Apple needs to get the iPhone 18 Pro redesign ready on time or it risks mediocrity

With the iPhone 17 Pro redesign, Apple kicked off a three-year plan for the iPhone. The company was going to introduce similarly significant changes for the iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone 20 Pro, the iPhone 19 series would be skipped.

This is great news. Clearly, the iPhone 17 Pro redesign, as divisive as it was before launch, has resonated with customers incredibly well. The iPhone 17 is the most popular iPhone series in Apple’s history, after all.

This paints a promising picture for the rest of Apple’s three-year plan, except for one small complication.

Apple is having technical difficulties

The iPhone 18 Pro wasn’t going to completely change the rear like the iPhone 17 Pro. It was instead planned to receive a smaller Dynamic Island as Face ID would be moved beneath the display.

According to reports, such a Face ID configuration is under testing as we speak. But the results are a mixed bag.

The Face ID component is sluggish when operating from beneath the screen of the phone. Apple cannot tolerate that as Face ID is one of the most premium features that can be found on the iPhone. It’s extremely rare to find an Android phone that can scan your face with such accuracy at these speeds.

As such, Apple is reportedly considering scrapping the entire thing and doubling down on the iPhone 20 Pro redesign.

The iPhone 18 Pro needs this

I would have a problem with such an iPhone 18 Pro release this year. Sure, the spotlight will already be on the foldable iPhone Ultra, but the iPhone 18 Pro models need to hold their own. We’ll cross the base iPhone 18 bridge when we come to it early next year.

Customers now have an expectation of something grand from Apple after the iPhone 17 series. Redesigned Pro models and an excellent bang-for-your-buck base model are now expected.

To release an iPhone 18 Pro with nothing new except for a slightly faster chip and different color options would be a major letdown. It will also get fewer people excited and looking forward to the iPhone 20 Pro, which will hopefully usher in a smartphone breakthrough I’ve waited a decade for.

Instead, customers might mostly tune in for the iPhone Ultra 2, which many will only be curious about with no plans of actually getting one due to the price tag. Apple’s phones are usually pretty popular regardless of how mediocre they may be, but the iPhone 18 Pro needs to keep that chain of excitement running until the three-year plan comes to an end.

Perhaps an alternative, Apple?

If, in the worst-case scenario, Apple is not able to source a perfect under-display Face ID, I think that it should have a Plan B. Something to keep the masses excited even if the main attraction is missing on launch day.

I would love to see a smaller Dynamic Island and be reassured that the iPhone 20 Pro is on track for a flawless launch. But if Apple can’t manage this in time, then it really needs to carry out some other design change that will grab people’s attention.



For example, perhaps the iPhone 18 Pro can be offered in some very unique colors. I love the rumored new Dark Cherry but something like the reported “Liquid Glass color” for the iPhone 17 Pro can make an appearance here?

That didn’t happen for the iPhone 17 Pro but there’s still time to bring it to the iPhone 18 Pro. Imagine a white phone that reflects light in different colors at different angles and refracts it around the edges reminiscent of Liquid Glass.

It would also keep the Liquid Glass train chugging along until Apple’s Liquid Glass Display for the iPhone 20 Pro becomes a reality. Just do something, Apple. Anything.

Don’t let the iPhone 18 Pro fall into the mediocrity that defined your annual smartphone launches for so many generations. You’re on a good track right now, don’t throw up your arms in defeat and get derailed.

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