Massive iPhone 18 Pro leak reveals internals, changes in cooling, Dynamic Island
A massive data breach has revealed over 200,000 confidential files, including iPhone 18 Pro drop test photos, internal components, design elements, and more.
The iPhone 18 Pro might feature some interesting upgrades. | Image by Macworld
A massive data breach at the Indian supplier Tata Electronics, caught by Reuters, has revealed over 200,000 files, including iPhone 18 Pro drop test photos, internal components, design elements, and more. Even though the iPhone 18 Pro seems to look a lot like its predecessor, the leaked documents show some interesting changes under the hood.
The iPhone 18 Pro may have improved cooling
Leaked iPhone 18 Pro internal schematics. | Images by Image by X
One of the leaked images, which are kind of hard to find now, as most of them have been taken down, shows a massive vapor chamber on the iPhone 18 Pro's motherboard. Bits and pieces of these leaked documents can still be found on X, and there's a CT scan showing a huge vapor chamber extending to the top of the board.
Vapor chambers are cooling devices that use a small amount of fluid trapped inside a vacuum-sealed metal container. When a heat component comes in contact with the metal walls of the vapor chamber, the fluid absorbs that heat and turns to vapor, which fills the vacuum inside and then goes to a tiny radiator inside where it condenses again.
Obviously, the larger this component is, the better cooling performance it will have. Part of the leaked schematics also point toward the Apple A20 chip coming in direct contact with the aforementioned vapor chamber, which could further help with heat dissipation.
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How much should the iPhone 18 Pro cost?
Smaller Dynamic Island on the iPhone 18 Pro?
The arrangement of the Face ID components points toward a smaller Dynamic Island cutout. | Image by X
Another leaked closeup of the iPhone 18 Pro motherboard shows the front camera configuration. According to experts, the layout of the Face ID scanner, front camera, and infrared flooder points toward a smaller Dynamic Island compared to the iPhone 17 Pro.
Apple uses a sophisticated 3D mapping system for Face ID, including an IR flooder that bathes your face in infrared light. This light is then reflected by your face and recorded by sensors to create a 30,000-point map of your face with precise depth and contour.
Packing the components takes up space, and Apple previously used a notch design to fit these components on the front. Now, though, it seems that with clever reshuffling of the components and further miniaturization, the company has managed to shrink the space needed for the front camera and Face ID components in the iPhone 18 Pro. And a smaller Dynamic Island means a larger screen area.
iPhone 18 price hike and the silicon crisis
The iPhone 18 Pro could cost up to $300 more than its predecessor. | Image by Macworld
The ongoing RAM and storage crisis is going to hit the iPhone 18 series too. Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an official statement that the company is going to have to hike the prices and also marked these price hikes as "unavoidable."
How much will the iPhone 18 Pro cost then? The numbers float between $270 and $300. According to research firm TechInsights, Apple will have to increase the price of the iPhone 18 Pro by $270 to keep the profit margin intact compared to the last generation. The Wall Street Journal, on the other hand, estimates that the $1,099 starting price for the iPhone 17 Pro could be adjusted by $300 to the whopping $1,399.
Other similar computations take into account a lower profit margin to offset the hikes to some extent and suggest we're in for an increase of about 10%, meaning the iPhone 18 Pro could start at around $1,200.
Finally, J.P. Morgan thinks the price hikes will be no more than $50 per model, and that's the most optimistic prediction so far.
The iPhone 18 Pro might be in trouble
The iPhone 18 Pro models might be in trouble. | Image by Weibo
The situation is not looking good at the moment for the iPhone 18 series and the Pro models in particular. $300 is a lot for a model that already costs north of $1,000, and people might be reluctant to pay that amount of money. Especially for a phone that's shaping up to be just a minor upgrade compared to the previous generation.
The latest leaks and rumors, including this one here, suggest that the iPhone 18 Pro will look almost identical to the iPhone 17 Pro. The phone will feature the new A20 silicon and, allegedly, a larger vapor chamber and smaller Dynamic Island cutout on the front.
Add the possibility for a variable aperture main camera and the new C2 modem to the list of upgrades, and that's pretty much it. I don't think those upgrades will be enough to persuade people to grab the iPhone 18 Pro, especially if it costs more.
Another nail in the iPhone 18 Pro coffin might be the iPhone Ultra, the first foldable iPhone ever released. I can see people flock to that model rather than paying more for the same Pro as last year. What do you think? Are those upgrades enough to make you want to buy the iPhone 18?
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Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.
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