The screen and the chip are the most likely components to undergo downgrades.
Your gas price isn’t the only thing going up these days; production costs for manufacturers are rising for several reasons. This has created a significant challenge for tech companies trying to maintain their product’s price point. As it turns out, Apple is now considering a downgrade for the iPhone 18 to cut costs.
Initial speculation about an alleged downgrade to the iPhone 18 emerged after Fixed Focus Digital reported that the next-generation base iPhone might undergo certain reductions to help Apple manage production costs. The leaker claimed such cost-cutting measures could bring the base iPhone 18 closer to the iPhone 18e in terms of specifications.
The Chinese leaker initially suggested that Apple’s cost-cutting strategy might include changes to the manufacturing process, chip specifications, or memory. Now, more details have surfaced. In a new Weibo post, Fixed Focus Digital claimed that the iPhone 18’s display might also see downgrades. The extent of these changes is still unclear, but they are most likely to affect screen brightness. Another possibility is that Apple could drop ProMotion support and reserve it exclusively for the Pro models.
Fixed Focus Digital said in another post that the iPhone 18 chip (A20) might also undergo certain downgrades. However, it is still unclear what specific changes Apple might make to the A20 chip, though reducing the number of GPU cores could be one possible approach. Apple has proven to be a master of optimization, and this is why products like the MacBook Neo exist today.
Moreover, the leaker claims that EVT (Engineering Verification Test) for the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e is being conducted simultaneously, which could be another sign that Apple plans to narrow the hardware gap between its base iPhone and the cheapest model.
Due to changes in Apple’s release cycle, the base iPhone 18 might hit the shelves toward the end of the year. As a result, Apple still has enough time to reconsider its plans and potentially phase out any intended downgrades. Any changes to the base iPhone 18’s specifications would also likely affect the iPhone 18e.
