While many iPhone users are content to use the same model for many years, they really aren’t the users Apple (AAPL) most wants to target when it releases a new iPhone.
The people whose attention Apple most wants to capture are the tech-savvy folks, always excited to get a slate of new features to play with. Call them the gadget geeks, if you will. A passion for new tech excites them, and it’s often these people who are lining up to get a new iPhone on launch day.
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To be fair, it’s easy to see why so many people do get excited for new iPhones. Apple is known for staying on the cutting edge of tech, and the leaks about the upcoming iPhone 17 are no exception.
With four models rumored to be on the way, including a new iPhone Air to replace the current iPhone Plus, and a rectangular “camera bar design” that could house larger camera modules, it is exciting to consider what might come our way this September.
But while iPhone fans are waiting for this year’s announcements, Apple is already planning the launch of the iPhone 18 for 2026, and its plan could spell problems for those worried about the high costs of upgrading.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has some plans in store for next year’s iPhones.
Image source: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
iPhone 18’s rollout will be very different
Longtime Apple fans know that the company typically makes an annual announcement about its new phone models in the second week of September.
That said, the company is considering a new plan for 2026, according to new reporting from The Information sourced to “three people with knowledge of the matter.”
Related: No, Apple iPhones won’t be made in America anytime soon
If you’re hoping to hear about the company’s most affordable version of the new model, you may have to wait until 2027.
Apple plans to release the iPhone 18 Pro first in 2026 and hold off on releasing the basic model, as well as the new iPhone16e, until spring 2027. The report also says that Apple will test making its cheaper iPhone models in India.
A foldable model of the iPhone may also come out in fall of 2026, according to the report.
Apple navigates the trade war
Part of this new strategy is about Apple buying time. Since President Trump’s tariffs announcement, many businesses that rely heavily on China for manufacturing have been worried about what the changes will mean for them.
Apple would be heavily impacted by these changes, as at the time Trump’s administration announced them, China accounted for around 80% of Apple’s production capacity. Up to this point, the phones were made by Apple partner Foxconn.
On May 2 during the company’s earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that Apple would be shifting the production of all its U.S. iPhone supply to India, while it will turn to Vietnam for “almost all iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and AirPods products sold in the U.S.”
While President Trump’s administration announced on April 12 that his tariffs would exempt smartphones, computers, and some other devices from reciprocal tariffs, major tech companies have continued to move manufacturing out of China. And that’s not a new thing on the whole, because many were working on a China exit before the tariffs were announced.
IBM was one of the companies to pull out of China in 2024 after 32 years. Microsoft also shuttered its Chinese operations with joint venture Wicresoft as of April 8, 2025. And Dell is yet another tech company that’s been working on pulling away from China for years, announcing in 2023 that it would phase out Chinese-made chips by 2024.
While Trump said in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press with Kristen Welker that Chinese tariffs “will eventually be lowered,” no specifics were offered as to when that might happen.
“…Otherwise you could never do business with them,” Trump said in the interview. “They want to do business very much … their economy is collapsing.”
