Let’s first quickly look at what an iPhone soft reset does. Then, we’ll go through the steps on how to soft reset an iPhone.

What Is an iPhone Soft Reset?

A soft reset is also known as a force restart. A soft reset differs from a "normal" restart. The latter simply involves turning off your iPhone and turning it on again.

Take note that a soft reset also differs from a hard reset. When you hard reset or factory reset your iPhone, the procedure erases your iPhone’s data and restores your device to its blank, default state, as though you just bought it.

You’ll likely soft reset your iPhone when it’s completely frozen. For example, when your iPhone is stuck on the Apple logo. A soft reset does not erase any data.

How to Soft Reset an iPhone

Follow these steps to soft reset your iPhone:

1. Press and quickly release the volume up button.
2. Press and quickly release the volume down button.
3. Press and hold the side button until you see the Apple logo. You can now release the side button.

It’s important to press each button in immediate succession. However, you don’t need to rush through the steps urgently. Pacing it at one button per second is sufficient.

Carry Out an iPhone Soft Reset Easily

Whenever you face issues with your device, a quick go-to solution is to simply soft reset your iPhone. The method is easy to carry out once you know the steps.

However, if the problem persists, you might need to put your iPhone in recovery mode and reinstall iOS. Just don’t forget to back up all your data before you do that.

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1. Take a Screenshot on iPhone Using Physical Buttons

To take a screenshot on an iPhone, simultaneously press the side button and the volume up button. You’ll see a flash on the your iPhone’s display which indicates that a screenshot has been taken.

2. Take a Screenshot on iPhone Using Siri

You may not have realized that one of Siri’s lesser-known tricks is taking a screenshot for you. Simply summon Siri by saying "Hey Siri" or pressing and holding the side button. Say, "Take a screenshot," and after a moment, Siri will acknowledge the request and take a screenshot as normal.

This method comes in handy if your hands are dirty, or when you can’t perform the gesture to take a screenshot for whatever reason.

3. Take a Screenshot on iPhone by Tapping Its Back

For even more convenience, you can use an iPhone accessibility shortcut to take screenshots without the buttons. This feature is called Back Tap and allows you to perform actions simply by tapping the back of your iPhone with your fingers.

To configure it, go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap. You can customize two actions that happen when you tap twice and three times on the back of your device.

Tap Double Tap or Triple Tap, and then select Screenshot to take a fast screenshot with a few taps.

4. Take a Screenshot on iPhone Using AssistiveTouch

Another way to take a screenshot on an iPhone without pressing buttons is by using AssistiveTouch. This accessibility feature puts a button on your screen that you can use to perform multiple tasks, like taking screenshots.

To turn on AssistiveTouch, open your iPhone’s Settings app and tap Accessibility. On the Accessibility page, tap Touch. Tap AssistiveTouch and toggle it on in the subsequent menu. This will add a white circular button on top of your screen.

Whenever you tap this AssistiveTouch icon, it opens a menu that provides quick access to various functions. To easily add screenshot functionality to the menu, select Customize Top Level Menu from the AssistiveTouch settings menu.

Here, tap an icon you’d like to replace and choose Screenshot from the list of actions. You can also add another icon by tapping the Plus button and assigning the Screenshot action to it.

If you’re not a fan of tapping through these menus, there’s a faster way to take screenshots on iPhone using AssistiveTouch. On the AssistiveTouch settings menu, select the Single-Tap, Double-Tap, or Long Press option and set it to Screenshot. Then, quickly tap once, twice, or press and hold the AssistiveTouch button to take a screenshot on your iPhone.

This is even more convenient, as you don’t have to show the full AssistiveTouch menu that takes up screen space. If you find the AssistiveTouch button annoying, lower the Idle Opacity in the settings menu to make it more transparent when you’re not using it. You can drag the button to any corner of the screen you like when you’re not using it.

Now, all you need to do is select Screenshot from the AssistiveTouch menu or perform your assigned tapping shortcut, and your iPhone will take a screenshot. This works just like the usual method of taking an iPhone screenshot with the buttons. When you take a screenshot, the AssistiveTouch button and its menu won’t appear in the image.

Where Do Screenshots Get Saved?

After you take a screenshot on your iPhone, it gets saved to the Photos app. To see all of your screenshots in one place, open Photos, tap Collections, scroll down to Media Types, tap Media Types, then tap Screenshots. You can edit, delete, or share screenshots just like you would any other picture saved in the Photos app.

