Apple Delayed iPhone 18 Launch Due To Samsung? Here Is What We Know

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-Divyanshi Sharma

Published: Friday,
November 13, 2026, 15:05 [IST]

Last month, Apple left the entire tech community surprised when it launched the iPhone 18 Pro and iPro Max, but not the vanilla iPhone 18. This means that even in 2026, the iPhone 17 is the latest standard iPhone that you can buy. And that hasn’t really happened before.

Now earlier, Apple’s decision to delay the launch of the standard iPhone 18 was being linked to the ongoing memory shortage. But now, the story has taken another turn. As per a new report, Samsung’s camera sensor production timeline could be one of the reasons behind the change in Apple’s launch plans. Read on.

Samsung reportedly needs more time to manufacture iPhone 18 camera sensors

According to a report by Japanese publication Semiconportal, Apple pushed back the launch of the standard iPhone 18 to give Samsung enough time to manufacture camera sensors for the device. Samsung reportedly began developing and prototyping high-performance camera sensors for future iPhones in the spring of this year, with mass production scheduled to begin in the autumn.

This timeline may have affected Apple’s original launch plans. Instead of introducing the standard iPhone 18 alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models, the company is reportedly planning a staggered launch, with the base model expected to arrive early next year.

Sony has traditionally been Apple’s primary supplier of CMOS image sensors for iPhones. However, that arrangement is now changing. During its November 5 earnings briefing, Sony confirmed that it would no longer be Apple’s exclusive image sensor supplier. The company’s CFO, Lin Tao, said that customers procuring components from multiple suppliers should be considered normal business practice.

Apple has not officially confirmed that Samsung’s camera sensors are responsible for the iPhone 18 delay. However, the reported development timeline offers a possible explanation for why the standard model is arriving later than its Pro siblings.

What to Expect from iPhone 18

So when the iPhone 18 does indeed make its debut, what can we expect from it? Rumours and speculations have already painted a detailed picture. 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.