The 12 months has barely begun, and there are already loads of rumors in regards to the subsequent crop of iPhones. From a attainable folding mannequin to a brand-new iPhone 18 lineup, 2026 (and past) appears to be very attention-grabbing for the tech big’s cell division.
The iPhone 18 is rumored to have a number of modifications from its predecessor, together with variable-aperture cameras, an under-display front-facing digital camera for Face ID, a smaller Dynamic Island, an up to date A20 chip, and new, attention-grabbing colours, together with a “espresso” brown. The most recent rumors counsel that the front-facing digital camera shall be relocated to the highest left nook of the display, and the Digital camera Management button shall be simplified to a pressure-sensing operate. The Dynamic Island may be shrunken in favor of a hole-punch cutout.
However when you’re making an attempt to determine whether or not to purchase an iPhone 17 now or get the iPhone 18, there’s one greatest consideration: The iPhone 18 would not exist. Apple hasn’t formally introduced it. And rumors say the iPhone 18 will not come out in September 2026 (to make room for the rumored iPhone Fold) and could be launched in early 2027 as an alternative.
Personally, I do not assume you need to wait over a 12 months for a brand new telephone, particularly when you’re contemplating an improve from an iPhone 14 or earlier mannequin. Listed below are a number of explanation why.
The iPhone 17 is nice (and so is the 17 Professional)
The iPhone 17 is one in every of our favourite telephones of 2025 and even earned a CNET Editor’s Selection award.
For those who’re trying to improve your telephone, there is a shiny new iPhone stocked in shops proper now, and it is a fairly good one. The iPhone 17 is a unbelievable handset for iPhone devotees, particularly for a base mannequin.
Not solely does the iPhone 17 supply a barely bigger 6.3-inch show (in comparison with the iPhone 16’s 6.1-inch display), nevertheless it additionally encompasses a variable refresh price of 1 to 120Hz, a primary amongst non-Professional iPhones. This allows you to allow an always-on show so you possibly can look on the time or present sports activities scores with out waking your telephone. And, after all, the 120Hz ProMotion show additionally means elevated smoothness and responsiveness general, whether or not scrolling by social feeds or taking part in video video games.
Positive, the iPhone 18 would possibly get improved cameras, however the ones on the iPhone 17 aren’t too shabby. It has two 48-megapixel cameras on the again (a wide-angle and an ultrawide), with the ultrawide being a large improve over the one on the iPhone 16 that solely had a 12-megapixel sensor. The 18-megapixel selfie digital camera (which is on the remainder of the iPhone 17 line and the Air) can be a terrific improve, particularly with its Heart Stage characteristic that zooms out when extra folks enter the body or switches from portrait to panorama with out you rotating the telephone.
On high of that, the iPhone 17 has a sturdy aluminum body, is available in an array of pretty colours (lavender is my favourite) and has a formidable battery life. In my expertise, it lasts greater than a day with reasonable use, and this appears to align with CNET’s Abrar Al-Heeti’s expertise as properly.
If you wish to additional bridge the hole between this 12 months’s iPhone and subsequent 12 months’s mannequin, you could possibly, after all, spend extra on the iPhone 17 Professional. It has a beefier A19 Professional chip, a a lot higher battery life (17 Professional Max) in comparison with the iPhone 17 and has that third digital camera on the again with a telephoto lens, which makes it much more versatile by providing a 4x magnification for zooming into distant topics. I ought to word that battery life on the iPhone 17 and the common iPhone 17 Professional are almost equivalent.
The iPhone 18’s potential launch date
Apple has a powerful providing with the iPhone 17 (left-to-right), iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Professional Max and iPhone 17 Professional.
One other vital cause to not wait to improve to the iPhone 18 is that it might not even be launched subsequent 12 months. Ready 9 months till subsequent fall is dangerous sufficient if in case you have an ailing telephone, however there are at the moment rumors that Apple may very well be switching up its iPhone launch technique.
Bloomberg has reported that the corporate plans to unveil the iPhone 18 Professional, the iPhone 18 Professional Max, and a brand new foldable within the fall of 2026. Nonetheless, the iPhone 18, iPhone 18E and a possible Air 2 are set to debut nearer to March 2027. That is over a 12 months away! You might actually improve to one of many 2026 fashions, however chances are high they will not be as reasonably priced because the spring 2027 releases.
The older your telephone, the extra cause to not wait
In CNET Labs testing the battery life for the iPhone 17 sequence scored properly — even the Air scored in addition to the iPhone 15 did when it was launched.
When you’ve got the iPhone 15 or newer, you could possibly get by ready for one more 12 months for the iPhone 18. But when your telephone is far older than that and you prefer to a brand new iPhone, I see no cause to attend. That is particularly the case when you’re experiencing efficiency and battery points.
We often suggest upgrading in case your present mannequin is 2 generations previous, particularly in case your telephone begins having points along with your day-to-day duties. One normal consensus is that in case your battery’s most capability has dropped beneath 80%, and you do not wish to change the battery, it is most likely sensible to improve. You may verify this by going to your telephone’s Settings, choosing Battery after which Battery Well being.
You may actually maintain your telephone for longer, and Apple usually gives software program and safety assist for the iPhone for properly over 5 years. Nonetheless, you will additionally wish to maintain an eye fixed out in case there are newer options that do not work in your gadget, or if a more moderen iPhone’s digital camera {hardware} would supply sufficient of an improve to be a noticeable enchancment.
However in case you are pondering that you simply’d prefer to get a brand new base-level iPhone anytime within the subsequent 12 months, there’s little cause to stay it out for the iPhone 18 when the iPhone 17 affords so many options.
