Apple’s upcoming standard iPhone 18 is expected to feature a larger battery than the current iPhone 17, according to a recent claim from Chinese leaker Digital Chat Station. The same report also points to a possible price increase for the base model when it arrives next year.
In a Weibo post, the leaker said the base iPhone 18 will continue with a high-resolution 6.3-inch OLED display supporting up to a 120Hz refresh rate, the Dynamic Island, and Face ID. It is also expected to include Apple’s A20 chip built on a 2-nanometer process — matching the process used in the A20 Pro found in the already-released iPhone 18 Pro models — along with a dual 48-megapixel rear camera system. The smaller Dynamic Island seen on the Pro models is not expected to come to the standard iPhone 18.
On battery life, Digital Chat Station stated that capacity will increase beyond the 3,692 mAh battery in the iPhone 17. This continues a trend already visible in this year’s iPhone 18 Pro lineup, where models with a physical SIM tray are reported to have larger cells (around 4,056 mAh for the Pro and 5,391 mAh for the Pro Max). No specific capacity figure was given for the base iPhone 18.
The leaker also indicated that the phone’s price is likely to rise, attributing it in part to ongoing component cost pressures, particularly around RAM and memory. For context, Apple already raised the starting U.S. price of the iPhone 17 by $100 to $899 earlier this year, with similar increases across other models in its lineup and from competitors such as Samsung and Google. No exact price for the iPhone 18 or details on which markets might see an increase were provided.
MacDailyNews Note: The standard iPhone 18 is expected to launch in the first half of 2027, potentially alongside a second-generation iPhone Air and the iPhone 18e. This follows Apple’s decision to release only the iPhone 18 Pro models and the iPhone Duo during the fall 2026 cycle.
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