Tech Advisor
If you’re someone who feels that smartphones have peaked, a new report concerning the iPhone 18 might just offer vindication. Following a recent Weibo tip that Apple would be “downgrading the manufacturing process” for the iPhone 18 , the Schrödinger Intel blog has claimed that one of those downgrades will relate to the phone’s display. It states that Apple will likely revert to using Samsung’s M12+ material in the construction of the regular iPhone 18’s screen, as well as the iPhone 18e. This is a marginally more advanced take on the display that fronted the iPhone 14 Pro all the way back in 2022. Generational differences After recent years of Apple’s base model closing in on the Pro, this will serve to open up a considerable technological gap between the two tiers. The iPhone 18 Pro, by contrast, is expected to utilise Samsung’s latest M16 material in its display. The primary difference between M12+ and M16 screen technology relates to luminous efficiency. In other words, how much energy a screen requires to emit a certain amount of light. Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry By rolling back to a previous generation (indeed, three generations), the forthcoming iPhone 18 will be less energy efficient than its predecessor, the iPhone 17 . This will of course be partially mitigated by the move to a more advanced processor, but the point is that any efficiency gains made by Apple’s new 2nm A20 chip will be compromised by this ancient (in relative terms) component. Trending downwards Together with claims that the iPhone 18 is going to ship later than the iPhone 18 Pro range, in spring 2027 rather than winter 2026, it’s adding up to an underwhelming generation for those who don’t plan to go Pro. Smartphone manufacturers are enduring a tough year, with spiking memory costs prompting compromises across the board. In the case of the Google Pixel 10a, this meant an almost total lack of progress between generations, while the entire Samsung Galaxy S26 range (and the following Samsung Galaxy A57) received a price bump. News that Apple’s next mainstream phone is going to be actively worse, albeit only in a very specific way that most people probably won’t notice, seems to contribute to a narrative that the smartphone industry is trending downwards – or at least making significant compromises in new launches. There’s more on the upcoming iPhone series in our iPhone 18 rumour round-up . iPhone 14 Pro
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