What will Apple call its iPhone 2018 models? Well, isn’t that the million dollar question? The answer to which only a very select few in the Cupertino company probably know.
There has been a prediction that we will see a larger iPhone X appear with a 6.5-inch OLED display, alongside another 5.8-inch OLED model and a separate 6.1-inch device with an LCD display.
Perhaps this will mean that the new iPhones will predominantly continue with the “X” name, resulting in the iPhone XI or iPhone X2 and iPhone X Plus (in gold?) for the OLED models, with the standard iPhone 9 naming reserved for the LCD model. As we said though, it’s anyone’s guess at the moment.
The XI branding would make a lot of sense because it would be pronounced iPhone 11, just as iPhone X is spoken as iPhone 10.
The very credible Mark Gurman at Bloomberg has confirmed that he believes there will be an iPhone X Plus. According to Gurman, Apple will release three new iPhones this September, and all three will use Face ID for authentication.
The new range will consist of a refreshed iPhone X, a larger version of that refreshed iPhone X, and a cheaper iPhone that combines the iPhone X’s slim-bezels with older iPhones’ LCD display – maybe the iPhone 9?
None of them will use Touch ID. As for the larger iPhone X’s size, it will have a display close to 6.5 inches so yes, the iPhone X Plus. The current iPhone X has a 5.8-inch screen.
There have been a lot of claims that Apple will launch a reduced-price version of the iPhone X. This is very likely to be the iPhone 8 replacement, but there will probably be a higher-up model as well.
Apple iPhone 2018 design
TouchID expected to be ditched completely
iPhone X design expected on all 2018 models
Stainless steel frame predicted to remain but we think a switch to aluminium more likely
Apple made some big design changes to the iPhone with the iPhone X. It moved away from what has defined the iPhone for the last decade by removing the Touch ID home button on the front and replacing it with a notch at the top of the display, housing a new technology called FaceID.
Will the iPhone home button die this year (so no iPhone 9 in that case) with the iPhone X design taking over for all 2018 models?
By September, those who weren’t initially sold on the iPhone X’s design will have had 12 months to get used to it and given Tim Cook said the iPhone X lays the foundations for the next 10 years of the iPhone, we wouldn’t be surprised to see all the 2018 models feature the new design.
An image from case maker Olixar showing screen protectors for the new iPhone models revealed the supposed physical footprints of three iPhones with 5.8, 6.1- and 6.5-inch displays. The 5.8 and 6.5-inch models will be the iPhone X successors with OLED screens (iPhone XI or X2 and iPhone X Plus) while the 6.1-inch model will have an LCD screen – but what might that model be called?
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Apple Iphone 2018 Whats The Story So Far image 3
Ming Chi-Kuo, the KGI Securities analyst who loves to share his Apple predictions, also believes there will be two OLED iPhone models this year, both of which will retain the stainless steel frame but offer improvements for cellular and Wi-Fi transmissions.
And he also claims there will be a third model that will have an LCD display, as we mentioned above, suggesting this will be a cheaper option.
Kuo does predict all three models will lose Touch ID in favour of Face ID however, which makes sense. We aren’t convinced about Apple retaining stainless steel though. In fact, while ditching the old design entirely is a perfectly plausible move, the £1000 starting price of the iPhone X is steep and a switch to aluminium would presumably help reduce this so for now, we’re placing our bets on at least one aluminium frame, if not all.
In mid-February, analysts from Barclays Bank claimed that the 2018 iPhone would have a smaller ‘notch’ than the iPhone X, based on reports and meetings they had during CES 2018 in January. This again tallies with the above image.
Analysts Andrew Gardiner, Hiral Patel, Joseph Wolf and Blayne Curtis believe this year’s iPhone X upgrade, will come with a second-generation TrueDepth camera system.
Finisar, who provide the VCSEL laser modules for the TrueDepth camera system, seemed to hint in March that the technology will be coming to multiple new iPhones this year – again tallying with what we’ve seen above.
Essentially, Finisar is opening up a new plant in Sherman, Texas, with the funding coming from Apple’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund. It’s certainly gearing up for its components to be used in a lot more devices than just iPhone X.
Early on there were rumours that Apple might launch a gold version of the iPhone X this year. But it seems Apple isn’t stopping there. According to a note from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via 9to5Mac), the new colours include grey, white, blue, red, and orange.
The colours will apparently come on the cheaper model. Perhaps that won’t have the iPhone X wireless charging and so won’t need a glass back (instead it will be aluminum like the iPhone 7 and before). Apple does seem pretty dead set on moving over to wireless charging, however.
Apple iPhone 2018 display
Three models have been predicted
Sizes ranging from 5.8-inches to 6.5-inches
18:9 aspect ratio expected for all
Apple made a move to OLED with the iPhone X so it comes as no surprise that the company is predicted to continue to offer OLED options in 2018.
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Apple iPhone 2018 Whats the story so far image 2
According to Ming Chi-Kuo, there will be a 6.5-inch OLED model, a 5.8-inch OLED model and a 6.1-inch LCD model. The analyst shared an infographic that suggests the 6.1-inch LCD model will offer a footprint between the current iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus despite the larger screen, which would be possible should it adopt the 18:9 aspect ratio the iPhone X offers.
Kuo also predicted the 6.5-inch model would offer a pixel density of between 480 and 500ppi, the 5.8-inch will offer 458ppi, which is the same as the current iPhone X, and the 6.1-inch model would have between 320 and 330 pixels per inch.
If this is the case, none of the 2018 models will offer a Quad HD resolution like the likes of Samsung’s Galaxy S8 or LG’s V30.
It’s all predictions and guesswork for now though so if you’re all about the pixels, don’t be too disheartened just yet. Aside from pixels and size, we’d expect to see a continuation of 3D Touch on all models, the P3 wide colour gamut and Apple’s True Tone technology on some, if not all 2018 models.
What is Apple’s True Tone technology?
Apple iPhone 2018 cameras
Dual rear cameras on all models?
Improvements likely
TrueDepth camera expected on front of all models
The Apple iPhone X features a dual-rear camera, as does the iPhone 8 so we wouldn’t be surprised to see dual-rear cameras on all the 2018 iPhone models.
It could be that the predicted 6.1-inch LCD model features a singular rear camera, like the standard iPhone 8, but as this 6.1-inch model is suggested to offer a footprint around the same as the iPhone 8 Plus, a dual camera would presumably fit so why not offer it?
It’s also worth expecting some, if not all, models that launch this year to offer the TrueDepth front camera for FaceID and those fun, even if a little gimmicky, Animojis.
Taiwanese news outlet Economic Daily News reported in April that it is expecting an iPhone with a triple-lens camera system in 2019 instead.
Apple iPhone 2018 hardware
A11X or A12 chip likely
Storage models will probably start from at least 64GB
No headphone jack expected
All the 2017 Apple iPhone models featured the same A11 Bionic chip with 64-bit architecture, a neural engine and an embedded M11 motion coprocessor.
A new year brings a new chip, always. That means we are likely to see either an A11X processor in the 2018 iPhone models, or an A12 chip, depending on what Apple chooses to call it. Either way, it will no doubt offer performance improvements and possibly battery improvements if you’re lucky.
None of the 2018 models are likely to feature microSD for storage expansion as Apple devices never have done and they aren’t likely to resurrect the 3.5mm headphone jack either so expect a Lightning port only for both charging and listening to music.
Current storage options for the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X are 64GB and 256GB so we’d guess the same will apply for any 2018 models, unless Apple opts to start options at 128GB. We certainly don’t expect lower than 64GB.
