iPhone 18 and iPhone Air 2 design won't be changing, according to new leak

Apple isn't ditching its current design language just yet

(Credit: Kevin Lee / The Shortcut)

• 📱 A new leak says that Apple’s iPhone 18 and iPhone Air 2 will look very familiar

• ❌ Neither phone will get a visual change, save for some dimension tweaks on the iPhone 18

• 📸 That means the iPhone Air 2 will likely stick with a single rear camera, too

• 📅 The leak contradicts previous reports and says the iPhone Air 2 will ship later this year, not in early 2027

• ⏭️ We still expect the iPhone 18 to come out next year

The iPhone 17 kept the same basic design as the iPhone 16, save for a slightly larger display. When the iPhone 18 comes to town, there will be even fewer design changes to talk about.

That’s according to a new leak from Fixed Focus Digital, which has leaked accurate Apple product details in the past. In a new post on Weibo, the leaker claims the iPhone 18 will “remain largely unchanged” - and so will the iPhone Air 2.

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(Credit: Kevin Lee / The Shortcut)

We haven’t been anticipating a big design change for Apple’s iPhone 18, and this gives further credence to that forecast. Fixed Focus Digital specifies that there could be some changes to the iPhone 18’s overall dimensions, but since the screen size will remain the same, these changes will likely be largely unnoticeable.

This also further hints that the iPhone 18’s Dynamic Island will remain the same as it is now, leaving the smaller version as an exclusive on this year’s iPhone 18 Pro. Apple is expected to shrink the size of the cut-out by a good deal to make it less noticeable on this year’s Pro phones, and it seems like it won’t trickle down to Apple’s more affordable iPhones for quite some time.

Meanwhile, Fixed Focus Digital also claims the iPhone Air 2 will keep the same design as the current iPhone Air, single camera system and all. Apple was rumored to be pushing the Air 2 back to spring of 2027 to work on its design and incorporate new features like a secondary ultra-wide camera and a bigger battery. However, Fixed Focus Digital says Apple will “iterate normally” and release the Air 2 later this fall alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Fold.

Other rumors strongly suggest the iPhone Air 2 will be pushed back to early next year, even if Apple doesn’t incorporate a new camera system. Fixed Focus Digital seems adament that Apple will release it later this year, though, so it’s more of a 50-50 shot whether we see it this year or not at this point.

Either way, it doesn’t sound like Apple has a lot of big iPhone redesigns in the pipeline for its next generation of phones, save for the all-new iPhone Fold. The iPhone 18 will look the same, as will the Air 2, and the iPhone 18 Pro will reportedly only adopt new colors like red or “coffee brown.” We’ll keep you posted if we hear anything else.

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Max Buondonno is an editor at The Shortcut and co-host of The Shortcut Live. He’s been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, How-To Geek, XDA, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.