The first exposure of the iPhone 18 series, and Apple's first foldable phone is also here.

We've just celebrated the Chinese New Year, but over in the United States, Tim Cook, the "old chef" of Apple, didn't take a break.

Good news for iPhone 17 Pro Max users in front of the screen! The latest news from foreign media has revealed the brand - new iPhone 18 series! (Not guaranteed to be true, for reference only)

According to foreign media reports, in 2026, in addition to the "iPhone 18 duo", Cook will also bring the first foldable iPhone 18!

Some senior Apple fans should have noticed that there are only two regular models of the iPhone 18 this year, which are the iPhone 18 Pro / Pro Max.

Actually, this was reported as early as 9 months ago. This year, only the Pro series of the iPhone 18 will be launched initially;

The two entry - level models, iPhone 18 / 18e, will be postponed to the spring press conference in 2027 (around March).

As for why such an arrangement? Here are some of my less - mature views;

Personally, I think that since the iPhone 17, the standard models have shown a trend of seizing the sales of the Pro models.

During the Double 11 sales in 2024, the sales of the iPhone 16 standard model were lower than those of domestic phones. However, in 2025, the iPhone 17 standard model directly ranked among the top three.

The fundamental reason is that the iPhone 17 has a 120Hz high - refresh rate!

Analyzed from both objective and subjective aspects, the performance of the iPhone 17 standard model can actually be infinitely close to that of the Pro model!

Now that the number of Apple fans in China is basically stable, if the sales of the standard models increase, they will naturally occupy a part of the sales of the Pro models.

Since it is almost certain that the iPhone 18 / 18e will have a high - refresh rate, the release is postponed to give the Pro models a chance to reach a peak sales period.

Of course, these are just my subjective speculations. You can just take them as a bit of fun.

Well... I've digressed. Let's first take a look at the news about the iPhone 18 Pro series.

In terms of appearance, there is no doubt that the iPhone 18 Pro series will continue the design of the current models;

After all, the molds were newly developed last year. How could they be changed so easily? This is an old tradition of Cook.

Then comes the annual routine "color - changing" part. The iPhone 18 Pro series may add a new "crimson" color;

Since the orange - red color of the iPhone 17 has received rave reviews, Apple may consider using crimson as an extension.

At the same time, Mark Gurman, the "go - to" journalist for Apple news, also revealed that currently, there are reports that Apple may be testing three colors: coffee, purple, and burgundy;

However, the final exclusive color of the year should be only one of the three.

Which of the imagined renderings do you guys think looks better? If I had to choose, I might prefer the red one.

In terms of the screen, the iPhone 18 Pro will also upgrade the "Dynamic Island". It is reported that the area of the cut - out will be reduced by 35% compared to the current models.

Under - screen face recognition has no hope for now, but a significant reduction in the cut - out area is already a very good improvement.

Moreover, the front - facing camera will also be upgraded to 24MP, and it will use a custom square CMOS;

The advantage is that it can ensure a nearly 24MP pixel output when shooting in both horizontal and vertical orientations.

However, I think this is a bit of a "slow - improvement" approach. After all, the front - facing cameras of current Android flagships are much larger in size and higher in pixel count than Apple's new custom 24MP camera.

Okay, let's move on to the performance aspect that you guys are most concerned about. The iPhone 18 Pro series should come standard with the A20 Pro chip;

As for the iPhone 18 / 18e, which will be released half a year later, it's hard to say (it might be the A20). The current iPhone 17 only has the A19. You know Cook's tradition!

It is reported that the A20 Pro chip will use TSMC's latest N2P process, which is a high - performance version of the current 2nm process. The transistor density will be increased, and the energy efficiency will also be improved by about 5%.

Don't worry, there's more good news! The iPhone 18 may come standard with Apple's self - developed N2 Wi - Fi chip and self - developed baseband chip C2 across the whole series;

After two iterations, the signal of the iPhone 18 series may be significantly improved this year.

Apple's more than a decade of struggle with baseband chips may finally start to achieve true independence with the iPhone 18 series.

In terms of battery life, the iPhone 18 Pro series will also see an improvement. Currently, it is reported that the Pro Max model may have a large - capacity battery of up to 5000mAh;

Well, it's really big. It's almost half the size of some competitors' batteries.

But don't worry. Apple's chip technology is advanced, so the initial battery life will definitely be excellent;

However, it's hard to say what will happen after a year when a major iOS update is released. Hahaha~

Okay, that's almost all the latest news about the regular iPhone 18 Pro series;

There seem to be some highlights, but when I talk about it, it seems like there aren't really any.

Oh, you want highlights? Cook has got you covered. Let me introduce you to the iPhone 18 Fold (rumored name), Apple's first foldable phone.

The iPhone 18 Fold will adopt a dual - screen inward - folding design. When unfolded, the inner screen is about 7.76 inches with a single cut - out, covered with a flexible glass cover. The outer screen is 5.3 inches.

It's not hard to see that this phone follows a 4:3 aspect ratio. I guess it's to better adapt to the system because it can copy the display ratio of the iPad.

The whole phone may weigh around 230g, with a folded thickness of 9mm and an unfolded thickness of 4.5mm.

It will add a fingerprint recognition function to the power button. After all, the folding space is limited, and it's not possible to fit 3D face recognition like Huawei.

The same goes for Apple. It has to "go against the tradition" and use fingerprint recognition again.

In terms of performance, the iPhone 18 Fold will be the first to feature the A20 Pro chip. This will be the most powerful foldable phone in history!

Apple has high expectations for its first foldable phone. JPMorgan Chase predicts that the sales of this phone may exceed 10 million units in the first year of its launch, accounting for 30% of the global foldable phone market share.

Ah... Well... But when I looked at the estimated price: about 15,000 RMB for the US version; about 23,000 RMB for the Chinese mainland version?

Not expensive at all. It's just enough for me to have a breakfast~ With this predicted global sales volume, will you Apple fans buy it?

Also, there is a rumor that the Chinese mainland version of the iPhone foldable phone may only be available as a carrier - signed version;

Since the Chinese mainland version only has an eSIM card version, domestic users will have to sign a contract with a carrier, otherwise, the phone won't be able to make calls.

I guess the sales in the Chinese mainland won't be very good, just like the current iPhone Air. It's quite strange.

By the way, why haven't we heard any news about the new - generation iPhone Air?

Oh, so there won't be a new model this year? Well, it doesn't matter then~

I've said before that the Android camp proved a decade ago that the thin - and - light design path doesn't work.

Okay then, that's the first - wave preview of this year's "Tech Spring Festival Gala".

You guys used to say that Apple is old -