After the roaring success of the iPhone 17, Apple fans are eagerly waiting to see what the upcoming iPhone 18 has in store. However, they might have to face severe disappointment as new supply chain industry rumours hint at a potentially downgraded iPhone 18 experience.
iPhone 18 Downgrades Incoming in 2027?
As per reliable tipster Fixed Focus Digital, Engineering Validation Testing (EVT) of the iPhone 18 is slated for June 2026. Ahead of it, supply chain chatter reportedly suggests that the display on the iPhone 18 is getting downgraded.
It is said to move away from the Samsung M14 AMOLED used inside the iPhone 17 to a lower-emitting Samsung M12+ AMOLED panel, which is a slight enhancement over the M12 AMOLED used by the iPhone 14 Pro.
A major concerning element of this switch is the fact that M14 supports Full HD+ resolution and M12 can only bring HD+ resolution. Now, we do not believe Apple will give the iPhone 18 a 720p panel, hence the M12+ improvement. However, it might result in the Pixel Per Inch density (ppi) on the iPhone 18, resulting in a less sharp and vibrant display in comparison to the iPhone 17.
Another area of concern is ProMotion technology, which took Apple almost a decade to bring to the iPhone 17. Now, with the leaker claiming that the manufacturing process has taken a step backwards, iPhone 18 could switch back to LTPS from LTPO refresh rate. It is unclear if the panel will stay at 120 Hz or switch to 90 Hz, or, in the worst-case scenario, back to 60 Hz.
Moreover, in a separate Weibo post, Fixed Focus Digital has claimed that Apple is also exploring the possibility of downgrading the performance with iPhone 18. Expected to ship with the A20 Apple Silicon, it could be drastically different from the Apple A19 chipset inside the iPhone 17.
For context, the Apple A19 packs a 6-core CPU, a 5-core GPU and a 16‑core Neural Engine. With the A20 inside the iPhone 18, Apple might take back 1 GPU core and dial down the performance of the 6-core CPU.
This is something we have seen Apple do with the budget iPhone 16e and the iPhone 17e. Even the more premium iPhone Air launched with one less A19 Pro GPU core, but that was for thermal reasons. Now, with the iPhone 18 expected to join the tally, it is getting a huge blowback in two of the key Apple iPhone experiences.
That said, it is too early to speculate, given that iPhone 18 may be delayed till 2027. We already know Apple is breaking the 19-year-old tradition due to the rising RAM costs. However, with the successor now reportedly being downgraded, it really shows how badly the smartphone industry is affected by the AI blowback.
Moreover, to maintain the success rate of the base iPhone model, Apple will most likely refrain from a price hike. However, that does seem to come with its bittersweet tradeoffs.