Take a Full Page Screenshot on iPhone

A full-page screenshot, or scrolling screenshot, captures an entire page — webpage, document or email — without you having to take multiple screenshots and then stitch them together. For example, if you wanted to screenshot a 116-page document in Safari, you would only have to take a single screenshot to capture the entire thing.

To take a full page screenshot on your iPhone, first take a regular screenshot by simultaneously pressing the side button and volume up button. You’ll see two options: Screen and Full Page. Select Full Page.

If you need to trim down how much of the page is included, select the Crop tool at the top of the screen and make your adjustment. When you are finished editing, hit Done.

Finally, tap Save PDF to Files or Save to Photos (if available) to save the screenshot.

If you’re saving the screenshot to Files, you must choose a folder to save it in. By default, the Files app will select the last folder you saved something to or the Downloads folder.

Before, you could save long screenshots only as PDF files. And that’s sort of still true — depending on the length of your screenshot.

The most obvious way to see if your scrolling screenshot can be saved to your photo reel is to just check by doing the steps above. The option to save the screenshot to your photos will either be there or it won’t.

Where to Find Full Page Screenshots on iPhone

As mentioned above, extra-long screenshots are automatically converted to PDFs, so they’re saved to the native Files app. To see full page screenshot on your iPhone, open the Files app, go to the folder in which your screenshot was saved and tap the screenshot.

Here you can rename the file, draw on it, leave comments and more. You can also share the scrolling screenshot, but the other person must have Files or another PDF-reader to view it.

If you saved your screenshot to your Photos app, then that’s where you can expect to find it.

Now you know how to take a screenshot on your iPhone, even if you can’t use the physical buttons.

The post How to Take a Screenshot on iPhone (Step-by-Step) appeared first on nerdsmodo.

• Many iPhone models are IP68-rated, meaning they can withstand water submersion up to 6 meters for 30 minutes, depending on the model.
• Water resistance serves as a safety net, not a feature you should put to the test. Avoid exposure to high-velocity water sports or soapy water.
• If your iPhone gets wet, shut it down, dry it with a cloth, and remove any peripherals. Wait for at least five hours before charging it or turning it back on.

Apple has introduced water-resistant iPhone models over the years. While they offer various levels of protection, you might be wondering whether your iPhone is waterproof. Let’s find out.

Many iPhone Models Are Water-Resistant

Many iPhone models are "splash-, water-, and dust-resistant." To quantify the level of resistance, Apple relies on the Ingress Protection (IP) ratings. Here’s what that means.

Developed by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), IP ratings are a universal system that tests and classifies the degree of protection an electronic device’s enclosure provides against the damage caused by foreign particles. These could be dirt, dust, or water.

What Do the Numbers in an IP Rating Mean?

An IP rating consists of two numbers. While the first number signifies the level of protection against minute particles (between one and six), the second number suggests how well the enclosure can withstand damage due to the ingress of water (ranging between one and eight).

Many iPhone models carry an IP68 rating. While the first number represents the highest level of protection against dust particles, indicating that the device is dust-tight, the second number suggests it can also withstand submersion in over 1m of water (for 30 minutes).

The specific water resistance rating varies by model:

• iPhone 12 and later (including iPhone 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 series): IP68 rating with a maximum depth of 6 meters for up to 30 minutes
• iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max: IP68 rating with a maximum depth of 4 meters for up to 30 minutes
• iPhone 11, XS, and XS Max: IP68 rating with a maximum depth of 2 meters for up to 30 minutes
• iPhone 7 through iPhone XR (including iPhone 8, 8 Plus, X, XR, and SE 2nd/3rd generation): IP67 rating with a maximum depth of 1 meter for up to 30 minutes
• iPhone 6s and earlier: No official water resistance rating

Can You Submerge an iPhone?

While IP68 suggests that a device can avoid any form of ingress damage, it also has certain limitations based on how well a device is designed. Depending on the model, iPhones can survive submersion at varying depths for up to 30 minutes (under IEC standard 60529).

Yes, we’ve heard stories about how people recover their iPhones from lakes and ponds days after they dropped them, and the iPhone miraculously works, but we wouldn’t count on it. Dropping your iPhone in a water body (natural or artificial) that’s deeper than its rated depth can cause permanent damage.

