2026 will be a transformative year for Apple. Not only could it be the year Tim Cook steps down to replace his successor , but it will also be the first year the Cupertino company could experiment with splitting the launch windows for new iPhones , creating a very clear dividing line between the most expensive and the most popular models .
This isn’t the first time this scenario has been discussed, but now the rumors seem to be confirmed by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman , who, in his newsletter Power On, outlined the main details of this major reorganization.
APPLE IN 2026: HOW THE iPhone LINEUP IS CHANGING
According to Gurman, Apple will continue to dominate September with the launch of its true flagship models, namely the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max , and the first foldable iPhone . By doing so, the year will end with the commercial launch of the best the Cupertino company will have to offer in the next 12 months, leaving the iPhone 18 (and more) to be unveiled at a later date.
More precisely, Gurman points to this moment in the spring of the following year – 2027 in this case – when the company could lift the veil on the iPhone 18 and 18e , as well as the possible revision of the iPhone Air , although the real positioning of the latter still needs to be understood.
Gurman himself emphasized that Apple had already intended to approach this model with caution, since its presentation did not connect it in any way to the iPhone 17 line , immediately implying that it could be a model disconnected from the classic annual update cycle . The Air was certainly a necessary model for field testing some solutions and miniaturization processes fundamental for Apple’s first foldable phone.
An interesting aspect of Gurman’s statements is that the insider is not entirely convinced that Apple will adopt a second rear camera on the Air 2 , since this would require a major overhaul of the engineering work done on the current model, while the changes should focus more on the transition to 2nm and an improved battery . In addition to Gurman’s predictions, we also do not expect an improvement in audio quality, with the introduction of stereo speakers in this model as well.
IPHONE PRO: THE REAL NEXT GEN IPHONES
The splitting of the launch windows between the iPhone Pro and the standard iPhone would represent the culmination of a process that has been underway for years, which has made the numbered iPhone an increasingly less central model in terms of the introduction of new Apple technologies, leaving the Pro models that were truly capable of making the generational leap felt.
The decision to move the iPhone 18 to spring, in fact, would be the final step in this process of devaluation of the base model, but at the same time it would allow Apple to be present on the market even in a phase of the year usually dominated by the big names in the Android world , starting with Samsung.
Moreover, the sales data for the iPhone 17 demonstrate how the public is increasingly turning to the Pro series when it comes to making day one purchases , allowing the base model to gain greater traction through offers and promotions capable of making it more attractive over time.
We must also consider that the base model is never the iPhone on which the general public upgrades annually, but rather it is seen as the device in the lineup to get if you don’t have any particular needs , therefore the one preferred by those who have a longer upgrade cycle and don’t care about the advantages of the Pros. From this perspective, a postponement of the launch window and the repositioning of the Pro series appear to be fundamental steps to introduce greater clarity into the lineup.