers and analysts have made numerous claims about the device. Here's what they've said so far.
iPhone 18 Pro release date
Beginning in 2026, Apple will reportedly split its iPhone releases into two events per year, rather than a single September event. This is according to a May 2025 rumor, which was subsequently corroborated by different sources in July 2025, August 2025, and most recently in November 2025 and December 2025.
Apple will likely unveil its high-end phones in the fall of each year, while the standard model will be released in the spring of the following year. This means that we can expect the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and iPhone Fold in September 2026, with the base model iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e debuting in early 2027.
There have been no rumors to suggest a 2027 release for the iPhone 18 Pro, or any other major deviation from the usual September debut for the Pro models. The consensus among different leakers and analysts is that the iPhone 18 Pro will debut in September 2026.
Design-wise, we can expect only a few refinements with the iPhone 18 Pro.
iPhone 18 Pro design, colors, weight
According to a November 2025 rumor from a leaker with an established track record, the iPhone 18 Pro may have a more uniform appearance at the back than the iPhone 17 Pro. Supposedly, a change in the processing of the rear glass will result in the loss of the two-tone effect.
Apple is reportedly testing three new colors for the iPhone 18 Pro.
The new manufacturing process is reportedly intended to minimize the color difference between the glass section and the rest of the aluminum back panel. The result, if all goes well, will be a more seamless appearance of the back of the iPhone, closer to the previous designs.
Also in November 2025, the same leaker outlined three possible color options for the iPhone 18 Pro — a coffee color, purple, and burgundy. Allegedly, only one will make it to the production model. The source believes there will be no black iPhone 18 Pro option, as is the case with the iPhone 17 Pro as well.
Design-wise, the iPhone 18 Pro is expected to keep the aesthetic of the iPhone 17 Pro, according to an October 2025 post from the same leaker behind the color rumors.
Not everyone agreed with these appearance-related claims concerning the iPhone 18 Pro, however. One leaker, without a particularly compelling track record, outlined something entirely different.
In September 2025, a Weibo rumor dubiously insisted that Apple would use a "slightly transparent" back glass in the iPhone 18 Pro. If implemented, this would give users a view of the MagSafe charging coil, but the change remains unlikely.
Based on Apple's usual development timeframe, the iPhone 18 Pro is most likely in the Proto2 stage of development. There is still room for further design alterations at the time of writing, and it's also possible that Apple tested multiple back glass variants. Even so, a transparent backplate seems like an odd and unlikely design choice for the retail iPhone 18 Pro.
In terms of weight, the same source that outlined the alleged iPhone 18 Pro color options believes the device will be the heaviest iPhone ever. In November 2025, the Weibo leaker claimed the iPhone 18 Pro change could end up being 10g heavier than the iPhone 17 Pro. This would give the iPhone 18 Pro Max a weight of approximately 243g (8.57 ounces).
If true, this would make the iPhone 18 Pro Max the heaviest model ever produced. The current heavyweight is the iPhone 14 Pro Max at 240g, while the iPhone 17 Pro Max weighs slightly less at 233g.
On the right side of the iPhone 18 Pro, below the Power button, we might find a simplified version of the Camera Control. This is according to an August 2025 rumor, which claimed Apple was looking to save on production costs, as the button is allegedly not as popular as the company hoped it would be.
An earlier report from the same month, albeit from a source with a poor track record, claimed that Apple would get rid of the Camera Control entirely for its 2026 iPhone releases.
It's possible that Apple tested different button configurations for the iPhone 18 Pro, as it did with the iPhone 16 range. In 2023 and 2024, the iPhone maker abandoned plans for a capacitive Action button, codenamed Atlas, and haptic volume and power buttons, with the project codename Bongo.
Early iPhone 16 prototypes were tested with and without a Camera Control button. Apple may have taken the same testing approach with the iPhone 18 Pro, which would explain the seemingly contradictory Camera Control rumors we've seen so far.
While it remains to be seen what Apple will do with the capacitive button on the side of the iPhone 18 Pro, multiple sources agree that a major change is coming to the front of the device.
iPhone 18 Pro to feature punch-hole camera & under-display Face ID
If the rumors are to be believed, Apple has been experimenting with the idea of under-display Face ID for years. In January 2023, it was rumored that the technology would be available with the iPhone 16 Pro, echoing April 2022 and April 2021 claims from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
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The iPhone 18 Pro could debut with under-display Face ID.
