Last year, Apple made the iPhone 17 quite appealing, partly due to screen upgrades like ProMotion. However, rumors about the iPhone 18 suggest that it might take some small steps back to reduce costs.

Apple May Take 'Steps Back' in Screen and Chip to Reduce Costs on iPhone 18

Earlier this week, the Weibo leak source Fixed Focus Digital stated that the base iPhone 18 will be released later than usual. This was not a surprise, as other reports indicate that a launch is expected in early 2027.

The leak source confirmed that both the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e will be introduced simultaneously, and also mentioned that Apple plans to implement several cost-cutting measures to take advantage of this timing.

Today, it shared some specific details about the expected 'steps back' on the iPhone 18.

In a post, it claimed that the screen features of the iPhone 18 would be a step back compared to the iPhone 17 and would be more aligned with the iPhone 18e.

Does this mean Apple will drop ProMotion support? No, because major user-focused steps back are not expected. However, the leak source believes there will be small specification steps back that average users may not easily notice.

A second post implies that the chip of the iPhone 18 will also be more compatible with the iPhone 18e.

While both the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17e have the A19 chip, the 'e' model comes with a binned version. It offers only four working GPU cores, while the iPhone 17 offers five cores.

If a step back is indeed coming, it is almost certain that the A20 chip will be better than last year's A19, but there may be a larger drop in performance compared to the A20 Pro.

9to5Mac's Assessment

Fixed Focus Digital has a pretty good track record with leaks. It makes a lot of sense for Apple to find small ways to cut costs by launching the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e simultaneously.

However, it seems that the considered steps back are quite small. If you are thinking of getting a new iPhone and choose the base iPhone 18 or iPhone 18e, I bet you won't notice the changes made.

The leak source also confirmed that the iPhone 18 Pro will not be affected by these cost-cutting measures. So if you are a Pro user, you have nothing to worry about.

Do you have concerns about Apple's reported cost-cutting measures regarding the iPhone 18? Let us know in the comments.