iPhone 18 to have some important cost-cutting downgrades, new rumor claims

22 April 2026
It won't be able to match the Pros in a lot of areas, if this is accurate.


  • T
  • Tony
  • KiP
  • 22 Apr 2026

Still the king no matter what

    Or or. Hear me out. Sd card. SHOCKER. Literally what Samsung flagships had till 2021 and Sony still does. WOOOOW mega news.

      • s
      • stiv
      • TSM
      • 22 Apr 2026

      it has been a cheap phone anyway
      people paying for the color marketing now

        Have a feeling it will stay at 8GB RAM then instead of being upgraded to 12GB.
        We already see the cost cutting attempts, eg by using non Samsung panels and lower quality battery cells.

          Anonymous, 22 Apr 2026It's an overpriced midrange phone.Never buy at full MSRP
          A year later it would be basically excellent VFM

            Releasing the base model at the same time as the budget model and having fewer differences between them seems like an odd decision.

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • 70d
              • 22 Apr 2026

              millsers.mp3, 22 Apr 2026This is a rumor, yes, but this is still sad to see RIGHT wh... moreIt's an overpriced midrange phone.

                • Y
                • Yourtechfriend
                • L$J
                • 22 Apr 2026

                This probably means that it will be the 17 with new color options and a slightly better chipset. And that's it. Whereas the pros will have variable apertures, more ram and whatnot. The pro motion and the extra camera will definitely stay to help differentiate from the 18e, but thats about it. It will be like the 18e pro, not really pro, but better than the most basic model.

                  • k
                  • kungfu
                  • TSM
                  • 22 Apr 2026

                  probably not a new practice since Tim Cook's who focus on brand value, marketing and supply chain line only. There is no more new innovation compared to flagship rivals,

                  there were true innovation up to iPhone 4s only.
                  Xiaomi Mi 1/ 1S and Samsung Galaxy S3 / Galaxy Note 3 started to grow rapidly

                    This is a rumor, yes, but this is still sad to see RIGHT when the 17 is arguably the best base iPhone of the 2020s so far, outdoing iPhone 13 and 15. It's the closest to the Pro models with its price, offering flagship performance and 120hz (finally) at 799 USD. A-series has always been fast, so Apple will probably be fine.

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