The next crop of iPhones it looks very interesting. Since possible folding model of youth iPhone 18 editionthis year could bring new technology to Apple’s mobile division. Also, entry level iPhone 17E recently released, it adds another option for budget-conscious shoppers. On the other hand, the new Apple MacBook Neo and is part of an affordable plan.
The iPhone 18 is rumored to have several changes from its predecessor, including flexible opening cameras, a front-facing camera below the Face ID display, a smaller Dynamic Island, an updated A20 chip, and new, exciting colors, including “coffee” brown. The latest rumors suggest that the front-facing camera will be moved to the upper left corner of the screen, and the Camera Control button will be simplified to the task of sensing pressure. The Dynamic Island can also be shortened in favor of a hole-punch cutout.
But if you are trying to decide what to buy i iPhone 17 now even if you’re waiting for the iPhone 18, there is one big consideration: The iPhone 18 isn’t here yet. Apple has not officially announced it. Again rumors they say the iPhone 18 won’t come out until September 2026 (to make room for rumours iPhone Fold) and may be released in early 2027 instead.
Personally, I don’t think you should wait more than a year to get a new phone, especially if you’re thinking of upgrading iPhone 14 or earlier model. Here are a few reasons why.
The iPhone 17 is great (and so is the 17 Pro)
The iPhone 17 is one of our favorite phones of 2025 and even received a CNET Editor’s Choice award.
If you’re looking to upgrade your phone, the shiny new iPhone is in stores right now, and it’s pretty cool. I iPhone 17 it’s a fantastic handset for iPhone devotees, especially the base model.
Not only does the iPhone 17 offer a larger 6.3-inch display (compared to iPhone 16 6.1-inch screen), but also has a variable refresh rate of 1 to 120Hz, a first among non-Pro iPhones. This allows you to enable the always-on display so you can view the time or current sports results without waking up your phone. And, of course, the 120Hz ProMotion display also means increased smoothness and overall responsiveness, whether scrolling through social feeds or playing video games.
Sure, the iPhone 18 may get improved cameras, but the ones on the iPhone 17 aren’t too bad. It has two 48-megapixel cameras on the back (wide-angle and ultrawide), with the ultrawide offering a big improvement over the one on the iPhone 16, which only had a 12-megapixel sensor. The 18-megapixel selfie camera (on most iPhone 17 and Air models) has also been greatly improved, especially with its Center Stage feature that reverses the image when multiple people enter the frame or switch from portrait to landscape without having to rotate the phone.
In addition, the iPhone 17 has a strong aluminum frame, comes in a range of lovely colors (lavender is my favorite) and has impressive battery life. In my experience, it lasts more than a day with moderate use, and this is in line with CNET’s Abrar Al-Heeti’s experience as well.
If you want to continue to close the gap between this year’s iPhone and next year’s model, you can spend a lot of money iPhone 17 Pro. It has a beefier A19 Pro chip, more better battery life (17 Pro Max) compared to the iPhone 17 and it has that third camera on the back with a telephoto lens, which makes it more versatile by offering 4x zoom magnification for distant subjects. I should note that the battery life on the iPhone 17 and the regular iPhone 17 Pro is almost the same.
If you’re looking to save money, on the other hand, the 17E may be worth considering. Yes, it only has a 60Hz refresh rate, a single camera, and lacks the Center Stage feature of other iPhones, but it offers decent performance at a very competitive price.
Possible release date of iPhone 18
Apple has a strong offering with the iPhone 17 (left to right), iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone 17 Pro.
Another important reason not to expect an upgrade to the iPhone 18 is that it may not be released next year. Waiting until next fall is bad enough if you have a sick phone, but in the meantime there are rumors that Apple may change its iPhone release strategy.
Bloomberg reported that the company plans to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and a new foldable phone in the fall of 2026. However, the iPhone 18, iPhone 18E and the possible Air 2 are set to launch around March 2027. That’s over a year away! You can certainly upgrade to one of the 2026 models, but chances are they won’t be as affordable as the spring 2027 release.
The older your phone, the more reason not to wait
In CNET’s labs testing the battery life of the iPhone 17 series they got good scores — even the Air scored as well as the iPhone 15 did when it was released.
If you have iPhone 15 or new, you can get by waiting another year for iPhone 18. But if your phone is much older than that and you would like a new iPhone, I see no reason to wait. This is especially true if you are experiencing battery performance issues.
We usually recommend upgrading if your existing model is two generations old, especially if your phone starts having problems with your daily tasks. There is a general consensus that if your battery’s maximum capacity has dropped below 80% and you don’t want to replace it, it’s probably wise to upgrade. You can check this by going to your phone Settingsto choose Battery then Battery Life.
Of course you can keep your phone for a long time, and Apple often provides software and security support for the iPhone for more than five years. However, you’ll also want to look for new features that don’t work on your device, or new iPhone camera hardware that might provide enough of an upgrade to be a noticeable improvement.
But if you think you’d like to get a new entry-level iPhone in the next 12 months, there’s no reason to wait for the iPhone 18 when the iPhone 17 offers so many features.
