The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max could be among the most exciting phones of the year — or they could be really boring. It really comes down to which rumors we've heard about them turn out to be right.
With that in mind, we’ve rounded up and rated the biggest iPhone 18 Pro rumors, detailing what’s been claimed and how likely we think these upgrades are to happen.
The rumors cover everything from colors to pricing, camera upgrades, design changes, and more, so there’s a lot to get stuck into.
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1. A gorgeous new Dark Cherry shade
One of the most exciting potential iPhone 18 Pro changes isn’t a new feature or any hardware upgrades — it’s the color. It’s rumored that, along with a couple of other new shades, this phone might be sold in ‘Dark Cherry’, a color that the internet has already fallen in love with.
And while this is just a rumor for now, it seems likely that something along these lines will ship, as several sources have mentioned similar shades, including one leaker who on Weibo pointed to a color that’s a mix of burgundy, coffee, and deep purple. Mark Gurman — a source with a superb track record — has also pointed to a “deep red” shade for the iPhone 18 Pro. So we're pretty confident about its authenticity.
- Likelihood: 9/10
2. A variable aperture
We’ve also heard from several sources that the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max might have a variable aperture camera.
That would mean you could adjust the aperture on one of the lenses, which would in turn mean you could vary the depth of field to control how much is in focus, since in some cases you might want everything in focus, while in others you might want the background blurred.
This could also help with low-light shots, since a wider aperture would allow more light to reach the sensor.
Since we’ve heard claims of a variable aperture from several sources, including reputable ones like analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, we’d say there’s a fairly high chance that this upgrade will happen. Our only hesitation is that it feels like a slightly niche feature for Apple to implement, given that most people probably just point and shoot.
- Likelihood: 8/10
3. Under-display Face ID
There could be a big change to the design of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, as it’s possible that their Face ID components will be hidden under the screen.
The camera components probably won’t be, so there’s likely to still be a cut-out, but it could just be a small punch-hole like you see on most Android phones.
Interestingly, one source also claims that the Dynamic Island will move to the left corner of the screen, leaving the top center clear. We’re less sure of that particular change, but enough sources have mentioned under-display Face ID that we’re fairly confident about seeing this tweak come to fruition, at least.
Mind you, an under-display Face ID system would be quite a significant change for Apple, and one that probably requires a lot of work, so we’re still less certain of it than some other rumored upgrades.
- Likelihood: 7/10
4. A 5G satellite upgrade
One possible upgrade that we’ve heard a couple of times is that the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max might support 5G over satellites, meaning you’d likely be able to fully use your phone with high-speed data, even when there’s no signal or Wi-Fi in the area.
You can already contact emergency services over satellite on iPhones, but the functionality is limited and relatively slow, so this could be a huge upgrade, especially if it’s not limited to emergency situations.
Supposedly, the upgrade would be powered by Apple’s C2 modem, but since this claim hasn’t been repeated often, we’re not sure whether it will actually happen or not.
- Likelihood: 5/10
5. Prices might stay the same
One of the big stories in tech over the last year has been that of rising prices, with various factors contributing to this trend, but the main one being AI demands leading to inflated memory costs.
So, you might be expecting the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max to cost more than their predecessors, but in fact, they might not. Analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities claims — via Apple Insider — that Apple is trying to keep prices the same as last year, through a combination of negotiating favorable deals and reducing costs for components other than memory.
We’ve heard similar things from other sources previously, though some of them suggest that Apple will only be able to keep prices down for a limited time — meaning that the iPhone 19 line might cost more, or perhaps even that there could be price rises for the iPhone 18 series sometime after launch. But we’re cautiously optimistic that prices might not rise at launch anyway.
- Likelihood: 6/10
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