Rumors of the iPhone 18 delay are now practically confirmed

Rumors that the vanilla iPhone 18 may launch in the spring of 2027 instead of this September have been popping up for months, but now they’ve been made even more real. One of Apple’s key suppliers made comments that make it almost certain we’ll only get the iPhone 18 Pro and the foldable iPhone Ultra this year.

iPhone 18 is almost certainly launching in 2027

During Largan Precision’s shareholders’ meeting, chairman Lin En-ping reported that the company will have higher capacity utilization than in previous years. The reason he cited is that a major US customer has postponed the launch of a new model of their devices, which is now scheduled to launch in the first quarter of next year.

While Lin En-ping doesn’t specifically mention Apple in his remarks, Largan Precision is the primary supplier of the lenses used in iPhone cameras. His remarks fit the reports that the iPhone 18 won’t launch alongside the top-tier models this year and practically confirm Apple’s unannounced plans. 

An unusual slip

It is highly unusual for such details about Apple’s plans to appear in public, especially from a supplier. The company is famous for not discussing its future product plans publicly, and suppliers rarely even hint at future releases of their clients.

As surprising as the slip may be, its content is far from shocking. We’ve been hearing about Apple’s changed plans for quite some time, and that they’re probably prompted by its growing smartphone portfolio. 

Besides the vanilla iPhone 18, the iPhone Air 2, and the iPhone 18e are also expected next year. That would leave the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the iPhone Ultra as the only new Apple smartphones available at the end of this year.

Leaving the vanilla iPhone 17 as the latest standard iPhone for about a year and a half will be an unprecedented move for Apple. On the bright side, this is the phone that my colleague Peter called “the perfect iPhone for just about anybody” in his in-depth review. If there’s an iPhone up to the task, it appears to be this one.

This was Apple’s first base iPhone to feature a higher refresh rate display, which also got 256GB starting storage and a faster charging. These were long-overdue upgrades, which made the iPhone 17 feel almost too good to be true, even when compared to the iPhone 17 Pro.

The new schedule would also pit the iPhone 18 against the Samsung Galaxy S27 more directly than ever before. Despite the smashing success of the iPhone 17 series, Apple couldn’t dominate the global smartphone market in Q1 2026, staying a percent or two behind Samsung. A new release strategy could be the extra push that helps Apple to turn things around in a year’s time.

You may have to wait after all

Changing the launch schedule that has been in place since the launch of the iPhone 4S is a huge step for Apple, which is reportedly prompted by its desire to manage its manufacturing resources. However, there might be other reasons, like pushing more people into buying a premium model during the holiday season.

Even if you’re not willing to spend the extra money on a Pro iPhone, you may get tempted by it, especially if the iPhone 18 rumors turn out to be true. The base model is probably not getting any significant upgrades, except a new chipset and extra RAM, leaving it with largely the same specs and design as its predecessor.

Apple doesn’t want you to buy cheap phones

I wouldn’t be bothered by ditching the annual smartphone upgrade cycle, but I doubt that’s Apple’s idea. Instead, the company wants to use its September event to talk only about its shiny, pricey, top-tier flagships, hoping you’ll just opt for one of those. And if you’re on a budget, you’ll need to wait and pray there aren’t any price hikes come springtime.

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