Apple could give the iPhone 18 Pro Max a massive battery upgrade this year. A new leak points to a nearly 12% increase in capacity.
An allegedly leaked image of the phone’s battery points to a 5,391mAh capacity. If accurate, that would give the iPhone 18 Pro Max a nearly 12% larger battery than the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Apple’s September event is just weeks away, but the real question isn’t which iPhone 18 model to buy. It’s whether you should buy an iPhone now, before prices climb. A global memory chip shortage means this year’s iPhone 18 Pro price hike could be the steepest Apple has ever pushed onto Pro buyers. And the latest rumors indicate Apple might even jack up the price of the iPhone 17 lineup.
The good news: If you just want a solid, everyday iPhone, you don’t need to wait. The iPhone 17 models are still available at their original prices. Buying now locks in today’s price before everything gets more expensive.
An iPhone 18 Pro DRAM shortage is threatening to leave Apple’s next flagship phone in short supply the moment it launches. Roughly $1 billion worth of finished processors are reportedly stuck at chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, with no memory to pair them with.
The holdup traces back to the global memory crunch that’s already reshaping Apple’s lineup. With the iPhone 18 Pro and Apple’s first foldable, possibly called the iPhone Ultra, just weeks away, the clock is ticking.
Availability of the iPhone 18 Pro series as well as new Macs and iPads could take a hit this fall. Apple admitted its supply chain is facing challenges.
The result could be lengthy wait times for this fall’s hottest new models. And an analyst warned that there could be price hikes for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, too.
Apple’s iPhone 18 event is only a couple of months away. Thanks to leaks, we already have a fair idea of what to expect. From redesigned hardware to upgraded cameras to even bigger batteries, many of the headline features seem all but confirmed.
Yet, important questions surrounding the new iPhones remain unanswered. And they are the ones that could determine whether the iPhone 18 Pro is worth upgrading to.
The cost of the components needed to produce the iPhone 18 Pro Max will rise up to 80%, according to a new cost analysis by a market research firm. The sharp increase results from the global shortage in memory chips that’s been in headlines so often recently.
A huge jump in Apple’s bill of materials raises questions about how much of these additional costs Apple will pass on to buyers. It potentially could push up the cost of the iPhone 18 Pro Max by as much as $300.
Apple could make dramatic changes to its iPhone release strategy. The major shift: the iPhone 18 release date has reportedly been pushed back to 2027.
There will still be plenty to announce in September, including three new high-end handsets. But the mid-range and entry-level versions — including the iPhone 18 — will stay under wraps for months afterward.
The iPhone 18 Pro Max is reportedly getting a huge battery upgrade — while the standard Pro model might get almost no bump at all.
That could make this the year the Pro Max truly earns its name with a battery gap wider than anything we’ve seen before.
Apple could unveil the iPhone 18 Pro and foldable iPhone on September 8 or September 9, 2026. That’s what Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman estimates based on Apple’s previous release timeline.
If accurate, the new iPhones could go up for preorder later in the week and hit retail stores on September 18.
The new Siri AI in iOS 27 shows up as a glowing pill on the iPhone — and it might just be teasing the iPhone 18 Pro’s biggest design change. On the iPhone 17, the Dynamic Island forces Siri AI to stretch wide and flat to mask the cutout, sacrificing its intended shape.
It looks out of place. But if you pick up an iPhone 18 Pro this fall, that might change. Siri’s pill shape on the current iPhone results from a hardware constraint, and rumors indicate Apple already engineered a fix into its upcoming flagship phone.
This week on the Cult of Mac podcast: As per tradition, we match wits with our predictions about what we’ll see at Apple’s WWDC26 keynote. Griffin and I are joined by two special guests, Charlie Sorrel and Graham Bower, for this year’s installment of the WWDC prediction game.
What will the new Siri do? Will Apple unveil new hardware? And who, exactly, will get how much screen time?
We chisel our answers into digital stone on 10 tricky questions (which also serve as a jumping-off point to discuss Apple’s future and strategies). And, as always, you can play along! Just be sure to submit your answers (via this Google Docs form) before Monday’s WWDC26 keynote.
