5 biggest i Phone 18 rumors rated — what to really expect at next week's Apple event | Tech Radar

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5 biggest i Phone 18 rumors rated — what to really expect at next week's Apple event

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We’ve been hearing about the i Phone 18 series since even before the i Phone 17 landed, and if you include the foldable i Phone Ultra — which is said to finally be launching this year — then leaks and rumors have been circulating for literally years.

So, there’s a lot to sift through, but the rumors below are among the biggest whispers we’ve heard about these upcoming phones.

Beneath each rumor, we’ve detailed just how likely we think it is to become a reality, to give you a better idea of what to expect at Apple’s ‘Surprise and shine’ event.

The i Phone Ultra could look a lot like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 (Image credit: Richard Priday / Tech Radar)

We’ve been hearing rumors that Apple has been working on a foldable phone for years, but it finally looks like such a device might launch this year, possibly as the i Phone Ultra.

Leaks point to this phone having a passport-style design like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, with a foldable screen of around 7.8 inches and a cover display of roughly 5.5 inches.

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It might also support Mag Safe, but unlike some of Samsung’s foldables, it probably won’t come with stylus support — at least at launch.

Given how long we’ve been hearing about a foldable i Phone, with some rumors pointing to earlier release years, there’s still reason to doubt its existence. But the sheer number of leaks pointing to it now, including from reputable sources, makes us almost certain that we will, in fact, see the i Phone Ultra this year.

As for the specific details of the phone — such as screen sizes and Mag Safe support — we can’t be quite so certain of those, but we’d be very surprised if the phone itself doesn’t launch next week.

While we might get a whole new type of i Phone this year in the form of the i Phone Ultra, leaks suggest that one of the models you’d typically expect will be absent, with the standard i Phone 18 supposedly not launching until March or April.

Apparently, it might launch alongside the i Phone 18e and the i Phone Air 2, giving Apple a second big phone launch in the space of around six months.

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It’s completely unprecedented for Apple to launch a new base model at a separate event months after the Pro phones, so we’d take this rumor with a slight pinch of salt.

But that said, pretty much every leak now points in that direction, and we’ve heard less about the standard i Phone 18 than the Pro models and the Ultra — which would make sense if it’s not launching for a while.

The i Phone 17 Pro (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

One of the more intriguing spec rumors we’ve heard is that either both the i Phone 18 Pro and the i Phone 18 Pro Max, or possibly just the i Phone 18 Pro Max, will have a camera with a variable aperture.

This would allow you to adjust the depth of field, giving you more control over what’s in focus. It might also allow for improved low-light performance if it also means the aperture can get wider than on current models.

We’ve heard talk of a variable aperture from multiple sources, including some well-regarded ones. But details of it still feel a bit wooly, which makes us slightly unsure of its existence, since a lot of things have leaked in more detail.

Still, the number and quality of the sources pointing towards a variable aperture make us think it’s more likely than not on at least one upcoming i Phone.

The i Phone 17 Pro Max (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

Leaker Digital Chat Station has found regulatory filings that suggest the i Phone 18 Pro will have a 4,288m Ah battery and the i Phone 18 Pro Max will have a 5,567m Ah one in the US.

For reference, the i Phone 17 Pro has a 4,252m Ah battery, and the i Phone 17 Pro Max has a 5,088m Ah battery. Again, that’s in the US, where capacities are higher than in most other regions because these are e SIM-only models (so no space is taken up by a SIM card slot). But this would suggest a slight boost for the i Phone 18 Pro and an enormous increase for the i Phone 18 Pro Max.

A battery capacity increase is fairly likely, as Apple often increases the capacity with new phones, but one as large as we’re hearing the i Phone 18 Pro Max might get is more questionable. In fact, even the source of the leak themselves says “this is questionable and needs further verification.”

So, you can probably expect an increase, but we’re far from certain that it will be this drastic.

The i Phone 17 Pro Max has a two-tone rear while its successor might not (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

The i Phone 18 Pro and Pro Max probably won’t look dramatically different to their predecessors, but there are at least two significant design changes we might get.

One is to the rear, with the metal frame and the glass panel being more unified in color, rather than offering the slightly two-tone look of current models.

More excitingly, we’ve also heard from Instant Digital and other leakers that the Dynamic Island could be smaller this year, coming in at around 13.5mm, rather than the 20.7mm of the current one.

This is multiple rumors in one, really, but both elements sound convincing. Both leakers and CAD renders have pointed to a smaller Dynamic Island, and it would make sense for Apple to want to reduce the size.

Making for a more unified look on the back of the phones also sounds logical, though only a couple of sources have pointed to this, so we can’t be certain it will happen.

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James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at Tech Radar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.

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News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets
Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more
Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards
Unlock instant access to exclusive member features
Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards