If a new report is anything to go by, the base iPhone 18 might actually take a step back in one key area.
According to the latest supply chain chatter, Apple could use Samsung’s M12+ OLED material for the standard iPhone 18. That’s basically a tweaked version of M12, which was used in devices like the iPhone 14 Pro and Galaxy S23 Ultra. In other words, it’s not exactly cutting-edge anymore.
Meanwhile, the Pro models are expected to move ahead with Samsung’s newer M16 material. That’s a noticeable gap. Especially when you consider that even current iPhones are already using more advanced panels than what’s now being rumored for the base iPhone 18.
This isn’t really about how the screen looks at first glance. The bigger difference with newer OLED materials tends to be efficiency — how much power the display needs to hit a certain brightness level. Newer panels are simply better at this. Older ones, not so much.
So the concern is pretty straightforward. The iPhone 18 is expected to run on Apple’s upcoming A20 chip, likely built on a 2nm process, which should improve power efficiency. But if the display is less efficient, some of those gains could get canceled out in everyday use. You might not see the battery improvements you’d expect just from the chip upgrade.
Of course, Apple could balance things out with a larger battery. That’s always an option. But then again, that’s more of a workaround than a real fix.
If this turns out to be accurate, it does raise a question: how far is Apple willing to push the gap between the standard and Pro models?
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