Furthermore, any kind of water damage isn’t covered under the standard warranty. Hence, if you drop your iPhone in a well, deep pool, or lake, there’s always a chance it won’t come back to life. Even if repairs are possible, getting them from the authorized service centers could be expensive.

What Would Damage My iPhone?

It is important to understand that the IP rating on your iPhone is more like a safety net than a feature you’d put to the test. While it will protect your iPhone from an accidental drop in the sink, a shallow pool, or light rain, it might not be effective if you expose your iPhone to pressurized or high-velocity water, like when showering, water skiing, surfing, or indulging in other water-based sports.

You should also avoid carrying your iPhone in a sauna or steam room, operating it in highly humid conditions, subjecting it to impacts, or intentionally submerging it in water. Further, you shouldn’t expose your iPhone to soap, detergent, acids, perfume, lotions, and other solvents. The chemicals in these substances could deteriorate the iPhone’s water resistance and result in water damage.

If your iPhone is already damaged, exposing it to water would be a bad idea. Any sort of deformation, whether on the upper layer of glass or the metallic frame, can compromise the iPhone’s water resistance and cause permanent damage.

What Do I Do if My iPhone Gets Wet?

If your iPhone gets wet, take it out of the water as soon as possible and shut it down. Then, dry the exterior surface of the iPhone with a lint-free cloth. If water is stuck in the charging port, consider tapping the phone against your palm. You might want to dry it in front of a fan or use a tone generator to get the water out of the speakers.

Don’t use a blow dryer, as too much heat could damage the water seal on the iPhone. Remove any peripherals if connected, and allow your iPhone at least five hours before charging it again. If you want to enhance your iPhone’s water resistance, consider getting a waterproof pouch. They’re pretty cheap and add another layer of protection against water, plus they float!

frequently Asked Questions

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Using Your iPhone Controls

On every iPhone, you take most actions via the touchscreen, the main hardware control. iPhones have several other hardware controls, such as the Side button on the right side and the Volume Up button and Volume Down button on the left side. Newer iPhone models (iPhone 15 and later) include a dedicated Action Button on the left side. Many iPhone models use Face ID to authenticate the user, while some older iPhone models use Touch ID.

Identify the Controls on The Side of Your iPhone

Near the top of the right side of your iPhone is a button called the Side button. This button enables you to take several actions, including powering on your iPhone; putting it to sleep and waking it; and summoning Siri, the virtual assistant. You can use the Side button in combination with the Volume Up button and the Volume Down button to perform other tasks like powering off your iPhone. Some newer iPhone models have a Camera Control on the right side, a dedicated control for activating the Camera app, taking photos and videos, and adjusting camera settings.

The left side of your iPhone has several controls:

• On iPhone 15 and later models, near the top of the left side is a button called the Action Button. You can customize it in the Settings app to take your preferred action, such as recording a voice memo or turning on the flashlight. The action button’s default action is to toggle between ring mode and silent mode; long-press the action button until you feel haptic feedback confirming the mode change. On older iPhone models, there is a physical ring/silent switch instead.
• Below the Action Button or ring/silent switch are the Volume up/down buttons. The Volume Up button and Volume Down button enable you to control the volume quickly without having to use the touchscreen. The upper button increases the volume; the lower one decreases it. You use the volume buttons to raise or lower the loudness of the ringer, alerts, sound effects, songs, and movies. During phone calls, the buttons adjust the voice loudness of the person you’re speaking with, regardless of whether you’re listening through the receiver, the speakerphone, or a headset. These buttons also work in combination with the Side button for other actions.

Turn Your iPhone On and Off

To turn on your iPhone when it is powered off, press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears on-screen; then release the Side button. Your iPhone continues to start, and then the lock screen appears.

To turn off your iPhone, press the Volume Up button once, press the Volume Down button once, and then press and hold the Side button until the Power Off screen appears; then drag the slide to power off slider to the right.

Unlock and Lock Your iPhone

If your iPhone has Face ID (available on iPhone X and later), hold the iPhone so the front cameras can scan your face. The iPhone unlocks and the "Swipe up to open" prompt appears at the bottom of the screen. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen. The iPhone unlocks, and you can start using it.

If your iPhone has Touch ID (iPhone SE models and earlier iPhones with a Home button), place your finger on the Home button or the Touch ID sensor. The iPhone unlocks, and you can start using it.

