Apple used its Sept. 10 launch event to introduce the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and iPhone Duo, the company’s first foldable phone. The standard iPhone 18 was absent, and the source article says its release could slip to the first quarter of next year.
Under Apple’s release schedule cited by the source, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will open for pre-orders at 8 p.m. on Sept. 12 and go on sale on Sept. 18. The iPhone Duo will open for pre-orders on Oct. 16 and reach stores on Oct. 23.
iPhone Duo is pitched for media and work, with trade-offs in cameras and unlocking
The source article starts with the Duo. Apple’s first foldable iPhone drew attention for its smooth animation when switching between folded and unfolded states, but the piece argues that buying decisions still come down to practical use cases.
When folded, the iPhone Duo has a 5.4-inch outer display. The article says its wider design gives that screen 90% of the display area of the iPhone 18 Pro. Unfolded, it expands to a 7.6-inch inner screen and uses an under-display camera.
The article notes that Samsung had used under-display cameras in large foldables since the Galaxy Z Fold3 line, but dropped that design in the latest Galaxy Z Fold8. Apple has now adopted the same route for the Duo.
On use cases, the source sees the Duo as strongest in entertainment and office work. The 7.6-inch display reduces black bars in video and gives games a larger field of view, especially in MOBA titles. On the hardware side, the article says the phone uses the A20 Pro chip, a custom VC vapor chamber and a dual-battery setup to support sustained performance.
For productivity, the article says the Duo’s inner display provides 50% more viewing area than the iPhone 18 Pro Max, making it better suited for documents and image work. Apple also said the Duo will support Apple Pencil (USB-C) later this year for note-taking, sketching and document markup on both the inner and outer displays.
The source also highlights three areas where the phone comes up short. First, it does not include a dedicated telephoto camera. For concerts, events or travel shots of distant subjects, the article says the experience may lag behind the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
Second is price. The iPhone Duo starts at 15,999 yuan for 256GB, rises to 17,999 yuan for 512GB, 21,499 yuan for 1TB and 26,499 yuan for 2TB. The article describes that as expensive within the broader foldable category and says some gamers may be better served by an iPad mini 7 plus an iPhone 18 Pro.
Third, the Duo uses a side-mounted fingerprint sensor rather than Face ID. Because the body is relatively wide, the article says one-handed use and unlocking may feel less convenient.
Based on those traits, the source says the Duo is best suited to three groups: early adopters who want Apple’s new form factor and are not sensitive to price, office users who handle documents frequently and can use it as a portable mini-tablet, and buyers who want one device to cover both smartphone and small-tablet scenarios.
The article adds that, in a market where Android and HarmonyOS foldables have already gone through several years of iteration, the Duo does not bring many surprises. Even so, it argues that the product looks mature in design and software-hardware integration, with strong animation, iOS adaptation and a less visible crease.
iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max focus on the A20 Pro and a variable-aperture main camera
For Apple’s traditional flagship slab phones, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max keep the same general design language as the previous generation, including an aluminum body and a horizontal large camera module. Display sizes are 6.3 inches and 6.9 inches. The source says the main upgrades are the A20 Pro processor and a variable-aperture main camera.
At the event, Apple used Monster Hunter: Traveler to show off gaming performance. The article says current Android phones still cannot run the title at a locked full frame rate, and presents Apple’s choice of game as a sign of confidence in the new models.
According to the source, the A20 Pro is built on a 2nm process. Its CPU uses a new architecture with two ultra-large cores and four efficiency cores, paired with a 7-core GPU. GPU performance is said to be up 40%. To improve long gaming sessions, both Pro models also use an upgraded VC vapor chamber for better heat dissipation.
On the camera side, the variable-aperture main sensor is one of the biggest updates in this cycle. The article says it allows users to adjust light intake and depth of field. A smaller aperture can expand the sharp area in close-up shots and reduce blur around the subject, while a larger aperture brings in more light and keeps a stronger optical background blur for low-light scenes.
