Three reasons I think delaying the base iPhone 18 was a genius move

In years past, older base iPhones used to become cheaper as the new one stepped in. The iPhone 16 got a discount once the iPhone 17 launched, for example. This year, the iPhone 17 got a $100 price bump even without getting a successor.

Considering this price bump, we can safely assume the iPhone 18 would’ve launched with a hike of more than a $100. Such an increase would fit the pattern we’ve seen with smartphones from other manufacturers—cheaper phones suffer worse price increases than expensive phones.

While Apple didn’t mention the hikes of its older phones during last week’s keynote, premiering the iPhone 18 would’ve forced the company to talk about the price. The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are a $100 more expensive than last year’s models, amounting to an increase of a less than 10%, which didn’t need to be addressed.

Even for Apple, the potential $150-$200 price increase of the iPhone 18 would’ve been difficult to talk about. By skipping the whole launch, the company avoided this uncomfortable discussion, leaving space for its premium products to shine while matching the prices of its leading competitors, the Galaxy S26 Ultra and Pixel 11 Pro XL.

People don’t buy base iPhones right away anyway

There are two types of smartphone buyers. One buys the best possible phone after a lot of research. These are the people who are more likely to get an iPhone Pro at launch or shortly afterward, because they’ve been waiting for it and the new features it introduces.

Then there are the more common people who buy whatever phone is relatively new, fits their budget, and looks nice. This type of buyer is less likely to notice most of the differences between one iPhone generation and another, and more likely to buy a base iPhone.

While the vanilla iPhone 17 eventually turned into the best-selling smartphone globally, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max were much more popular initially. According to an IDC estimate, cited by CNBC, the Pro models represented 54% of all iPhone sales in the first half of 2026, while the base model took just 26% of the pie. This means the delay is unlikely to affect the company, but it may also remain largely unnoticed by the customers.

It’s about solving production before it turns into an issue

Though the public is mostly noticing it through the constant price increases, the memory price crunch is also impacting smartphone production. Running its supply chain smoothly in these conditions is tricky even for Apple, and anything that simplifies its production is more than welcome. Limiting the new devices to only two models is certainly helpful.

We’re yet to see how the company has handled the iPhone Duo production, but so far it appears there aren’t any issues with the iPhone 18 Pro supply. Of course, some read this as a sign that the new phones aren’t selling as well as last year, but we’ll need to wait for some reliable numbers before passing judgment.

All in all, skipping the iPhone 18 didn’t only help Apple to focus everyone’s attention and money on the shinier premium models, but it also spared it from an outrageous price hike and potential supply issues. It will also allow the company to have a direct answer to the Galaxy S27 line, and optimized manufacturing and marketing for the base model in the spring. Achieving all this with just a simple move definitely seems like a genius idea to me.