To lock your iPhone and put it to sleep, press the Side button once. Depending on how the iPhone is configured, the iPhone may also go to sleep automatically after a period of inactivity.

Using Sleep and Wake, Siri, App Store, and Apple Pay

When your iPhone is awake, press the Side button once to put it to sleep. When your iPhone is asleep, press the Side button once to wake it.

On your iPhone, press and hold the Side button at any time to activate Siri, the virtual assistant. Your iPhone plays a tone and displays a lighting effect around the screen’s edges.

When making a purchase or installing an app from the App Store on your iPhone, double-click the Side button to authenticate yourself via Face ID (or Touch ID on supported models) and confirm the purchase or continue installing the app.

Tapping, Swiping, Dragging, and More

To control your iPhone, you gesture with your fingers and (sometimes) thumbs on the touchscreen. The following list explains the eight main gestures:

• Tap: You tap the screen, placing your finger on it briefly and then lifting your finger again, to select items or to give commands. For example, you tap an app’s icon on one of the Home screen pages to open that app. Similarly, you tap to start playing a song in the Music app, and you tap to open a photo album in the Photos app.
• Double-tap: You tap the screen twice in rapid succession to take actions such as zooming in and out on web pages, maps, and email messages.
• Triple-tap: You tap the screen three times in rapid succession to give special commands, such as enabling the Zoom feature, which lets you zoom the whole screen rather than zoom in individual apps.
• Flick: You flick your finger across the screen to scroll quickly through lists of songs, emails, and picture thumbnails. To flick, place your finger on the screen and then move it rapidly in the direction you want the content to move. For example, flick up a list of songs to move the list up so that you can see later items. You can either wait for the list to stop scrolling or tap to stop the scrolling.
• Pinch and spread: On a web page or picture, pinch your fingers together to shrink the image, or spread your fingers apart to enlarge the image. Pinching and spreading (sometimes called unpinching or pinching apart) are easy and effective gestures.
• Drag: Place your finger on the touchscreen and then, without lifting your finger, move it. You might drag to move around a map that’s too large for the iPhone’s display area.
• Swipe: Swiping is like a more controlled version of flicking; you place your finger on the screen and move it quickly but not extravagantly. For example, you can swipe left on the first Home screen page to display the second Home screen page.
• Slide: Sliding is a move you use with the onscreen keyboard’s QuickPath feature, which lets you enter a word by placing your finger on the first letter and then sliding your finger to each other letter in turn without lifting it from the screen. When you finish the word, or when the Predictive feature guesses it correctly, you lift your finger, and iOS enters the word.

Multitasking and Switching Apps

Multitasking lets you run numerous apps on your iPhone simultaneously and easily switch from one app to another. Normally, only one app is visible and is displayed full screen. This is the foreground app. All other apps are in the background, where they keep running, but you don’t see them. For example, the Music app can keep playing music in the background while you work in the Mail app in the foreground. You can switch quickly from one app to another, bringing a background app to the foreground and thereby moving the previous foreground app to the background.

The main exception to only one app being visible is that the picture-in-picture feature enables you to watch video or take part in a FaceTime call while working in other apps. The picture-in-picture video feed appears in a small window in front of the foreground app.

To switch from one app to another, you use App Switcher, which you display by swiping up from the bottom of the screen, and then pausing for a moment before lifting your finger. App Switcher appears as a carousel containing previews of your open apps. The foreground app appears on the right, with the next most recently used app to its left, followed by other recently used apps in order. Each app’s icon appears above its preview. Swipe from left to right to see more preview pages. Tap the icon or the preview for the app you want to switch to, and the app appears, enabling you to restart work or play where you left off.

To display the Home screen, tap it below the App Switcher’s carousel.

To close an app, swipe it up off the carousel. This move is especially useful when an app is not responding, but you can use it on any app at any time.

Navigating beyond the First Home Screen Page

The Home screen is divided into pages, one of which appears at a time. iOS normally starts you off with two Home screen pages, plus the App Library page, which appears after the last Home screen page. You can add other pages freely to organize your apps and widgets the way you prefer them. iOS also adds Home screen pages automatically when you install apps that overflow from the last existing page. You can have up to 15 Home screen pages.

The four icons in the bottom row — Phone, Safari, Messages, and Music by default — are in a part of the screen known as the dock. When you switch from one Home screen page to another as just described, these icons remain on the screen, unless today view, App Library, Control Center, or Notification Center is in view.