The timeline for under-display Face ID changed in March 2023, when DSCC analyst Ross Young said that the technology would not debut until at least 2025, due to "sensor issues." In December 2023, however, a rumor from a different publication claimed the technology was actually delayed until 2026.
Claims of this apparent delay to 2026 were then corroborated in May 2024 by Ross Young, who reiterated this claim a year later. The same month, in May 2025, claims of an under-display Face ID system for the iPhone 18 Pro reappeared, this time from a Weibo leaker, who reiterated their stance shortly thereafter.
The same source repeated the claim about under-display Face ID once more in June 2025, and again in September 2025, October 2025, and November 2025. Commenting on the iPhone 18 Pro display, the leaker said that Apple was planning a "6.27-inch 1.5K LTPO" screen," which would be similar in size to the current 6.3-inch iPhone 17 Pro.
However, only days later, the Weibo leaker behind the repeated claims surrounding under-display Face ID said the technology was pushed back to 2027. Adding even more confusion to the mix, a leaker with the pseudonym "Smart Pikachu" and no track record, claimed in December 2025 that the iPhone 18 Pro would indeed get under-display Face ID.
The same month, a different publication revealed that it was also expecting the iPhone 18 to debut with Face ID sensors under the display. The move will reportedly help Apple "eliminate" Dynamic Island, which the publication calls an "unsightly black oval." According to the report, components for this will be sourced from Canadian company OTI Lumionics.
Given the amount and of rumors we've seen regarding under-display Face ID, and the frequency with which they appear, there's a good chance the technology will debut with the iPhone 18 Pro. If Apple moves forward with the new design, it would increase screen real estate to nearly 98%.
Under-display Face ID is not the only camera-related change rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro, however.
iPhone 18 Pro could have a variable aperture camera
The iPhone 17 was first rumored to get a variable-aperture camera system in July 2024, though that didn't end up happening. In November and December of the same year, Ming-Chi Kuo suggested it would, instead, arrive with the iPhone 18 range.
The iPhone 18 Pro could debut with a variable aperture for its rear cameras.
Claims of a variable aperture system resurfaced in an October 2025 report, which listed LG Innotek and Foxconn as the component manufacturers, with an actuator to drive the aperture movement supplied from Luxshare ICT and Sunny Optical.
Later the same month, a known Weibo leaker corroborated the rumor, adding that the iPhone 18 Pro's 48MP Telephoto lens, which uses a periscope lens system, will also gain a larger aperture.
In December 2025, a different source also suggested the iPhone 18 Pro would gain a new aperture system, though the report in question called it a "mechanical aperture." The change will reportedly allow for better night-time photography, while preventing washed-out colors on photos taken during the day.
That's not the only benefit offered by a variable aperture system, however. There are other reasons why Apple might be looking to implement a mechanical, variable aperture system as opposed to a fixed one.
Most smartphone cameras use a fixed aperture — the actual hole that lets light through between the lenses and the sensor. A fixed sensor is generally used, as a variable aperture would require more physical space for the mechanism and motor.
When the size of the aperture is increased or decreased, this changes how much light hits the sensor. It also affects the exposure triangle, the principle that changes to the aperture, shutter speed, and sensitivity of the sensor can adjust how a shot is taken.
A wider aperture equates to a shallower depth of field, keeping the subject in focus while blurring the background and foreground. A smaller aperture results in a much larger depth of field effect, with more elements in the picture being sharp and in focus instead of blurry.
Currently Apple works around the fixed aperture limitation though the use of multiple camera views and computational photography effects to create a blurry background, known as bokeh, for portraits. However, adjusting the aperture would result in creating a naturally focused image without any computational photography.
Overall, there's little reason to doubt the iPhone 18 Pro will feature a variable camera aperture system, unless you take into account previous rumors related to the iPhone 17 Pro, which doesn't have the technology.
As for other camera components, a July 2024 rumor suggested that Samsung would provide image sensors, rather than the usual supplier Sony. This claim resurfaced in January 2025, albeit from a different source who added more detail.
