Last year Apple made the base iPhone 17 extremely compelling, in part due to display upgrades like ProMotion. But rumors about the iPhone 18 indicate it could regress in minor ways to be more like Apple’s budget ‘e’ model.
Apple might make display and chip ‘downgrades’ in iPhone 18 to cut costs
Earlier this week, Weibo leaker Fixed Focus Digital said that the base iPhone 18 would be launching later than usual. This was no surprise, as other reporting points to an early 2027 launch.
In addition to corroborating that iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e will debut simultaneously, the leaker said Apple is planning to capitalize on this timing with several manufacturing cost-cutting measures.
Today, he has followed up with some specific details on iPhone 18 ‘downgrades’ to expect.
In one post, he claims iPhone 18’s screen specifications will be a regression compared to iPhone 17, aligning more with iPhone 18e.
Does this mean Apple will drop ProMotion support? No, as major user-facing downgrades are not expected. However, the leaker does believe there will be minor spec regressions that the average user might easily miss.
A second post hints that the iPhone 18’s chip will also be more aligned with iPhone 18e.
Even though iPhone 17 and iPhone 17e both have an A19 chip, the ‘e’ model comes with a binned version. It offers only four working GPU cores, while iPhone 17 has five.
If a downgrade truly is coming, the A20 chip will still almost certainly be better than last year’s A19, but perhaps with a bigger drop in performance compared to A20 Pro than we might normally expect.
9to5Mac’s Take
Fixed Focus Digital has a decent track record with leaks. And Apple finding small ways to cut costs as a benefit of launching iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e simultaneously makes a lot of sense.
That said, it sounds like the kind of regressions being considered are ultimately pretty minor. If you’re shopping for a new iPhone and choose the base iPhone 18 or iPhone 18e, I’d bet you’re unlikely to notice the changes being implemented.
The leaker also confirms that the iPhone 18 Pro isn’t expected to be hit by these cost-cutting measures. So if you’re a Pro user, you have nothing to worry about.
Are you worried at all about Apple’s reported cost-cutting measures with iPhone 18? Let us know in the comments.
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