By default, the oval search button appears above the dock, enabling you to search quickly from any Home screen page. This button does double-duty with a series of dots that indicate the number of Home screen pages (the total number of dots) and which page is currently displayed (the dot that is white rather than gray). The dots appear when you swipe left or right between Home screen pages.

Tip: If you want to see the dots all the time, choose Settings > Home Screen & App Library, go to the Search area, and then set the Show on Home Screen switch off (white). You can then display the Search panel by performing a short swipe down the middle of the Home screen.

If you swipe all the way from left to right, today view appears; see the section "Using Today View," later in this guide. Swiping all the way from right to left displays the App Library page; see the section "Visiting App Library," also later in this guide.

You can easily move icons within a screen or from screen to screen. Long-press any icon until a menu appears; this menu varies considerably from app to app. Tap Edit Home Screen on this menu — or simply continue to long-press — and all the icons on the screen will begin to jiggle. Then drag the icon you want to move to its new location. The other icons on the screen step aside to make room. To move an icon to a different Home screen page, drag it to the right or left edge of the screen and wait for the next page or previous page to appear. When you’re satisfied with the new layout, tap the Done button to stop the jiggling.

To move an app, long-press any icon, and then tap Edit Home Screen on the menu.

A circled minus sign also appears on each of the jiggling apps. Tap it if you want to remove the app from your phone. For a third-party app, you can remove it from the Home screen but leave it in App Library, or you can delete it. For either move, you’ll get one last chance to change your mind. For most built-in apps, your only option is to remove them from the Home screen but leave them in App Library.

Want to jump back to the last Home screen page you used? Simply swipe up on the screen. Want to jump to the first Home screen page, assuming you’re not already there? Swipe up again.

Press and hold down the side button for a second to invoke Siri.

Organizing Home Screen Icons into Folders

To organize the apps on your Home screen pages, you can create folders and add app icons to them. Like the Home screen itself, each folder can have up to 15 pages; each page can contain up to 9 icons; so a folder can contain up to 135 icons.

To create a folder, go to the Home screen page that contains the first two icons you want to put into a folder. (If they’re on different Home screen pages, move one of them to the other’s page.) Long-press one of those icons, and then tap Edit Home Screen on the pop-up menu, making all the icons on the screen jiggle. Drag the icon on top of the second icon, and iOS creates a folder for you, opening it and assigning it an automatic name based on the category of the two apps — for example, Productivity. To change the name, tap the x-in-a-circle to the right of the name, type a new name, and then tap Done on the keyboard.

Tap outside the folder to close it. You can then drag other app icons to the folder.

To launch an app that’s inside a folder, tap that folder’s icon, and then tap the icon for the app that you want to open.

You can drag apps into and out of any folder. If you drag all the apps outside the folder, or delete the last app in the folder, the folder automatically disappears.

Visiting App Library

App Library is a tool for storing and accessing apps you don’t use so often. To find App Library, swipe from right to left on each Home screen page in turn.

At the top of the App Library screen is the search box. Tapping in the search box makes App Library display its contents as an alphabetical list.

You can scroll down to the app of choice, start typing the app name in the search box, or tap a letter on the side to jump to listings beginning with that letter. The # symbol (after Z in the list) takes you to apps whose names begin with a number.

Back on the initial App Library screen, just below the search box, iOS organizes apps into the Suggestions category and the Recently Added category. Suggestions contains suggested apps based on time of day, location, or activity. Below Suggestions and Recently Added, iOS presents the apps in various categories, such as Utilities, Creativity, Social, and Productivity.

Apart from Suggestions, each category contains three full-size icons and one group icon containing up to four miniature icons. Tap a full-size icon to launch that app. Tap the group of miniatures to display the remaining apps in the group. You can then launch an app by tapping its icon.

Using Today View

Today view, which you access by swiping left to right on the Lock screen or the first Home screen page, presents a collection of widgets designed to give you an overview of what’s happening (or should be happening) today.

To get the most out of today view, customize it to contain only the widgets you want, and put them in your preferred order. To start customizing today view, long-press a blank space until the widgets start jiggling. You can then remove an existing widget by tapping its remove icon (–), add a widget by tapping Edit > Add Widget, and drag your widgets into your preferred order. When you’re done, tap the Done button.