Supposedly, Samsung had reportedly planned to create a stacked image sensor with three layers — a photodiode, a transfer layer, and a logic layer. Simply put, this means the sensor could come with a processor directly mounted to it. That direct mounting reduces the time taken to get the image data to the processor, ultimately improving the camera's responsiveness.
Aside from camera-related enhancements, the iPhone 18 Pro will almost certainly deliver great performance improvements via Apple's A20 Pro chip.
iPhone 18 Pro — 2nm A20 chip, performance rumors
In September 2024, Ming-Chi Kuo suggested that the iPhone 18 Pro would be the only device in the iPhone 18 range to boast a 2nm chip. Back in June 2022, TSMC announced it would launch its 2nm chip process in 2025, so it makes sense for Apple to go with it for the iPhone 18 Pro.
Apple's A20 Pro chip is expected to use a new packaging process.
One leaker claimed, in April 2025, that the 2nm chips would lead to a price increase for the 2026 iPhone range, with Apple passing the costs on to end consumers. A November 2025 rumor from a different Weibo leaker raised similar concerns.
In March 2025, Ming-Chi Kuo changed his expectations for the 2026 iPhone lineup, now saying that the entire iPhone 18 range would be powered by 2nm chips. This aligns with an earlier report from a different analyst, published in July 2024.
A likely benefit of the 2nm A20 system-on-chip is that it should provide between a 10% and 15% performance boost over the current iPhone 17 range, as outlined in an October 2024 rumor.
The same report revealed that, for the A20 Pro chip, TSMC was planning to use uses a new packaging method known as WMCM, as opposed to Apple's current packaging technique — InFo.
Chip packaging is effectively a process that is applied to a chip's die. This sets it up to communicate and work with other components on a circuit board.
Currently, the InFo process lets Apple integrate components within a chip package. In short, elements like memory can be added to the chip package directly, rather than being an externally accessed component.
This has the byproduct of making the overall chip package very small. However, it is a technique that also focuses on being used with a single die. New CPU and GPU combinations require new dies with this method, though, and that can become expensive.
WMCM, short for Wafer-level Multi-Chip Module, is a packaging technique that works well with multiple dies. It can fit together separate dies, such as a CPU and GPU, while still keeping the overall package extremely small.
Switching to WMCM would provide Apple with more freedom to create multiple packaging designs by incorporating different dies, all without massively increasing the cost of creating the dies themselves. It also wouldn't have a massive impact on performance, while reducing reliance on chip binning for different product tiers.
The A20 Pro chip might be 15% faster than the A19 Pro.
In June 2025, analyst Jeff Pu outlined that he also expects the iPhone 18 Pro to feature a 2nm chip with the WMCM process. According to Pu, the process the A20 will use is referred to as N2, and is a first-generation process too.
In theory, the smaller die could help the A20 be about 15% faster than the A19 system-on-chip. It should also be more efficient, using about 30% less power than its predecessor. The use of the WMCM packaging process was also referenced in a December 2025 report.
Separately, an April 2025 rumor outlined that the iPhone 18 range would feature 6-channel LPDDR5X memory, and a larger package. This should significantly increase the memory bandwidth, thereby increasing performance.
In December 2024, it was reported that Apple was working with Samsung to change how RAM is packaged, so that bandwidth could be increased. With that in mind, the A20 Pro featuring increased bandwidth would make sense.
An October 2025 report corroborated the use of LPDDR5X memory, adding that it would be sourced from Samsung, though SK Hynix and Micron were reportedly in talks with Apple as well.
As for where the iPhone 18 Pro itself will be assembled, Apple wants nearly every iPhone 18 sold in the US to come from India, according to an April 2025report. The provenance of the story isn't clear, though, leaving room for doubt, even with Apple's supply chain diversification strategy.
What to expect from the iPhone 18 Pro
In short, the iPhone 18 Pro could deliver the following improvements over the current iPhone 17 Pro:
- Under-display Face ID
- Punch-hole front camera
- Variable aperture system for rear cameras
- 15% faster, 2nm A20 Pro chip with improved memory bandwidth
- New colors with a unified color scheme
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro will most likely debut in September 2026, but we should see plenty of new Mac releases before then.
