TechNewsAppleiPhone 18 rumors suggest a bigger battery, higher price next yearLeaker Digital Chat Station claims the iPhone 18 won’t be spared from Apple’s RAM price hikes.Leaker Digital Chat Station claims the iPhone 18 won’t be spared from Apple’s RAM price hikes.by Stevie BonifieldNov 3, 2026, 8:16 PM UTCShareGiftThe iPhone 17’s successor might cost more. Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The VergeStevie Bonifield is a news writer covering all things consumer tech. Stevie started out at Laptop Mag writing news and reviews on hardware, gaming, and AI.After Apple raised iPhone prices earlier this year, a new rumor claims it plans to launch the base iPhone 18 with a higher price, too. A Weibo post from leaker Digital Chat Station, spotted by 9to5Mac, says the base iPhone 18 is getting a couple of upgrades with the price hike, including a larger battery and a new 2-nanometer A20 chip.
However, it reportedly won’t have the smaller Dynamic Island featured on the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max.The base iPhone 18 wasn’t included in Apple’s fall iPhone launch event, but Digital Chat Station claims it will arrive early next year, in line with previous reports. It’s rumored to launch alongside a second-gen iPhone Air and the iPhone 18e, which Digital Chat Station also mentions.The leaker doesn’t specify how much the iPhone 18’s price might increase compared to its predecessor. All of Apple’s old models, including the iPhone 17, got a $100 price hike in September. Google and Samsung have also raised phone prices by the same amount over the past year, driven by shortages of RAM and other components.
Earlier this week, Apple reported record-breaking iPhone sales despite the higher prices.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Stevie BonifieldAppleApple RumorsiPhoneNewsTechMost PopularOne of Google’s Android partners turned 1.3 million set-top boxes into a botnetThe 2026 iPad Mini is a terrific tiny tablet — for a big priceBambu’s nine-nozzle H3C foretells the future of 3D printingThe Elder Scrolls VI officially has a name: SentinelXbox’s former COO has ‘serious concerns’ about her abrupt departureAdvertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native ad
