Apple’s iPhone 18 event is only a couple of months away. Thanks to leaks, we already have a fair idea of what to expect. From redesigned hardware to upgraded cameras to even bigger batteries, many of the headline features seem all but confirmed.
Yet, important questions surrounding the new iPhones remain unanswered. And they are the ones that could determine whether the iPhone 18 Pro is worth upgrading to.
Everything we don’t know before the September iPhone launch event
Leaks rarely tell the whole story. They can reveal the possible hardware changes months in advance, but they can’t reliably predict the software changes that ultimately determine the final improvements.
It’s the same story with Apple’s upcoming iPhone 18 Pro lineup. Based on leaks, we know the base iPhone 18 won’t launch this September. We also know that the iPhone 18 Pro will look largely similar to its predecessor, with a potentially bigger camera bump. It may also use a variable-aperture lens on the main camera.
But those leaks still leave plenty of room for uncertainty. Some of the most important details — like pricing, battery life, Apple Intelligence and the real-world impact of the rumored hardware upgrades — won’t become clear until Apple takes the stage.
Until then, these are the biggest unanswered questions ahead of the iPhone 18 event.
Table of contents: The biggest unanswered questions ahead of the September iPhone event
- How much will the iPhone 18 Pro and foldable iPhone cost?
- Will the iPhone 18 Pro finally bring a meaningful camera upgrade?
- Will Apple Intelligence finally feel complete?
- Will the foldable iPhone be worth the wait (and price)?
1. How much will the iPhone 18 Pro and foldable iPhone cost?
Price is arguably the biggest unknown and the most important question of all. How much will the iPhone 18 Pro and foldable iPhone cost?
A price rise is inevitable given the soaring cost of DRAM and NAND memory. Apple already increased Mac and iPad prices brutally in June. The hikes were steeper than expected, with some high-end Mac configurations costing more than $1,500 extra.
Before those Mac and iPad price hikes, most analysts expected the iPhone 18 Pro to cost $50 to $100 more than the iPhone 17 Pro. But given the scale of Apple’s recent price increases, that estimate may no longer hold.
The 256GB iPhone 17 Pro starts from $1,099 in the US. There’s a real possibility that the iPhone 18 Pro will start from $1,249 or even higher.
Another possibility is that Apple drops the 256GB model altogether, bumping the base storage to 512GB and pushing the starting price to $1,299.
That may sound like a steep increase, but if Apple follows the same strategy it used for its Macs, it could justify the higher price by pairing it with more storage and memory.
As for the foldable iPhone, rumors and analysts predict that it will cost anywhere between $2,000 and $2,500. Knowing Apple, I’d expect it to be closer to the $2,499 mark.
2. Will the iPhone 18 Pro finally bring a meaningful camera upgrade?
Photo: Lewis Wallace/Cult of Mac
Apple last gave the iPhone’s main camera a significant hardware upgrade with the iPhone 14 Pro in 2022, when it switched to a 48MP main sensor. Since then, the company has relied on processing improvements and computational photography to squeeze better photos out of largely familiar camera hardware.
Rumors suggest the iPhone 18 Pro could finally deliver another meaningful hardware upgrade by adopting a variable aperture main camera. In theory, this would give users more control over depth of field while also improving low-light photography.
Variable aperture lenses are common on DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, where photographers can adjust the aperture to control both the amount of light entering the lens and the depth of field. Some Android phones experimented with the technology, but it delivered limited real-world benefits.
So, it will be interesting to see how Apple plans to use the variable aperture lens on the iPhone 18 Pro. Unless it’s paired with a bigger sensor, it may not bring any major benefits.
Perhaps the company will spring a surprise like the iPhone 17‘s front camera and pair the iPhone 18 Pro’s variable aperture main camera with a custom sensor for better results.
3. Will Apple Intelligence finally feel complete?
Image: Apple/Cult of Mac
Two years after its initial announcement and a lot of stumbles, Apple Intelligence finally appears ready for prime time.
At WWDC26, Apple unveiled its revamped AI efforts, powered by Google Gemini. The new Apple Intelligence is deeply integrated across iOS, iPadOS and macOS, with a dedicated Siri AI app also a part of the package.
More importantly, Apple Intelligence finally feels complete. It’s now context-aware, can understand and respond to natural language prompts more intelligently and is deeply integrated across Apple’s platforms.
Early hands-on impressions of the Apple Intelligence features in iOS 27 developer beta are encouraging. All these point to Apple possibly delivering on the vision it first unveiled two years ago.
That raises another important question: will Apple reserve some of its most advanced AI capabilities for the iPhone 18 Pro? Rumors point to the device shipping with a faster A20 chip, which could unlock on-device AI features that older iPhones can’t support.
After all, there’s no better way to showcase the full potential of the new iPhone than by bundling some exclusive AI features with it?
4. Foldable iPhone will be worth the wait (and price)?
AI image: ChatGPT
Unless there are some last-minute roadblocks, Apple’s first foldable iPhone should launch in September this year. Unlike most first-generation Apple products, the foldable iPhone won’t enter a new category.
It will enter a category that Samsung, Honor, Oppo, Vivo and other Android manufacturers have spent years and billions of dollars building and perfecting.
So, the iPhone Fold will have to deliver the same kind of wow factor as its rivals. Anything less, and Apple’s delayed entry into the space won’t be justified.
It’s not just about the hardware, either. Even with great hardware, the foldable iPhone will need a compelling software experience to stand out. iOS 27 must take full advantage of the foldable iPhone’s unique form factor and the larger display. Otherwise, it may end up feeling like an iPhone that folds.
Then there’s the price. Rumors and analysts believe the foldable iPhone will cost as much as $2,500. At that price, Apple won’t just be competing with other foldables. It will also have to convince buyers that the experience is unlike anything else on the market.
Foldable phones are nowhere close to being mainstream. But that’s the kind of push and eyeballs the category will get when the first foldable iPhone launches. And that means more eyeballs and scrutiny for Apple’s first foldable. It cannot suffer from the same display reliability or hinge issues that plagued Samsung’s early Galaxy Z Fold models.
Apple has a history of entering product categories late but with a bang. The biggest question is whether it can pull off the same feat with the foldable iPhone.
Unlike the last few years, the biggest questions surrounding the iPhone 18 Pro and foldable iPhone event are not about their specs or design changes. Instead, it’s about how Apple will bring everything together, justify the higher price tag and make the foldable iPhone stand out from its Android rivals.
