Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro launch skips the foldable iPhone

Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro launch skipped the long-rumoured foldable iPhone, focusing instead on the Pro and Pro Max models priced from $1,199 and $1,299.

The new iPhones run on a 2-nanometer A20 Pro chip and carry a 48-megapixel Fusion main camera with variable aperture.

The Pro Max offers up to 30 hours of battery life, and both models now offer a 2TB storage option for the first time.

Despite heavy speculation ahead of the event, no foldable device was announced, even as Apple introduced AirPods 5 alongside the new phones.

Pre-orders for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max open September 12, with shipping beginning September 18 in more than 65 countries.

Alongside the iPhone 18 Pro lineup, Apple also introduced AirPods 5 with upgraded noise cancellation.

Notably, Apple did not unveil a foldable iPhone at the event, despite months of speculation that a folding device would debut alongside the iPhone 18 Pro series.

The standard iPhone 18, without the Pro branding, is not expected to launch until spring 2027, following a staggered release pattern Apple introduced with recent iPhone generations.

The iPhone 18 Pro Max’s 30-hour battery life claim represents an improvement Apple attributes partly to the new 2-nanometer manufacturing process behind the A20 Pro chip.

Indian pricing for the iPhone 18 Pro has not been officially confirmed by Apple as of this report, though early estimates put it in the range of the iPhone 17 Pro’s current price of Rs 1,34,900.

The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max also come in new colour options, including black, light blue, glacier and burgundy.

A smaller Dynamic Island on the new models can now display up to three Live Activities simultaneously, according to Apple.

Apple’s new Reference Image feature is designed to authenticate photos as unedited and free of AI generation, addressing growing concerns about image manipulation.

A person using an iPhone, Wikimedia Commons, CC0