The entire tech industry and all of us that follow it are waiting with bated breath for the arrival of the iPhone Fold later this year. Apple’s first ever foldable has the potential to blow away the Galaxy Z Fold 8 on the first try and potentially redefine foldable phones for the mainstream.
But it’s also tipped to cost as much as $2399 in a year when everything is getting more expensive. That price point is prohibitive for a large number of people, so I predict the regular iPhone 18 Pro (and regular iPhone 18) will be the natural upgrade for most users.
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Variable Aperture
One of the big rumors around the photography upgrades is that Apple will equip the iPhone 18 Pro’s 48-megapixel Fusion camera with a variable aperture. This means that users can control the amount of light passing through the camera’s lens to reach the sensor.
You could then control the depth of field in your shots depending on whether you wanted a scene-wide image or a narrower focus on a particular subject. The iPhone currently does this with software trickery but moving from a fixed aperture to a variable aperture could be a huge step forward.
Smartphone dimensions will naturally constrain the sensor size so I don’t expect the iPhone 18 Pro to offer a better experience than the best mirrorless cameras but since the best camera is the one you have with you, and we always carry our phones — any improvement is welcome.
A20 Processor
Apple’s iPhone processors are some of the best in the business. So good, in fact, the company put the A18 Pro inside a laptop with the MacBook Neo.
For the iPhone 18 Pro, it’s widely believed Apple could unveil the A20 Pro chip, which would likely use TSMC’s 2nm architecture. A big step onwards from the 3nm architecture used on the current A19 Pro chip. Rumors claim the A20 chips could place the RAM on the same wafer as the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine instead of having it sit adjacent and connected through an interposer.
In day-to-day terms, this is likely to mean big power and efficiency improvements over the current generation. Apple may consider putting this same chip into the iPhone Fold, so we could be getting an equivalent performance regardless of whether you opt for Fold or Pro.
Red color
Ok, I know this is just an aesthetic thing, but I always loved the red iPhone models. I was really impressed with the bold orange that Apple went with for the iPhone 17 Pro and according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, this year’s special color for the iPhone 18 Pro will be a “deep red”.
The last time we saw a red iPhone was the the (PRODUCT) RED variants of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. So I think it’s definitely about time for the shade to make a comeback.
Bottom line
It’s the iPhone Pro line that continues to be the backbone of the company’s lineup
The iPhone 18 Pro is in all likelihood going to arrive in around six months’ time this September and Apple is bullish. The company is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and in a recent interview, Tim Cook said, “There’s so much left that we can do with the iPhone”.
The iPhone Fold will surely grab all the headlines this year, and I’ve no doubt it’ll be an incredible product. But it’s also going to be a first attempt at a new form factor.
Over the years, we’ve seen Apple experiment with the iPhone mini (one of my favorites), iPhone Air and now the iPhone Fold. But it’s the iPhone Pro line that continues to be the backbone of the company’s lineup. I think there’s plenty to be excited about with what this year’s model has to offer.
Do you agree? Or do you think the iPhone Fold and the iPhone Air could tempt people away from upgrading to a Pro? Let me know in the comments below.
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