There was something different about today's "Surprise and Shine" launch event from Apple: We didn't get the unveiling of the iPhone 18.
For the first time since Apple started releasing multiple iPhones per year, which was 2013 with the arrival of the iPhone 5c and the iPhone 5s (simpler times), we have several pro-level handsets without the standard version to accompany them. So what's behind the shift? And is the iPhone 18 canceled? Apple, predictably, isn't saying, but we've got enough clues to make an informed guess.
Why Apple didn't announce an iPhone 18
The iPhone Duo was the star of today's show, as predicted. Credit: AppleIf you've been keeping up with Apple rumors since the launch of the iPhone 17, you'll know that this has long been predicted—notably by the most respected purveyor of Apple leaks in the business, reporter Mark Gurman. Gurman was predicting in Bloomberg as far back as November 2025 that we would only get the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the folding iPhone Duo in 2026.
The reason? According to Gurman, it's to spread out revenue more evenly across the year, rather than having most of the iPhones unveiled every September. It also takes some of the pressure off Apple's marketing teams and reduces the likelihood of mishaps like that Siri AI upgrade—which was announced way before it was ready. Gurman also went on record as saying that this is likely to be the norm for "years to come," so get used to it.
However, Gurman wasn't the first to break the news. In May of 2025, Wayne Ma at The Information reported that Apple would hold the standard iPhone 18 model over until 2027, based on conversations with anonymous supply chain sources. As per that report, one of the motivations behind the shift was to make more space for the folding iPhone, which makes sense considering it's Apple's first attempt at the form factor.
Just a day later, well-known and usually well-informed Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo backed up the story, saying that we'd see the foldable iPhone, the iPhone 18 Pro, the iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the iPhone Air 2 (then called the iPhone 18 Slim) in September 2026. Apart from that last handset, he was right.
Kuo added an extra reason for the shift as well: Competition from phone manufacturers based in Asia. A lot of these manufacturers release their flagship handsets during the first half of the year, including Samsung, and as far as Apple is concerned, that can leave it playing catch-up by the time September rolls around.
Here's when the iPhone 18 is expected to be announced
The successor to the iPhone 17e should arrive with the iPhone 18. Credit: AppleWhile the iPhone 18 was a no-show at the "Surprise and Shine" event, there's no indication that it's been canceled. Apple still wants to cater to those who'd rather spend a little less on their iPhones (the iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,119), and the most educated guesses we've seen suggest we'll get the base version of the phone sometime in March.
It's unlikely to be on its own either. We're also expecting to see the iPhone 18e and the iPhone Air 2 appear at the same time, following on from the iPhone 17e (launched in March 2026) and the original iPhone Air (launched in September 2025, alongside the iPhone 17 series).
And that "e" phone series set the foundation for the calendar shift we've now seen with the standard iPhone 18 model. The first of these more affordable handsets, the iPhone SE, showed up in March 2016—it was then followed by the iPhone SE 2 (April 2020), the iPhone SE 3 (March 2022), and the iPhone 16e (February 2025). That shows Apple has been eyeing up the February-March-April slot for non-pro-level iPhones for a decade at this point.
The rumors so far suggest the iPhone 18 will use an A20 chipset, while we're likely to get a RAM bump as well. We now know that the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max have a smaller Dynamic Island, with the ability to show up to three Live Activities, and that's something that should carry across to the standard model (along with iOS 27).
Apple didn't mention the iPhone 18 at all today—not even in a post-credits sequence—but it would be a major surprise if the handset didn't make a belated appearance sometime in the first quarter of next year. If this is the iPhone that's for you, you're just going to have to wait a little while longer.
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