Screen sizes are unchanged, but the source says the Dynamic Island is slightly smaller and now supports showing three Live Activities at the same time, increasing the amount of task information visible on screen.
Pricing starts at 9,999 yuan for the 256GB iPhone 18 Pro, 11,999 yuan for 512GB, 15,499 yuan for 1TB and 20,499 yuan for 2TB.
The iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at 10,999 yuan for 256GB, then 12,999 yuan for 512GB, 16,499 yuan for 1TB and 21,499 yuan for 2TB.
The article says the Pro pair fit buyers who value Apple’s ecosystem, want top-end gaming performance or regularly shoot photos and video. Between the two, with just a 1,000 yuan gap at the same storage tier, the decision comes down mainly to whether the buyer prefers a smaller flagship or a larger screen.
The standard iPhone 18 did not appear, but the source says it may still be the one to wait for
The standard iPhone 18 did not appear at Apple’s launch event. The source says that may be related to high DRAM and NAND pricing or to an internal strategy shift, though it does not cite an official Apple explanation.
Citing analyst Jeff Pu, the article says the standard iPhone 18 could come with 12GB of memory, while the iPhone 18e could have 9GB, and the Dynamic Island may also shrink. Because the Pro models already received a smaller Dynamic Island, the article argues that the same change on the standard model looks plausible. It also says the standard version may use the same variable-aperture main camera as the Pro models. Following Apple’s usual pattern, battery capacity is also expected to increase, while the chip is projected to be a standard A20 version.
The source calls 12GB of memory and a variable aperture two key upgrades for the iPhone 18 family. More memory would reduce background app evictions, while the camera change could improve shooting across different environments.
On pricing, the article says the iPhone 17 launched from 5,999 yuan and now starts at 6,799 yuan on Apple’s official website. Based on that, it predicts the standard iPhone 18 may open at a price not far from the current iPhone 17 range, keeping a clear price advantage over the Pro models and supporting strong sales.
There is also speculation around a naming and positioning shift. The source says X user @earlyappleleaks recently claimed Apple is considering replacing the standard iPhone 18 with an iPhone Air 2, upgrading it to a dual rear camera setup with a starting price of $999, or roughly 6,700 yuan.
The article pushes back on that idea. It cites a May 1 post from @数码闲聊站 saying Air products have generated attention without matching sales, with iPhone Air activations only barely exceeding 700,000 after multiple price cuts, while one domestic Air-branded phone reached just 50,000 activations. It also cites Xiaomi President Lu Wei, who said an extremely thin design sacrifices battery life, thermal performance, camera capability and overall performance, and remains a niche segment based on sales.
On that basis, the source says Apple is unlikely to replace the standard iPhone 18 with an iPhone Air 2, especially with iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max pricing already in five figures in yuan. In its view, Apple still needs a more affordable, broadly usable device to hold its market position.
The source article’s buying guide
The article closes by saying that price increases this year are concentrated in the Pro lineup, while hardware upgrades are focused on imaging, peak performance and the foldable form factor. The deciding factors remain budget and use case.
In its view, the highest-end performance of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max matters less for people who do not play games. The Duo offers a new form factor inside Apple’s phone range, but an iPad may still work better in some gaming and office scenarios. Unless a buyer has a clear need for a large screen, photography, heavy gaming or a foldable device, the article says there is little reason to pay the premium.
Its budget-based recommendation is straightforward: buyers with more than 15,000 yuan to spend and a preference for form-factor novelty and multitasking office work can go directly for the iPhone Duo; buyers around the 10,000 yuan level who want an all-around flagship slab phone are better matched with the iPhone 18 Pro; and those with lower budgets can wait for the standard iPhone 18 expected in the first quarter of next year, or consider the iPhone 17 family as well as Android and HarmonyOS phones.
The original article was from Lei Technology and published by MarsBit.