iPhone 18 Pro rumors: everything we know so far
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Credit: Front Page Tech
Now that Apple's "surprise and shine" fall hardware event is official, it won't be long before we know more about the iPhone 18 Pro. While the last generation brought a refresh to its design, the iPhone 18 Pro is shaping up to deliver some more substantial architectural and hardware shifts.
Between TSMC's bleeding-edge 2nm A20 Pro silicon , a long-rumored variable aperture main camera , and a noticeably shrunken Dynamic Island cutout, the iPhone 18 Pro looks ready to push flagship boundaries. Add in rumors of Apple's custom C2 modem , larger battery capacity, and a possible price hike , and there's plenty to unpack before Apple kicks off its event
Below, we've gathered everything we know so far specifically about the iPhone 18 Pro's release date, pricing, design, specs, and top camera features. We'll also mention snippets around the larger iPhone 18 Pro Max . But if you're interested in a full rundown with the iPhone 18 Pro vs iPhone 18 Pro Max , there's still a fair amount of differences in our report.
iPhone 18 Pro: Possible release date and price rumors
This year's Apple fall hardware event is happening a day later than normal on Wednesday, September 9 at 1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT. Dubbed "surprise and shine," the switch to a Wednesday event as opposed to a Tuesday one is probably due to Labor Day weekend's proximity in the U.S.
This suggests that Apple would follow up with pre-orders the Friday after Apple's event, but a report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman indicates it'll be delayed to Saturday, September 12 .
Currently, the iPhone 17 Pro fetches for $1,099 with 256GB of storage, but the iPhone 18 Pro could cost more than that. Analysts are warning of a possible price hike for this year's iPhones, like all other computing products, due to RAM price increases worldwide, plus the possibility of Apple's new chipset costing more to make . In fact, we could see an increase upwards of $250 to $350 .
However, other sources have suggested that a price increase could come only to models with higher storage capacity , so Apple can keep the entry price the same as last year while recouping some of its increased manufacturing costs.
An alternate take says Apple is doing its best to get its production costs as low as possible to avoid increasing prices for consumers. It may also simply accept making less money per iPhone sold in order to keep sales up, with the hope being that users will then spend more on Apple's subscription services instead.
iPhone 18 Pro: Design and display
Pro iPhones have measured 6.3 inches for the past two generations, and we believe that Apple won't shift from that with the iPhone 18 Pro. Likewise, the new design language and aluminum construction we saw introduced with the iPhone 17 Pro should be sticking around. But some changes have still been tipped.
For one, the two-tone look of the iPhone 17 Pro could be reduced for the iPhone 18 Pro, with the glass portion of the back panel better matching the color of the metal section. There's also talk of some kind of transparent finish being applied to the back panel, which sounds like another thing that will make the iPhone 18 Pro easy to tell apart from the iPhone 17 Pro.
Ice Universe gives us our first look at what colorways we might end up getting, as the leaked image of the camera housing show us four options: Black, Silver, Blue, and Burgundy. The latter has been reported before by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman , but Apple could very well end up changing the names of these colors.
Credit: Ice Universe / Weibo
Apple could also make the iPhone 18 Pro stand out with a new selection of colors. The main rumor right now is that burgundy, purple and brown could be the color offerings this year, which would meaning no returning colors from the iPhone 17 Pro's options of orange, blue and silver.
Although the iPhone 18 Pro's display may not change in terms of size or resolution (at least according to the rumors as they stand), we could still see a big alteration in the form of under-display Face ID . After almost a decade of big notch or Dynamic Island cut-outs, Apple may hide its facial recognition sensors under the screen, with only the selfie camera left visible. However, a leak image indicate that the Dynamic Island is simply going to shrink in size .
Credit: @Majinbuofficial/X
Even though a recent unboxing video published by Unboxed Therapy shows off dummy units of the iPhone Ultra and iPhone 18 Pro Max, it's gives us a good indication to what the smaller iPhone 18 Pro will look like. If that's not enough, we even get a glimpse at some of the new colorways for the Pros.
iPhone 18 Pro: Cameras
It appears that we won't get a big camera sensor upgrade with the iPhone 18 Pro. It should carry the same trio of 48MP units covering main, ultrawide, and 4x telephoto duties, plus an 18MP Center Stage front camera as the iPhone 17 Pro. But two big changes outside of this could still impact photography on the new Pro iPhones.
Credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco
One is the potential addition of a variable aperture to the main camera, although one source has claimed this could just be for the Pro Max , not both Pro models. Given the parity between the Pro and Pro Max for the last couple of generations, Apple could use this opportunity to keep this variable aperture exclusive to the iPhone 18 Pro Max.
The other is a Camera Control adjustment . This button has proved controversial since it was added on the iPhone 16 Pro, but the iPhone 18 Pro could refine it by removing its capacitive capabilities, but without removing any of its setting-altering abilities.
iPhone 18 Pro: Performance
Apple is believed to be introducing a new A20 Pro chipset to use in the iPhone 18 Pro. This silicon is believed to be built on a 2nm process — a more compact design that should mean greater power efficiency and higher performance. This will supposedly be joined by 12GB RAM , just like the iPhone 17 Pro.
Credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco
Another new chip in the iPhone 18 Pro will apparently be the Apple-made C2 modem , the upgraded version of the C1 and C1X modems used in the iPhone 16e and iPhone Air . This will hopefully mean more stable, speedier and more efficient cellular connectivity.
But for when you need to send messages while off the grid, the iPhone 18 Pro's rumored 5G satellite connectivity could help. The iPhone's satellite capabilities currently extend only to sending emergency alerts and limited iMessages, so the ability to communicate more freely could come in more than a little handy in an emergency.
iPhone 18 Pro: Outlook
We already have enough rumored details about the iPhone 18 Pro to get excited. Other than the possibility of an increased price, we're curious if upgrades like the new chip, variable main camera aperture, and under-display Face ID turn out to be real, and how exactly they'll perform in the real world.
You can read more about the rumored upgrades for the iPhone Class of 2026 in our iPhone 18 Pro Max and iPhone Fold hubs. If you're curious about the standard iPhone 18 , then we have a guide on that model as well, but it may be launching in 2027 if the release rumors are to be believed.
