The iPhone 17 is doing incredibly well for Apple, but a leaker saying that the iPhone 18 launch has been moved because of that is just wrong.
For years as regular as clockwork, Apple has released its main batch of iPhones in the fall. Many rumors have claimed that Apple will stop doing that this September, releasing the iPhone 18 Pro models but holding back the iPhone 18 to the following spring.
However, one Weibo leaker believes the decision was strategic to take advantage of the massive popularity of the iPhone 17. It’s a belief that is, quite frankly, wrong.
In the May 5 post, leaker Fixed Focus Digital talks about how Apple is “truly aiming to wipe out Android” thanks to a “very clever market adjustment mechanism.” This mechanism is the rumored delay of the iPhone 18 into the spring of 2027.
That model will have downgraded memory due to the ongoing RAM supply crisis, but Apple chose to delay the release. The reason for the delay was to “extend the market buzz of the previous generation,” referring to the iPhone 17.
For Apple, the leaker says this will help reduce production costs and increase its market share.
While AppleInsider checked through multiple automated translations of the post to account for mistranslations and other variances, they all still had the same meaning. In all cases, it translates to “Apple’s delay will increase iPhone 17 market share and cut production costs.”
These benefits will be felt by Apple, but it’s certainly not a choice to specifically prolong the sales of a successful model.
Coincidences in timing
The problem with the leaker’s post is that the discussion around a split-release of an iPhone generation has floated around for a considerable amount of time.
Back in July 2025, there were claims from another leaker, Instant Digital, about a split launch. At the time, they said that the rollout of the iPhone 18 lineup would be staggered into early 2027.
We can go further back than that, too. In May 2025, supply chain sources of The Information said that Apple will stagger the iPhone launches into a fall and spring pattern from 2026.
These were backed up by another report from ETNews in August of the same year. Again, the Pro models would launch in the fall as usual, but the standard iPhone 18 would land in the first half of 2027.
The key to remember here is that this is all reporting from the middle of 2025, long before the memory crisis became a problem for the tech industry. It is a decision that Apple certainly considered long before the May 2025 leak.
Apple’s motivation to split production in this way makes sense if you consider Apple’s usual manufacturing schedules and iPhone demand. With premium models getting the most attention at first, it makes sense to set the production of the standard model to be later, when demand is usually higher anyway.
The leaker is correct in that Apple with benefit from the delay in a few ways. They are wildly wrong about it being a decision reflecting the current state of the smartphone market and industry issues.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
