Don’t wait for the iPhone 18. Just buy the iPhone 17

The year has barely started and many rumors are already circulating about the next harvest of iPhone. Of a possible folding model to a brand new iPhone 18 range2026 (and beyond) looks very interesting for the tech giant’s mobile division.

The iPhone 18 is rumored to feature several changes over its predecessor, including variable aperture cameras, an under-screen front camera for Face ID, a smaller Dynamic Island, an updated A20 chip, and some interesting new colors, including a “coffee” brown. The latest rumors suggest that the front camera will be moved to the upper left corner of the screen and the camera control button will be simplified to a pressure sensing function. The Dynamic island could also be narrowed in favor of a perforated cutout.

But if you’re trying to decide whether or not to buy a iPhone17 now or buy the iPhone 18, there is one important consideration: the iPhone 18 does not exist. Apple has not officially announced it. And rumors say the iPhone 18 won’t release in September 2026 (to make way for the rumored iPhone Fold) and could instead release in early 2027.

Personally, I don’t think you should wait more than a year to get a new phone, especially if you’re planning to upgrade from one phone to another. iPhone14 or earlier model. Here are some reasons why.

The iPhone 17 is awesome (and so is the 17 Pro)

If you’re looking to upgrade your phone, there’s a shiny new iPhone in stores right now, and it’s pretty good. The iPhone 17 is a fantastic handset for iPhone enthusiasts, especially for a base model.

Not only does the iPhone 17 offer a slightly larger 6.3-inch screen (compared to the iPhone 16’s 6.1-inch screen), but it also has a variable refresh rate of 1-120Hz, a first among non-Pro iPhones. This lets you enable an always-on display so you can check the time or current sports scores without waking your phone. And, of course, the 120Hz ProMotion display also means increased smoothness and overall responsiveness, whether scrolling social feeds or playing video games.

Sure, the iPhone 18 could benefit from improved cameras, but the iPhone 17’s aren’t too bad. It has two 48-megapixel cameras on the back (one wide-angle and one ultra-wide), with the ultra-wide being a massive upgrade over the one on the iPhone 16 which only had a 12-megapixel sensor. The 18-megapixel selfie camera (found on the rest of the iPhone 17 lineup and the Air) is also a great upgrade, especially with its Center Stage feature that zooms out when more people enter the frame or switches from portrait to landscape without you rotating the phone.

On top of that, the iPhone 17 has a sturdy aluminum frame, comes in a range of pretty colors (lavender is my favorite), and has impressive battery life. In my experience, it lasts more than a day with moderate use, and this also seems to match the experience of CNET’s Abrar Al-Heeti.

If you want to further close the gap between this year’s iPhone and next year’s model, you can of course spend more on the iPhone 17 Pro. It has a more robust A19 Pro chip, much better battery life (17 Pro Max) compared to the iPhone 17 and has that third camera on the back with a telephoto lens, making it much more versatile by offering 4x magnification for zooming in on distant subjects. I should note that the battery life of the iPhone 17 and the regular iPhone 17 Pro is almost identical.

The potential release date of the iPhone 18

Another important reason not to wait to upgrade to the iPhone 18 is that it might not even come out next year. Waiting nine months until next fall is bad enough if you have a broken phone, but there are currently rumors swirling that Apple may be changing its iPhone release strategy.

Bloomberg reported that the company plans to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and a new foldable in fall 2026. However, the iPhone 18, iPhone 18E, and a potential Air 2 are expected to debut closer to March 2027. That’s over a year away! You could certainly upgrade to one of the 2026 models, but chances are they won’t be as affordable as the spring 2027 versions.

The older your phone is, the more reasons you have not to wait

If you have the iPhone15 or newer, you could wait another year for the iPhone 18. But if your phone is much older than that and you want a new iPhone, I see no reason to wait. This is especially the case if you’re experiencing performance and battery issues.

We generally recommend upgrading if your existing model is two generations old, especially if your phone starts having problems with your daily tasks. A general consensus is that if your battery’s maximum capacity has fallen below 80% and you don’t want to replace the battery, it’s probably wise to upgrade it. You can check this by going to your phone Settingsby selecting Battery and then Battery health.

You can certainly keep your phone for longer, and Apple often provides software and security support for the iPhone for more than five years. However, you should also keep an eye out for newer features that don’t work on your device or whether a newer iPhone’s camera hardware would provide enough of an upgrade to be a noticeable improvement.

But if you think you’d like to get a new basic iPhone anytime in the next 12 months, there’s no reason to stick with the iPhone 18 when the iPhone 17 offers so many features.