With iPhone 18, Apple will continue its streak of losing its identity

For as long as I can remember, the iPhone has remained a very recognizable device across the globe. Apple enjoys enviable fame, and whether you love it or hate it, any publicity is good publicity for the iPhone. And yet, with the iPhone 18, I feel that Apple will continue a trend that it’s looking to start this year with the upcoming iPhone 17 series.

iPhone 17 will ditch the iconic look

If you’ve been keeping up with the smartphone industry, you probably know that it’s all but confirmed that the iPhone 17 Pro will feature an overhauled exterior. Both the iPhone 17 Pro Max and the Pro models will come with a much larger camera island on the rear. It’s expected that Apple will argue that this improves photography by moving the flash away from the sensors.

Doesn’t that design sound a little familiar? You only need to turn to the iPhone 17 Air to wonder whether that’s an iPhone or a Google Pixel 9 instead. Yep, the iPhone 17 will forgo its enviable fame, settling instead for a new look that has seen mixed reception online since its initial leak.

I’ve been on the fence about this change. On one hand, it’s about time that the iPhone wore a new outfit. But on the other hand, this design will not nearly be as recognizable from a distance as the old one. The iPhone 17 will resemble the Pixel phones so closely that Apple is basically wasting the recognition it has earned.

And it’s continuing that trend with the iPhone 18 in 2026.

iPhone 18 will feature a punch hole

We’ve had multiple reports in the past that the iPhone 18 will have a punch hole design for its displays. Now, a very reliable insider who’s in touch with the supply chain has confirmed that this is true. The iPhone 18 will see Face ID moved under the display, and the front camera will be housed behind a punch hole.

This is in preparation for the iPhone 20 — Apple will likely skip an iPhone 19 — for 2027, which will be the 20th anniversary of this iconic product. For that iPhone, the company reportedly wants to introduce an entirely new Pro model that is all glass on the front and sides. There will be no bezels and there will be no cutouts on the screen, as everything (including the camera) will be shifted under the display.

And as much as I cannot wait for that, the iPhone 18 is going to be a hard pass for anyone who cares about having a recognizable phone.

Pixel? Samsung? What is it?

The iPhone 18 will be a completely unrecognizable device from the front, and a confusing one on the back. If reports of a punch hole that is on one side of the screen are accurate, then the iPhone 18 will look like an outdated budget Android phone.

Say what you will about the Dynamic Island, it was instantly recognizable. I, personally, really like what Apple did with it. As someone who’s always hated notches and punch holes, the Dynamic Island took an annoying aspect of modern smartphones and did something clever with it. To revert to an outdated formula that does nothing special is…a choice.

It’s a shame, too, because by the time the iPhone 18 comes out, Apple Intelligence may be a decent suite of AI tools. The iPhone 18 will also be the first Apple phone to use a 2 nm processor: the A20 chip. But with such an identity crisis going for it, I would much rather wait for its successor.

Instead, if everything goes according to plan, then the mythical foldable iPhone will launch in 2026 as well. And that, to me, sounds like a much more unique purchase than the iPhone 18. If it doesn’t cost both my kidneys, of course.

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