Apple’s standard iPhone 18 could offer longer battery life than the iPhone 17, but the upgrade may come with a higher price when the device arrives next year, according to a new rumor.
Chinese leaker Digital Chat Station claims in a post on Weibo that the iPhone 18 will have a larger battery alongside Apple’s A20 chip. The leaker also suggested that Apple may increase the price, although no specific figure or market was given.
The battery claim is potentially the more useful change for buyers. The iPhone 17 has a 3,692mAh battery, but the leak provides no capacity for its successor and no estimate of how many extra hours it might last. A larger battery, combined with the expected efficiency improvements of the A20 chip, could extend everyday use, although the final result will depend on more than battery size alone.
Price is a bigger unknown. Apple currently sells the iPhone 17 from $899 in the United States and £899 in the United Kingdom, following a $100 and £100 increase in September. The rumor does not establish whether the iPhone 18 would cost more than those current prices or simply more than the iPhone 17 did at its original launch.
Elsewhere, the report points to a familiar 6.3-inch OLED display with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz, Face ID and a dual 48-megapixel rear camera system. The A20 chip is expected to use a 2-nanometer manufacturing process, which could help performance and power efficiency without requiring a dramatic exterior redesign.
The leaker also expects the standard iPhone 18 to keep the existing Dynamic Island rather than adopt the smaller version introduced on the iPhone 18 Pro. That conflicts with another recent prediction that the smaller Dynamic Island could come to the regular iPhone, so the final design remains uncertain.
The iPhone 18 is expected to arrive in spring 2027 alongside the iPhone 18e and iPhone Air 2, following Apple’s decision to separate the standard and Pro iPhone launches. Our iPhone 18 rumor and release-date guide tracks the wider picture, but neither a larger battery nor a higher starting price should be treated as settled at this stage.