As strange as it may sound, the iPhone 18 lineup won’t include the standard model at launch. But it will be released eventually.
Apple to Launch iPhone 18 Lineup Without the Standard Model, But will Bring it in Next Year
According to ET News, the iPhone 18 lineup won’t include the standard base model. In other words, there won’t be a model called the iPhone 18 to buy at launch.
Instead, the lineup will start directly from the iPhone 18 Air, working its way up to iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and then the folding iPhone model.
Apple is going to kick off the lineup with higher end models in late 2027, and introduce entry-level models the year after.
Interestingly, this is very similar to the iPhone roadmap Ming-Chi Kuo shared a while back, which shows the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e models releasing in 2028.
Apple is changing the way it releases smartphones and wants to emphasize on top-end models at launch and bring in lower-end models a few months later.
I’m not sure how that will help the company, but if that’s the route Apple wants to take, there must be a good reason behind it.
