According to leaked Fixed Focus Digital on Weibo, Apple is said to have decided to postpone the launch date of the standard iPhone 18 instead of launching the device early like previous generations.
This source believes that the above move is not only related to the supply chain issue but also Apple's intentional market strategy.
Accordingly, Apple is said to want to extend the sales life cycle of iPhone 17 to help the device continue to consolidate market share in the mid-range segment before the successor version appears.
Fixed Focus Digital said Apple is taking advantage of added time to expand large-scale iPhone 17 production and prepare for the Double Eleven shopping season (November 11th holiday) in China later this year.
Double Eleven, considered one of the largest shopping events in the world and an important competitive market for smartphone manufacturers.
Leaked sources describe this as "an extremely smart market regulation mechanism", as Apple can both extend iPhone 17 sales and reduce production cost pressure for iPhone 18.
According to shared posts, the standard iPhone 18 is said to have some specifications cut to optimize production costs in the context that the global supply chain is still facing many difficulties.
Some previous sources also said that Apple may change the screen and chip specifications on the standard iPhone 18. The company is even said to be able to change the name of the A-series chip to reduce attention to hardware changes.
This source also reiterated information that the cheaper iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e may share some components. This shows that the configuration gap between the two lines may be narrowing significantly.
If the leaked information is accurate, Apple may be significantly changing its strategy with the standard iPhone line to maintain competitiveness against increasing pressure from Android companies.
