Aside from the first iPhone Fold, this year will see only two regular new iPhone models for the first time: the iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone 18 Pro Max. The new features of the iPhone 17 Pro successors already appear to be set in stone and are nicely visualized in a recent render video.
Alexander Fagot (translated by Jacob Fisher), Published 🇩🇪
In recent days, leakers and analysts have revealed a quite a few specs and details about the innovations Apple is planning for September 2026. For the first time, there will be a strict demarcation between Pro iPhones and the iPhone Fold, and regular iPhone 18 models in 2027. Anyone wanting a new iPhone 18 in 2026 will likely have to opt for either the more expensive iPhone 18 Pro models or the presumably even more expensive iPhone Fold.
While Apple will most likely use Touch ID and a punch-hole FaceTime camera in both displays of the iPhone Fold, Apple will install the punch-hole display design familiar from Android phones in the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max by concealing the Face ID sensors invisibly beneath the display, as recently confirmed by prototypes. The Dynamic Island will remain, but will be hidden in the significantly smaller display cutout on the left side, as the renders below demonstrate.
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Render video shows iPhone 18 Pro (Max) in three possible colors
The color options for the iPhone 18 Pro are not yet finalized. According to FPT host John Prosser, Apple is testing at least three new color options, with brown and a purple shade planned in addition to burgundy red. This is consistent with earlier rumors, and Apple may ultimately settle on one of these three new colors.
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Other expected innovations in the iPhone 18 Pro (Max)
The video also addresses many other changes expected in the next generation of iPhones. For example, Apple’s first 2nm chipset, presumably named Apple A20, is expected to power the successors to the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, along with a new Apple C2 Modem that will replace the Qualcomm modems used to date. High-ranking analysts also expect Apple to enable 5G via satellite in addition to the already available satellite SOS feature, but this has not yet been officially confirmed. The same applies to the variable aperture in the main camera, which is intended to appeal to ambitious photographers.
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Editor of the original article: Alexander Fagot – Managing Editor News – 11270 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2016
As a young tech enthusiast with a history involving assembling and overclocking projects, I ended up working as a projectionist with good old 35-mm films before I entered the computer world at a professional level. I assisted customers at an Austrian IT service provider called Iphos IT Solutions for seven years, working as a Windows client and server administrator as well as a project manager. As a freelancer who travels a lot, I have been able to write for Notebookcheck from all corners of the world since 2016. My articles cover brand-new mobile technologies in smartphones, laptops, and gadgets of all kinds.
Translator: Jacob Fisher – Translator – 2722 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2022
Growing up in regional Australia, I first became acquainted with computers in my early teens after a broken leg from a football (soccer) match temporarily condemned me to a predominately indoor lifestyle. Soon afterwards I was building my own systems. Now I live in Germany, having moved here in 2014, where I study philosophy and anthropology. I am particularly fascinated by how computer technology has fundamentally and dramatically reshaped human culture, and how it continues to do so.
Alexander Fagot, 2026-01-17 (Update: 2026-01-17)
