We are down to the last two months of 2026 which means that we are getting to hear more and more about what’s coming next year. And one of the devices set to make headlines is the iPhone 18. We surely missed it this time when Apple unveiled the 18 Pro and Pro Max and if reports are to be believed, the phone is going to be worth the wait.
iPhone 18 price hike: How much could it cost in India?
But before we get to the upgrades, there is some bad news for those planning to buy the standard iPhone 18. The upcoming smartphone is reportedly getting a price hike, partly due to the rising cost of memory and other components. Tipster Digital Chat Station claims that Apple is unlikely to keep the price unchanged, although the exact increase has not been revealed yet.
This would not be the first time Apple has raised prices across its smartphone range. The iPhone 17 was originally launched in India at Rs 82,900 for the 256GB variant, but its current price has gone up to Rs 99,900. The iPhone 18 Pro series also arrived with higher price tags, with the increase reportedly reaching Rs 30,000 over the previous generation.
Apple CEO John Ternus has also reportedly acknowledged the pressure that higher memory prices are putting on the company’s supply chain.
Interestingly, the price increases do not appear to have slowed Apple’s sales. The company reported $57.58 billion in iPhone revenue for Q4 2026, marking a 17% year-on-year increase. Its overall revenue reached $114.5 billion, up 12%. While this does not guarantee that the iPhone 18 will be priced aggressively, it shows that Apple has continued to see strong demand despite charging more for its devices.
For Indian users, the bigger question is how much the standard iPhone 18 will cost when it arrives. With no leaked price figure available yet, we will have to wait for more information before predicting anything.
iPhone 18 specifications: What can you expect?
The standard iPhone 18 is tipped to feature a 6.3-inch OLED display with a 1.5K resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. This would be a notable upgrade for the standard model, although the phone is not expected to get the smaller Dynamic Island rumoured for the iPhone 18 Pro models. Instead, it could retain the same Dynamic Island design as the iPhone 17.
Under the hood, Apple is reportedly planning to use its next-generation A20 chipset, built on TSMC’s 2nm manufacturing process. The standard iPhone 18 is not expected to get the same A20 Pro chip as the more expensive Pro models. The move to a newer manufacturing process could bring improvements in performance and power efficiency, although the actual gains will only become clear once the phone is tested.
Battery life could also improve when compared to the iPhone 17. Digital Chat Station claims that the standard iPhone 18 will offer longer battery life, following the battery upgrades that Pro and Pro Max models got. The exact battery capacity has not been revealed yet.
As for the camera setup, it may include two 48-megapixel rear sensors along with Face ID. Apple is also expected to increase the RAM here, according to an earlier prediction by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Of course, none of these details have been confirmed by Apple as there are still a couple of months to go before the phone launches. So, it is best to treat this information with a pinch of salt.