Apple is reportedly preparing a big production run for the standard iPhone 18. Manufacturing is set to start in late November, several months before the phone is expected to launch in spring 2027.
The claim comes from a new Weibo post by the supply chain leaker Fixed Focus Digital, who calls the inventory Apple is lining up “quite large.” The same leaker reported in July that Apple had cut iPhone 17 production by 15%, a note that covered a lineup nine months into its run.
The iPhone 17 set a high bar for the standard iPhone 18
The standard iPhone 17 was the world’s best-selling smartphone in both the first and second quarters of 2026, according to Counterpoint Research. It took 6% of global unit sales in each quarter, ahead of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Counterpoint credits significant upgrades to the base model for narrowing the gap with the iPhone 17 Pro models.
Apple placed five phones in the second quarter top 10, including the iPhone 17e in seventh place and the iPhone 16 in tenth. The run came while the wider market shrank. Global smartphone sales fell 11% year over year in the quarter, and Apple’s unit sales still grew 5%.
The standard iPhone 18 will not launch until spring 2027
Apple unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and the foldable iPhone Duo in September and left the standard iPhone 18 out of that lineup. Reports point to the iPhone 18, iPhone 18e and iPhone Air 2 arriving together in spring 2027. Apple has not announced any of the three, so the timing and volume details rest on supply chain reports.
A late November production start leaves Apple several months to build stock. The iPhone Duo is the next launch on the calendar, with pre-orders opening October 16 and sales starting October 23. The iPhone 18 is expected to keep a design close to the iPhone 17, with a smaller Dynamic Island, the A20 chip and Apple’s C2 modem among the rumored upgrades.
Analysts already expect the split launch to dent the December quarter
Reports earlier this month said Apple cut iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max orders by at least 15% as demand softened. A big standard iPhone 18 build is a different picture for the rest of the lineup.
JP Morgan dismissed the order cut reports as routine production adjustments and has already trimmed its December quarter expectations because of the split launch. The firm expects a temporary shortfall while base iPhone buyers wait for the 2027 model, with the iPhone Duo covering part of the gap at about 8.5 million units. Without a new base model, it expects iPhone revenue to fall about 2% from the same period in 2025.
