Apple has not said a word about the standard iPhone 18, but the leaks have started anyway. A new report from Chinese tipster Digital Chat Station, picked up by Gadgets360, MacRumors, Digital Trends and AppleInsider this week, sketches the spring 2027 phone in some detail, and the picture is more interesting than a routine spec bump. The headline changes are a 120Hz display, a 2nm A20 chip and a larger battery. The headline risk is the price, which the leaker says could climb again.
None of this is confirmed by Apple, and some of it is not even new. AppleInsider notes that Digital Chat Station has reposted several of these details before. But the leak is consistent across multiple outlets, and the one genuinely fresh claim, better battery life, fits with what Apple did on the Pro models this year. Here is what the reports say, and what they mean if you are deciding whether to wait.
The leaked iPhone 18 specs, side by side with the iPhone 17
| iPhone 17 (launched 2025) | iPhone 18 (leaked) | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.3-inch OLED, 120Hz | 6.3-inch OLED, 1.5K resolution, 120Hz |
| Chip | A19, 3nm | A20, 2nm process |
| RAM | 8GB | 9GB (per Ming-Chi Kuo) |
| Rear cameras | 48MP dual camera | 48MP dual camera |
| Front camera | 18MP Center Stage | Not specified in the leak |
| Battery | 3,692mAh | Larger, capacity not specified |
| Biometrics | Face ID, Dynamic Island | Face ID, standard Dynamic Island |
| Launch price | $799 at launch, later raised to $899 | Price hike expected, no figure given |
120Hz is finally coming to the standard iPhone
The most concrete change in the leak is the display. The iPhone 18 is tipped to keep a 6.3-inch OLED panel at 1.5K resolution, but with a 120Hz refresh rate. That matters because the standard iPhone has been the last holdout in Apple’s lineup for high refresh rates, and the iPhone 17 already closed most of that gap when it launched with a 120Hz screen of its own.
What the leak really says, then, is that Apple is not taking the feature away. The standard iPhone 18 keeps the smooth scrolling and fluid animations that used to be a Pro-only perk, and it keeps the standard Dynamic Island rather than the smaller cutout on this year’s Pro models. If you buy the cheapest new iPhone next year, you will not be buying a visibly slower screen.
The A20 chip and the extra gigabyte of RAM
Under the hood, the leak points to the A20 chip built on TSMC’s 2nm process, the same generation of silicon that powers the iPhone 18e, which is also expected next spring with the A20 inside. A 2nm chip should be more power efficient than the 3nm A19 in the iPhone 17, which is likely part of the battery story too.
TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has separately said both the iPhone 18 and the iPhone 18e could ship with 9GB of RAM, up from 8GB today. The extra memory is aimed at Apple Intelligence, which is getting deeper hooks into iOS 27 with every update. Our recent look at the iOS 27.3 beta shows how much of Apple’s software roadmap now assumes on-device AI headroom, so the RAM bump is less about raw speed and more about keeping the phone useful for four or five years.
The price is the real story
Digital Chat Station says the iPhone 18 could cost more than the iPhone 17, without naming a figure. That warning lands in a market where memory prices have surged so sharply that analysts are calling it a RAM crisis, and Apple has already passed some of that cost on. The iPhone 17 launched at $799 in the US, then Apple raised it to $899 in September 2026. In India, the same phone launched at Rs. 82,900 and now sells for Rs. 99,900.
Apple’s chief executive John Ternus has acknowledged the pressure that rising memory prices are putting on the supply chain, and Apple’s latest earnings call made clear that component costs are squeezing margins even after the price increases. A second hike on the standard iPhone would push the cheapest new iPhone toward $999 in the US, a price that used to buy a Pro model. That is the number to watch when Apple confirms pricing, because it changes who the standard iPhone is for.
When the iPhone 18 arrives
The leak says Apple plans to start production of the standard model in November, with a launch in the first half of 2027 alongside the iPhone 18e and the iPhone Air 2. Other reports narrow that to late February or early March. That fits Apple’s new staggered strategy: the Pro models and the iPhone Duo launched in September, while the standard models follow months later.
The leaker also predicts the standard iPhone 18 will be the bestseller of the spring lineup, which is a safe bet given that the standard model has outsold its siblings in most years. Nothing in the leak is based on Apple’s order books, though, so treat the sales prediction as informed guesswork rather than data.
Should you wait for the iPhone 18?
If your current phone is working fine and you were planning to buy the standard iPhone anyway, waiting until spring makes sense. You get a newer chip, more RAM, and a bigger battery for what is likely a modest price increase, and the iPhone 17 will get cheaper once its successor is announced.
If you need a phone now, the iPhone 17 is still a strong buy. It already has the 120Hz display, the 48MP dual camera, and the same Apple Intelligence features, and its price may soften further as the spring launch approaches. The iPhone 18, on this leak, is an evolution of the iPhone 17 rather than a reinvention, and the most important difference may be the price tag, not the hardware.
Sources: Digital Chat Station via Gizmochina, Gadgets360, MacRumors, Digital Trends, AppleInsider, iDrop News. All specifications are unconfirmed leaks and may change before launch.
