The iPhone 18 Pro is coming. The standard iPhone 18 isn't — not until 2027.
If you've been hovering over the buy button on an iPhone 17, wondering whether to hold on a few more weeks, here's the situation in plain terms. Refurbished iPhone 17 stock is available now, at meaningfully less than new. The iPhone 18 Pro lands in September 2026 — but it's almost certain to cost more than the iPhone 17 Pro did. And the standard iPhone 18? That's been pushed to spring 2027. The window to buy a very capable iPhone at a sensible price is open right now. It won't stay open forever.
What's actually happening with the iPhone 18 launch
Apple is doing something it has never done before: splitting its annual iPhone launch across two calendar years. The iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and Apple's first foldable iPhone are all expected in September 2026 — with the keynote likely on 9 September and devices in stores around 18 September, based on the iOS 27 beta schedule that's now well under way.
The standard iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e, on the other hand, are not coming until spring 2027. That's the same timing Apple used for the iPhone 17e earlier this year. If you typically buy the non-Pro model — the one that costs £799 new — there is literally no new iPhone for you this autumn.
Why the iPhone 18 Pro will almost certainly cost more
This is the part that makes the refurbished iPhone 17 argument especially strong right now. A global shortage of DRAM and NAND flash memory — driven by AI data centres hoovering up chip supply — has pushed component costs to a level Apple can no longer absorb quietly. Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a June 2026 Wall Street Journal interview that price increases are "unavoidable." DRAM costs for the same memory package used in a Pro iPhone have risen dramatically since last year, and analysts at TechInsights estimate the iPhone 18 Pro could see a price hike of $100 to $270 in the US market.
UK pricing hasn't been confirmed — it never is until Apple announces — but Apple has already raised Mac and iPad prices in 2026, and the pattern is clear. The iPhone 17 Pro at £1,099 new is almost certainly not the floor you'll be working with when the iPhone 18 Pro lands.
Should I buy the iPhone 17 now or wait for the iPhone 18 Pro?
If you want a Pro-tier iPhone this year, the honest answer is: buying now on refurbished makes more financial sense than waiting. The iPhone 18 Pro will launch at a higher price than its predecessor, thanks to the memory chip shortage. You'll be paying more for it. Meanwhile, a refurbished iPhone 17 Pro — Apple's 2025 flagship with an A19 Pro chip, triple 48MP camera system, and a 6.3-inch ProMotion OLED display — is available below new price today. That gap between what you'd pay now versus what you'll pay in September is likely to widen, not narrow.
The iPhone 18 Pro is expected to bring a 2-nanometer A20 Pro chip, a potentially smaller Dynamic Island, and a variable aperture rear camera. These are real improvements, but if your current phone is struggling now, they won't help you for another two months — and they'll cost you more when they arrive.
Will the iPhone 17's price drop when the iPhone 18 Pro comes out?
Yes, to a degree — but probably not in the way people expect. Apple typically discontinues the standard previous-generation model when the new one launches, and the Pro line follows a similar pattern over time. What actually drops faster is the resale and refurbished market value, often within days of a new iPhone announcement. If you're planning to sell your current phone to fund an upgrade, now — before the iPhone 18 Pro is announced — is almost always the better time to do it. Values typically soften 15–25% around a new launch cycle as people rush to offload older devices at the same moment.
If you're buying refurbished, the iPhone 17's value on the secondary market will also ease slightly after September. But you'll have been without the phone you want for two extra months, and the iPhone 18 Pro will still cost more than the 17 Pro does today.
What the iPhone 17 actually gives you in 2026
It's worth being clear about what you're getting, because "last year's iPhone" sometimes gets unfairly dismissed. The iPhone 17 — the standard, non-Pro model — brought ProMotion 120Hz to a base iPhone for the first time, along with a 6.3-inch OLED display, an A19 chip, a dual 48MP camera system, and 256GB as the minimum storage. New from Apple, it starts at £799. The iPhone 17 Pro starts at £1,099 and adds the A19 Pro chip, a triple-lens 48MP camera system with 4x optical zoom, and a titanium build.
Neither of these phones will feel slow in 2026. Apple's software support typically runs to six or seven years, which means an iPhone 17 bought now will likely be supported well into 2031. The A19 chip handles Apple Intelligence features without issue, and iOS 27 — launching alongside the iPhone 18 Pro in September — will run on iPhone 11 and later. You won't be left behind.
- iPhone 17 (standard): £799 new — 6.3-inch 120Hz OLED, A19 chip, dual 48MP cameras, 256GB minimum storage
- iPhone 17 Pro: £1,099 new — A19 Pro chip, triple 48MP cameras with 4x optical zoom, titanium frame, always-on display
- Refurbished iPhone 17 Pro: Available below new price on the secondary market, typically with a warranty — the current sweet spot for value
If you've got an older iPhone sitting in a drawer, now is the time to move it
Trade-in and resale values for older iPhones — 14, 15, and even 16 — will soften the moment Apple announces the iPhone 18 Pro in September. Every announcement brings a wave of people trying to sell at the same time, which pushes prices down. If you've been meaning to sell your old device, the next few weeks are genuinely the better time to do it.
Whether you want to sell your current iPhone to us for instant payment, or browse the refurbished stock we've already verified and graded, the logic here is the same: a good phone at the right price, right now, beats a more expensive one you're waiting two months for. Want to know how we check and grade devices before they go on sale? Read about our grading process here.