Also on the Cult of Mac podcast:
Listen to this week’s episode of the Cult of Mac podcast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
iPhone 18 Pro’s alleged battery capacities just surfaced online. While the Chinese variant will reportedly pack a 4,056mAh battery, the US model could feature a larger 4,288mAh cell.
If accurate, these capacities are largely similar to the batteries used in the iPhone 17 Pro.
Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro color lineup may have just been revealed, thanks to images of a fresh batch of dummy units shared by a noted Apple leaker.
The good news: there’s a beautiful new dark cherry option. Now the bad: the popular cosmic orange iPhone is apparently going away.
This week on the Cult of Mac podcast: Holy mackerel, Tim Cook really is stepping down from his CEO role at Apple! And it’s happening sooner than most of us thought. His replacement, John Ternus, sounds like a solid pick — a hardware guy with a long history in Cupertino.
Cook himself says he wants the four-month transition to be “a textbook succession plan, the best in the world.” So the big question is, what will this transition look like for Apple? We’ve got some thoughts. (Lots of ’em, actually.)
Also on the Cult of Mac podcast:
Listen to this week’s episode of the Cult of Mac podcast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video version, embedded below.
Apple reportedly plans to make major upgrades to the iPhone’s cameras in the coming years, starting with the introduction of a variable aperture lens on the iPhone 18 Pro this fall.
But that’s just the start. The company eventually plans to utilize a bigger 200MP sensor on its primary camera, with a periscope telephoto lens for better image quality.
New supply chain information reveals the four iPhone 18 Pro colors Apple might release this September. The popular and vibrant cosmic orange is gone, with a dark, wine-colored cherry red in its place, according to a new report.
Supply chain manufacturers have begun producing components for the iPhone 18 Pro’s variable aperture camera system, according to a new report. It marks a significant milestone ahead of the device’s expected September launch — and a first in iPhone history.
All previous iPhone cameras feature fixed apertures. A variable aperture allows more control of light reaching the sensor for sharper, properly exposed images.
“Dummy” units of all three smartphones that Apple is expected to launch this fall appeared in images posted Tuesday by some noted leakers. The pictures show the first folding iPhone, as well as the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, all in a strange magenta color.
The basic iPhone 18 doesn’t appear in the pictures. And there’s a good reason for that: It’s reportedly not coming this fall.
Despite the severe DRAM and NAND shortages, Apple will supposedly keep the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro’s price unchanged. The company wants to use current chaos to its advantage and increase its market share.
The memory shortages have already forced several smartphone and PC makers to raise prices.
Following the success of the cosmic orange iPhone 17 Pro, Apple reportedly plans to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro in a deep red color. It will seemingly be the new flagship color for 2026 Pro iPhones.
The company may also be testing similar hues internally.
Apple delivered some genuinely meaningful upgrades with the iPhone 17 Pro, fulfilling all the fundamentals: better performance, display, battery life and overall polish. Under normal circumstances, this would make an easy upgrade.
Yet, I’m choosing to skip it. If the iPhone 17 Pro nailed the basics, the iPhone 18 Pro looks set to finally push Apple’s Pro lineup forward in a meaningful way.
Apple is prepping a surprising change to the Dynamic Island with the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro, according to a well-known tipster. The screen cutout will supposedly get a lot smaller, and it’ll move to a new location.
If true, it’ll be the most significant revamp to the Dynamic Island since it debuted in 2022.
A new leak reiterates Apple’s plan to switch to under-display Face ID on the iPhone 18 Pro models this year. The regular iPhone 18 and iPhone Air 2 will reportedly stick with displays featuring the Dynamic Island at the top.
The leak also suggests that Apple plans to retain the same display sizes across its 2026 iPhone lineup, mirroring the current-generation models.
With more than a dozen new Apple products in the pipeline, 2026 is shaping up to be a busy and important year for the company. Among a plethora of high-profile device launches, we should see the first folding iPhone next year
If all the rumors prove true, Apple’s 2026 product road map looks bold, exciting and ambitious. Check out all the new products Apple likely will launch in 2026.
Apple’s 2026 flagship iPhones — the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max — might feature under-display Face ID sensors, according to a new port. As part of the change, the company will reportedly relocate the devices’ front cameras to their top-left corner.
The report also sheds light on other changes coming to next year’s iPhones, including a new rear camera sensor.