Apple Plans iPhone Release Schedule Shakeup, New Styles
The Takeaway
• Apple’s manufacturing partners are reserving only 10% of iPhone production capacity for thin model
• Level of demand for thin iPhone is uncertain
• Thin model will have worse battery life, testing shows
After years of incremental changes to the iPhone, Apple is mixing things up much more dramatically. Later this year it’s expected to introduce an ultrathin new device, followed by a foldable phone expected in 2026. Also next year, Apple plans to change its release strategy, launching pricier, more premium versions in the fall as usual, but pushing the release of the more affordable standard model to the following spring.
Apple’s hope is to rejuvenate long-stagnant sales of the iPhone, its flagship product, which accounts for more than half its revenue. But there are risks involved in the upcoming changes. The level of consumer demand for the new thin iPhone is so uncertain that Apple’s manufacturing partners in Asia are dedicating only about 10% of their production capacity to the new model, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
They’re reserving most of their production for the iPhone 17 Pro Max and Pro, which will account for around 40% and 25% of total production, respectively, the people said. The rest will be reserved for the standard iPhone 17 model.
While Apple hasn’t confirmed plans for the new thin model, it is expected to be around 5.5 millimeters in thickness, which would be the thinnest phone the company has ever released and one of the thinnest smartphones currently on the market.
Apple’s hope is likely that the new model will prompt people to upgrade faster, overcoming the problem that users are holding onto their smartphones for much longer nowadays than they used to, largely because most annual upgrades bring only minor changes.
However, the smaller size of the new thin model will require compromises to its capabilities. The device will contain only a single speaker instead of the two speakers that Apple’s other phones usually have, one rear camera lens instead of the three in Apple’s flagship phones, and reduced battery life. Internal testing shows that battery life for the thin model will fall short of that of previous iPhones. The percentage of users who can go a single day without recharging the thin phone will be between 60% and 70%. For other models, that metric is between 80% and 90%, one of the people said.
To solve this, Apple is developing an optional accessory—a phone case meant for the thin model that also contains a battery pack, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Apple could face challenges selling the thin iPhone in China, as the model doesn’t have space for physical SIM cards. Chinese regulations have yet to approve the sale of smartphones that rely on electronic SIMs, The Information previously reported.
One of the people said that until preorders start in September, it’s impossible to predict whether the manufacturing lines the manufacturers are setting up will be enough or even over capacity for the thin iPhone, given that it’s an entirely new product with no historical demand to reference.
For all these reasons, manufacturers reserving production capacity for the phone are looking at how quickly they can convert their manufacturing lines to other models if the thin model doesn’t sell well, two people said.
An Apple spokesperson declined to comment.
New Release Window
Release of the thin iPhone will mark the start of a bigger shift in Apple’s iPhone planning. Next year, Apple plans to release its first foldable iPhone, The Information previously reported. The book-style foldable device will have an inner display measuring just under 8 inches diagonally when unfolded and an outer display of just under 5.7 inches diagonally when shut, according to a person involved in its manufacturing.
Also next year, Apple plans to stagger the release of its iPhone by only releasing the premium, more expensive Pro models in the fall and delaying the standard iPhone model—in this case the iPhone 18—until the following spring, according to three people involved in the iPhone supply chain.
The iPhone 18 series will include updated versions of Apple’s thin iPhone, Pro and Pro Max, along with the new foldable device. In spring 2027, Apple plans to release the standard iPhone 18 and a successor to the more budget-friendly iPhone 16e, the people said.
Both those models, which are based on older and less complicated designs, will undergo manufacturing trials first in India as part of Apple’s efforts to reduce its manufacturing risk in China, two of the people said.
The change to the iPhone’s release window could make it easier for Apple to ramp up production of an increasing number of different phones. By staggering the launch, Apple can reduce the need to deploy large numbers of manufacturing workers and equipment simultaneously.
Those who have worked in Apple’s supply chain say production of new iPhones begins in the summer to build up inventory ahead of a fall release, and orders peak just before winter, due to the holiday shopping season. Production begins to taper off the following January, making it difficult for Apple’s manufacturing partners to keep the same amount of workers and equipment operating year-round.
Apple releases its cheapest smartphone in the spring, though it updates that model only once every few years. In February, for instance, it released the iPhone 16e, the successor to the iPhone SE.
Global demand for iPhones has slowed over the past two years. Apple’s iPhone sales in fiscal 2023 were down more than 2% year over year, and sales in fiscal 2024 and the first half of fiscal 2025 were essentially flat year over year.
Delaying the launch of the next-generation base iPhone by five or six months after releasing the more premium iPhones could lift sales.
“Front-loading the more premium models early and releasing the lower-end models later might get early adopters to buy the more expensive models first,” said Horace Dediu, founder at market analysis firm Asymco.
Other Notable Changes
One of the more significant changes to the iPhone lineup could arrive in 2026, when Apple likely plans to move its Face ID, proximity and light sensors beneath the display—bringing it closer to offering a fully uninterrupted screen, free of the unsightly pill-shaped cutout at the top. Apple wouldn’t be the first smartphone maker to integrate sensors and cameras under the display, though the results haven’t been great for many of the Chinese smartphone makers at the forefront of this trend.
The design of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will include only a small hole cutout in the top-left corner to accommodate the front-facing camera, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. This design is a precursor to at least one 2027 iPhone model that will place the front-facing camera underneath the screen to enable a truly edge-to-edge display, two of the people said. Such a move would coincide with the 20-year anniversary of the first iPhone.
Some details of Apple’s foldable phone were first mentioned by supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in March, while the timetable for under-the-display cameras and sensors was first mentioned by analysts at Display Supply Chain Consultants in 2023.