Apple has announced the iPhone 18 Pro series and the long-rumoured foldable iPhone Duo, but the base iPhone 18 was missing from the Surprise And Shine event.
Instead, the company debuted three high-end models: the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the iPhone Duo. The cheapest of the three units is $2099.
Notably absent were the more affordable models that we expected to see.
Where is the iPhone 18?
So where is the base model iPhone 18? Industry reporting suggests the more accessible models including the 18 and 18 Air are set to arrive in March.
Historically, Apple has refreshed the entire iPhone range at the same time in September. Skipping the base model and pushing it to the following year is very uncommon.
The staggered release cycle is a new precedent for iPhone, but we’ve seen mixed update timings before in iPad and MacBook lines depending on chip availability and product positioning.
Why the change?
The likely reasoning could be many things: to give the Pro and Duo a clearer spotlight, to reduce manufacturing pressure, or in response to the memory shortage.
Supply-constrained launches have sometimes seen specific models ship later than the rest of the lineup, so manufacturing and component availability is the likely culprit.
There could also be a marketing strategy reason for the change. Splitting the iPhone into two release waves will keep the iPhone 18 generation at the forefront of the market for a longer time.
Frontloading the release with the high-end models would possibly push early adopters into buying a more expensive model rather than wait for the cheaper one.
Since Tim Cook stepped down earlier this year, this could be the first step in a line of changes for the company under John Ternus.
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