iPhone 18 Pro: 7 biggest leaks before you upgrade — camera, dark cherry design and more

The iPhone 18 Pro rumour mill is officially running at full speed.

We’re entering that familiar pre-launch danger zone: The part of the year when you desperately want a new phone, but everyone keeps telling you to wait for Apple’s next big September reveal. Usually, that is solid advice.

This year, however, the decision may not be quite so straightforward.

If you’re looking at your current phone and wondering whether to upgrade today or hold out for the iPhone 18 Pro and its rumoured new price tag, the waiting game could get interesting.

From a major shake-up to Apple’s launch strategy to a smaller Dynamic Island, a variable-aperture camera and a potentially eye-watering price hike, here’s every major iPhone 18 Pro leak doing the rounds.

The biggest potential change may not even be inside the phone. It could be the way Apple launches it.

According to Bloomberg, Apple may finally move away from its traditional “four iPhones, one September launch” strategy in an effort to create a more consistent stream of revenue throughout the year.

The result: A possible two-stage release strategy:

September 2026: The big guns, the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and Apple’s highly anticipated first-ever foldable iPhone.

Spring 2027: The more affordable models, including the base iPhone 18, iPhone Air 2 and iPhone 18e.

In other words, Apple could be turning the iPhone launch from one giant annual event into a year-round sequel.

Cherry anyone?

If you liked the dramatic visual overhaul introduced with the iPhone 17 Pro, including its distinctive camera “plateau” and two-tone finish — there may be good news. Apple is reportedly sticking with that design language for 2026.

The colour palette, however, could be getting a fresh injection of personality.

Leakers Sonny Dickson and Instant Digital, as quoted by PCMag, have hinted at a never-before-seen cherry red and a fresh light blue, alongside a classic dark gray and a rumoured light gray dummy model.

So, while the iPhone 18 Pro may look familiar at first glance, it could be considerably more colourful.

The Pro Max may also feel a little different in your hand. Leaker Ice Universe claims that the larger battery could make the iPhone 18 Pro Max 0.25mm thicker and 7 grams heavier than its predecessor.

Not exactly a gym membership, but you may notice the difference.

Apple may be preparing to give your screen more breathing room.

Ice Universe, as noted by PC Mag, reports that the Dynamic Island could shrink by a massive 35%, thanks to Apple reportedly moving the Face ID sensor’s illuminator to a corner beneath the display.

The result: The same Face ID functionality, but with a much smaller cutout.

The rumoured display sizes remain familiar:

Apple is also reportedly working with suppliers on ultra-bright, highly power-efficient LTPO+ display technology.

After upgrading all three rear cameras to 48MP last year, Apple may be turning its attention to another major part of smartphone photography: controlling light.

The iPhone 18 Pro is rumoured to introduce a variable-aperture camera system, marking a significant change from the fixed aperture on the iPhone 17.

The technology would dynamically adjust the aperture, allowing more light in darker environments and reducing the amount of light entering in overly bright conditions.

In theory, that could give iPhone users significantly more control over their shots, and potentially make the camera system even more versatile in challenging lighting.

The iPhone 18 Pro is expected to be powered by Apple’s A20 chip, built using TSMC’s cutting-edge 2nm process.

This would represent a move down from the current 3nm process and allow for significantly more transistors.

There is, however, a catch. MacRumors reports that the next-generation architecture could increase chip production costs by 50%.

The A20 is also expected to use TSMC’s Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module (WMCM) technology. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports that the technology could fuse the RAM directly onto the same wafer as the CPU, GPU and Neural Engine.

The goal: Faster performance, with fewer barriers between the components doing all the heavy lifting.

Apple may also be preparing to shake up its chip strategy.

Rather than reserving a higher-end chip for Pro models and using lower-tier versions in the base models, Apple could reportedly use this high-end A20 variant across the entire iPhone 18 lineup.

This would mean the performance gap between the models could become considerably smaller.

All that new hardware will need power.

Apple is reportedly preparing larger batteries, particularly for its top-tier model.

iPhone 18 Pro Max: Rumoured to jump to 5,200mAh, up from 5,088mAh on the previous model.

iPhone 18 Pro: Expected to see a smaller increase from 4,252mAh to 4,288mAh.

Combine those larger physical capacities with the reportedly more efficient 2nm A20 chip and C2 modem, and the iPhone 18 Pro Max could potentially deliver some seriously impressive daily battery life.

The question is whether the extra battery capacity will be enough to offset all the new features Apple is packing inside.