{"id":249955,"date":"2026-01-24T18:55:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T18:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/249955\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T18:55:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T18:55:14","slug":"iphone-18-release-date-and-pricing-rumours-spec-leaks-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/249955\/","title":{"rendered":"iPhone 18 release date and pricing rumours, spec leaks and more"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Apple\u2019s iPhone release schedule is like clockwork, with the company releasing its new-gen iPhones every September \u2013 but that might not be the case for the iPhone 18.<\/p>\n<p>While we\u2019ll be seeing some models of iPhone 18 this year, the iPhone 18 allegedly won\u2019t be one of them. Instead, Apple is said to be focusing on the Pro and long-awaited foldable models, with the iPhone 18 getting a little more time to \u2018cook\u2019 before it\u2019s released in 2027.<\/p>\n<p>With that said, here\u2019s everything there is to know about the iPhone 18 right now, from release date and pricing rumours to the latest display leaks.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>iPhone 18 in summary<\/p>\n<p>Set for release in Spring 2027<\/p>\n<p>Might cost more due to RAM shortage, but not base model<\/p>\n<p>Said to have a much brighter screen than the iPhone 17<\/p>\n<p>When will the iPhone 18 be released?<\/p>\n<p>One of the most interesting rumours we\u2019ve heard about the iPhone 18 so far revolves around its release date \u2013 because for the first time ever, Apple might not be launching the iPhone 18 in September.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\n        Advertisement    <\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s not to say that Apple won\u2019t launch any iPhones this September, but the regular iPhone 18 won\u2019t be one of them. Instead, this year\u2019s autumn iPhone event is said to focus on the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, along with the long-rumoured iPhone Fold.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The iPhone 18, on the other hand, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.macrumors.com\/2026\/01\/01\/no-iphone-18-launch-this-year\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">is said to have<\/a> been pushed back to Spring 2027, likely to be revealed alongside the cheaper iPhone 18e. The iPhone 16e launched in Spring 2025, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/news\/apple-isnt-done-with-the-iphone-17-series-theres-another-version-coming\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">iPhone 17e is similarly expected<\/a> to debut sometime in the Spring this year, so the launch period is at least familiar to Apple.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019d make a lot of sense too, especially on such a big year for Apple\u2019s iPhone collection. This way, the regular iPhone won\u2019t get overshadowed by the more exciting Pro and foldable models. And compared to whatever the iPhone 18e will offer, we imagine the iPhone 18 will look pretty good, rather than playing catch-up to the Pro models when they\u2019re launched together.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"820\" height=\"461\" data-lazy-type=\"image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/iPhone-17-7-820x461.jpeg\" alt=\"iPhone 17 on a table\" class=\"lazy lazy-hidden wp-image-4640692\"\/>Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)<\/p>\n<p>How much will the iPhone 18 cost?<\/p>\n<p>Brace yourselves for disappointment here; the iPhone 18 might cost more than the iPhone 17, and it\u2019s mainly down to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/explainer\/ram-prices-2026\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">current RAM shortage<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Driven mainly by AI data centres hoovering up as much RAM as they can get, there\u2019s a shortage of RAM for use in pretty much everything else, from PC graphics cards to smartphone RAM \u2013 and that\u2019s a problem when the iPhone\u2019s AI features rely on at least 8GB of RAM.<\/p>\n<p>\n        Advertisement    <\/p>\n<p>To combat ballooning RAM prices, Apple <a href=\"https:\/\/m.blog.naver.com\/PostView.naver?blogId=yeux1122&amp;logNo=224147153621&amp;navType=by\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">is said to be<\/a> raising the prices of the entire iPhone 18 range \u2013 but crucially, not the base models.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, the additional component cost is being pushed to the higher-capacity options, meaning the 256GB iPhone 18 will likely come in at a similar \u00a3799\/$799 to the iPhone 17, but the 512GB variant might cost more than \u00a3999\/$999.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Latest iPhone 18 rumours<\/p>\n<p>Aside from the rumours about a later release and a potentially higher price tag, there\u2019s very little in the way of iPhone 18 rumours.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Most are focusing on the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Fold, which makes sense, given that they\u2019re likely further along in production to get ready for launch later this year, while Apple has much longer to go before the iPhone 18 makes its debut.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That said\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\n        Advertisement    <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"820\" height=\"461\" data-lazy-type=\"image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/iPhone-17-15-820x461.jpeg\" alt=\"iPhone 17 screen\" class=\"lazy lazy-hidden wp-image-4640684\"\/>Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)<\/p>\n<p>Screen<\/p>\n<p>If rumours from a Chinese leaker are to be believed, one of the key upgrades to the iPhone 18 experience could come in the display department \u2013 more specifically, a much brighter display.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/m.weibo.cn\/detail\/5257523164874590\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">leaker claims<\/a> that Chinese supplier BOE has little hope of manufacturing panels for the iPhone 18 because Apple\u2019s brightness requirements are \u201cunprecedentedly high\u201d, suggesting the iPhone will see a considerable leap forward in terms of overall brightness.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>With <a href=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/news\/samsung-could-make-the-iphone-18-better-heres-why\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">separate reports claiming<\/a> that BOE is struggling to produce iPhone OLED panels and forcing Apple to instead rely on Samsung Display, there could indeed be something to the rumour \u2013 but the specifics of just how bright the next iPhone could get are yet to be seen.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Apple\u2019s iPhone release schedule is like clockwork, with the company releasing its new-gen iPhones every September \u2013 but&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":249956,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[342,111,139,69,145],"class_list":{"0":"post-249955","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-mobile","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nz","12":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}