Searching Your iPhone

The Search button that appears on each Home screen page by default enables you to search your iPhone’s contents quickly. Tap the Search button to display the Search screen. Look quickly at the Siri Suggestions box and the items below it to see if either shows what you want. If so, tap the item; if not, start typing your search term. Search results appear, and you can tap the search result you want to see.

Remember: If you chose not to display the Search button on the Home screen, swipe a short distance down the middle of the Home screen to open the Search panel.

Tip: If your searches produce too many results, you can limit the search scope by choosing Settings > Search, and then working on the Search screen.

Using The Control Center

Control Center puts your iPhone’s most essential controls at your fingertips. From Control Center, you can turn Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Do Not Disturb Mode, and Orientation Lock on or off; control music playback and volume and direct your iPhone’s audio and video output to AirPlay devices; change the setting for the AirDrop sharing feature; and quickly access key apps and utilities.

To open Control Center on your iPhone, swipe down from the upper-right corner of the screen.

See also: Is the iPhone waterproof? Here’s what you need to know

The post How to Use iPhone for Beginners (Step by Step) appeared first on nerdsmodo.

One thing worth noting is that Apple is reportedly planning a major change to its iPhone release cycle this year, adopting a two-phase rollout starting with the iPhone 18 series. That means the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and iPhone Fold will be released in September 2026, followed by the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e in spring 2027.

Overall Design

iPhone 17 Pro Style

Rumors suggest the iPhone 18 Pro lineup will largely retain the same design as the iPhone 17 Pro models. The rear camera system will look identical to the current generation, featuring a raised "plateau" with three lenses arranged in a triangle. Display sizes are also expected to remain unchanged, with the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max continuing to use 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch panels, respectively – the same dimensions introduced with the iPhone 16 Pro series. iPhone 18 Pro models could drop the current two-tone look of the rear casing found on the iPhone 17 Pro in favor of a more seamless aesthetic. For the next-generation models, Apple has apparently updated the back-glass "replacement process" to minimize the color difference between the Ceramic Shield 2 glass and the aluminum frame, resulting in a more unified appearance.

Next-Level Battery Life

Thicker Chassis

The iPhone 18 Pro Max will feature a bigger battery for continued best-in-class battery life, claims a Chinese leaker. The Weibo user known as "Digital Chat Station" said that the ‌iPhone 18‌ Pro Max will have a battery capacity of 5,100 to 5,200 mAh. (The iPhone 17 Pro Max has the biggest ‌iPhone‌ battery to date at 5,088 mAh. Apple says it has a battery life of up to 39 hours.) According to another rumor, the body of the iPhone 18 Pro Max will be slightly thicker than the iPhone 17 Pro Max, raising the device’s weight to around 243 grams. That would make the iPhone 18 Pro Max approximately 3 grams more than the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which is currently the heaviest model Apple has produced. A larger battery is the most likely cause.

Smaller Dynamic Island

Under-Screen Face ID?

Rumors continue to circulate about whether the iPhone 18 Pro models will introduce under-display Face ID, but reports remain divided on when the technology will actually arrive. The feature would move the TrueDepth camera system beneath the display, eliminating the need for the current Dynamic Island cutout.

According to Wayne Ma of The Information, Apple is targeting a design without a Dynamic Island, replacing it with a single pinhole camera in the upper-left corner of the screen. However, other sources dispute that claim. Display analyst Ross Young believes under-display Face ID is possible for the iPhone 18 Pro, but says a smaller Dynamic Island will still be present. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has echoed this view, reporting that the new models will feature a slimmed-down Dynamic Island rather than removing it entirely. Apple is also said to be testing new camera miniaturization technology to reduce the size of the front-facing camera currently located within the Dynamic Island.

The Weibo leaker "Ice Universe" has claimed the Dynamic Island cutout on the iPhone 18 Pro models will be approximately 35% narrower than it is on the iPhone 17 Pro models. Specifically, they said it will have a width of around 13.5mm, down from around 20.7mm

Meanwhile, Chinese leaker Instant Digital has offered yet another version of events, saying the Dynamic Island will shrink in size, but that under-display Face ID and camera technology won’t debut this year. Overall, the consensus suggests Apple may be refining the Dynamic Island before fully transitioning to an all-screen design in future generations.

