For iPhone, Apple is about to compete with itself
Here’s a queue for the original iPhone on its release in 2007. Image c/o Rob Lawton/Flickr
Not for the first time, Apple is about to compete with itself as it moves to widen and diversify the iPhone.
As part of this attempt, Apple is preparing to leave the annual iPhone upgrade season behind, replacing it with two iPhone upgrade seasons instead. That’s the news according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, and I think it reflects a new mind-set on the part of the company, one in which it presents a more diversified iPhone line-up, to some extent competing with itself.
When the going gets tough, the tough change the game
As Kuo tells it, Apple is moving to introduce new iPhone flagships biannually, rather than annually.
“The primary reason Apple adopts a bi-annual iPhone release schedule, with launches in the first and second half of the year, is intense competition, particularly in China, prompting a shift in its marketing strategy,” the analyst wrote.
Splitting the release in this way will help Apple diversify its range without diluting its brand appeal. It will just hit more builds, more designs, more price points, and widen its appeal to more markets.
At present, Apple is expected to introduce a new super-thin iPhone Air as well as a folding iPhone. It recently introduced the iPhone ‘e’ series and continues to offer the complete iPhone range. Kuo explains that iPhone 17e and iPhone 18e versions are also in the works with the first foldable devices set for 2026. What these all have in common are unique differences beyond size, suggesting that larger and smaller models may exist for each primary product.
What this means to you
So, what does this mean for iPhone releases this year?
- Expect the iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Slim, iPhone 17 in 2025.
- Then, in 2026, look forward to iPhone 17e, along with iPhone Foldable, iPhone 18 Pro Max, iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Slim.
- In the first half of 2027 expect the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e, followed by the iPhone Foldable 2, and iPhone 19 Pro Max, Pro, and Slim models to follow in the second half of the year.
Will budget devices be part of this offer? I think it’s likely, but make no mistake, the big money in smartphone sales is now and always will be in the high end, and Apple intends to grab more, not less, of that sliver of the market.
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