Spring iPhone 18 launch rumored since before iPhone 17 debut

Source Domain: appleinsider.com

The iPhone 17 is doing incredibly well for Apple, but a leaker saying that the iPhone 18 launch has been moved because of that is just wrong.

For years as regular as clockwork, Apple has released its main batch of iPhones in the fall. Many rumors have claimed that Apple will stop doing that this September, releasing the iPhone 18 Pro models but holding back the iPhone 18 to the following spring.

However, one Weibo leaker believes the decision was strategic to take advantage of the massive popularity of the iPhone 17. It’s a belief that is, quite frankly, wrong.

In the May 5 post, leaker Fixed Focus Digital talks about how Apple is “truly aiming to wipe out Android” thanks to a “very clever market adjustment mechanism.” This mechanism is the rumored delay of the iPhone 18 into the spring of 2027.

That model will have downgraded memory due to the ongoing RAM supply crisis, but Apple chose to delay the release. The reason for the delay was to “extend the market buzz of the previous generation,” referring to the iPhone 17.

For Apple, the leaker says this will help reduce production costs and increase its market share.

While AppleInsider checked through multiple automated translations of the post to account for mistranslations and other variances, they all still had the same meaning. In all cases, it translates to “Apple’s delay will increase iPhone 17 market share and cut production costs.”

These benefits will be felt by Apple, but it’s certainly not a choice to specifically prolong the sales of a successful model.

Coincidences in timing

The problem with the leaker’s post is that the discussion around a split-release of an iPhone generation has floated around for a considerable amount of time.

Back in July 2025, there were claims from another leaker, Instant Digital, about a split launch. At the time, they said that the rollout of the iPhone 18 lineup would be staggered into early 2027.

We can go further back than that, too. In May 2025,…

Source