A20 Pro Chip

2nm Process

The iPhone 18 Pro models will use Apple’s A20 chip, based on TSMC’s 2nm process for power and efficiency improvements. A move to 2nm fabrication increases transistor density, which will enable higher performance. The A20 series is expected to deliver roughly a 15 percent speed gain and about 30 percent better efficiency compared with the A19 series used in Apple’s iPhone 17 models.

Apple’s A20 chip will be packaged with TSMC’s Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module (WMCM) technology, suggesting at least some A20 chips will have RAM integrated directly onto the same wafer as the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine, rather than sitting adjacent to the chip and connected via a silicon interposer. This could contribute to faster performance for both overall tasks and Apple Intelligence, and longer battery life from improved power efficiency.

C2 Modem

Replacing Qualcomm

Apple plans to include its next-generation C2 modem in the iPhone 18 Pro models, according to supply chain analyst Jeff Pu. The chip will succeed the C1 modem, which debuted in the lower-cost iPhone 16e as Apple’s first in-house cellular modem, and the C1X modem chip in the iPhone Air, which Apple says is up to 2× faster than the C1. The C2 is expected to bring faster speeds, improved power efficiency, and support for mmWave 5G in the United States – a feature missing from the C1 and C1X.

Apple’s modem roadmap is part of a long-term strategy to reduce reliance on Qualcomm, which currently supplies 5G modems for the rest of the iPhone lineup. The company has been working on developing its own cellular chips for years, aiming for deeper integration and greater control over power management and performance.

New Camera Sensor

Samsung-Made

Samsung is working on a new three-layer stacked image sensor, reportedly intended for the iPhone 18. The sensor, referred to as PD-TR-Logic, integrates three layers of circuitry, which would improve camera responsiveness, reduce noise, and increase dynamic range. The leak comes from a source known as "Jukanlosreve," who claims the sensor is being developed specifically for Apple’s 2026 iPhone lineup. Sony has long been Apple’s sole image sensor supplier, so Samsung’s entry would be a big shift in the iPhone’s camera supply chain.

Variable Aperture

DSLR-Style

Apple intends to equip this year’s iPhone 18 Pro models with a variable aperture lens, according to reports. Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station claims the main rear camera – what Apple calls the 48-megapixel Fusion camera – on both iPhone 18 Pro models will offer variable aperture, which would be a first for the iPhone. A variable-aperture system physically adjusts the lens opening, letting more light in for low-light shots or narrowing the opening for brighter scenes and deeper depth of field.

The main cameras on the iPhone 15 Pro, 16 Pro, and 17 Pro all use a fixed ƒ/1.78 aperture, where the lens is permanently set to its widest setting. With a variable lens, the iPhone 18 Pro would allow users to manually shift the aperture, similar to on a DSLR camera. This would mean more control over depth of field, enabling sharper focus on subjects or smoother background blur. Industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in November 2024 that Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro models will get the feature.

5G Satellite Internet

Non-Terrestrial Data

According to a report by The Information, Apple plans to add support for 5G networks that operate via satellites rather than Earth-based towers as early as next year. This advancement would allow future iPhones to gain full internet connectivity through satellite, not just limited emergency features.

If Apple meets the 2026 target, the first devices to feature 5G satellite internet would likely be the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the long-rumored foldable iPhone. Apple partners with Globalstar for its iPhone satellite features, but there is currently no service that delivers full 5G satellite internet directly to a smartphone, and the report did not specify who would supply it.

Simplified Camera Control

New Design

Apple is reportedly working to simplify the Camera Control button’s design on iPhone 18 models in order to reduce costs. The current Camera Control button on iPhone 17 models uses both capacitive and pressure sensors beneath a sapphire crystal surface. The capacitive layer detects touch gestures, while the force sensor recognizes different pressure levels for taps, presses, and swipes.

However, according to the Weibo-based account Instant Digital, Apple will remove the capacitive sensing layer and retain only pressure sensing recognition in the second iteration to achieve all Camera Control functions on the iPhone 18. The simplified version is not about reducing functionality in the button, but about saving money. The current solution is said to be very expensive for Apple and is generating costly after-sales repairs.

New Colors

Three in Testing

Apple is rumored to be testing three new color options for the iPhone 18 Pro models: burgundy, brown, and purple. A burgundy finish would mark the first time the Pro and Pro Max models have been offered in any shade of red, apart from the lighter (PRODUCT)RED used on earlier devices. The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max were previously available in Deep Purple, and Apple has never released an iPhone in a genuinely brown color.

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