2027 is set to be the year for huge hardware changes at Apple. New leaks give us some interesting hints about the massive iPhone 18 redesign. Interesting because standard iPhone 18 is seemingly getting the dual-camera setup that used to be the domain of Pro-level iPhones. Apple is aiming to make the cameras more uniform across the main iPhone series to bring more pro-level camera features to more people.
New leaks show iPhone 18e and Air 2 sharing internal layouts
The new leaks show us unconfirmed dummy units for the iPhone 18 and the all-new iPhone Air 2. These physical models show us the rear camera setup on the two phones giving us the idea of the new design language Apple is using for their upcoming devices. And it looks like iPhone 18e will be using the same internals as the iPhone 18 for a more unified family of the base iPhones.
iPhone 18 Rumored Specifications
- iPhone 18 Rear Camera Layout: Two cameras arranged vertically inside a pill-shaped module
- iPhone 18 Battery Capacity: 4,430mAh
- iPhone 18 SIM Configuration: Likely eSIM-only (physical SIM tray removed)
- iPhone Air 2 Rear Camera Layout: Raised camera section with two camera cut-outs and a smaller circular cut-out for LED flash
- iPhone 18e Battery Capacity: 4,430mAh
Here's the info we got from the dummy model for iPhone 18. As you can see there are two vertically placed cameras in a pill-shaped camera module. This setup looks similar to the iPhone 17, but confirms that there's a second camera at the back.
As for the iPhone Air 2, it's getting a raised camera section with two camera cutouts and a smaller circular cutout for the LED flash. It's also getting a second camera on the back, but in its thin-form design.
Thanks to the X-ray leak's annotations, we also have some new battery info. It looks like iPhone 18 is set to get a 4,430mAh battery. It's a huge jump from the current 3,671mAh on the iPhone 17. iPhone 18e also seems to be getting this 4,430mAh battery, up from the 4,005mAh battery previously.
Apple might ditch the physical SIM tray in iPhone 18 to accomodate for this bigger battery. Again, unconfirmed.
iPhone Air 2 along with the two others should be released in spring of 2027. Apple hasn't confirmed any of these designs, so take the dummy models and X-ray images with a pinch of salt as unconfirmed rumors. We've been keeping tabs on the iPhone 18. Here's our previous article about iPhone 18 Pro Max dummy units which will give you more info on its development progress.
Source: GIZMOCHINA
If they are truly ditching the physical SIM tray to squeeze in that 4,430mAh cell, how does that impact enterprise deployment in regions with fragmented carrier eSIM support? I assume the kernel modem stack needs specific updates to handle the new SIM topology without bricking.
The eSIM-only strategy is mostly about internal volume management rather than software complexity. The baseband firmware already handles profile downloads, so the main engineering hurdle is just fitting the larger Li-ion cell into the existing chassis footprint.