What is confirmed
Updated September 28, 2026. Apple showed the final iPhone 18 design on September 9, 2026, and the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max went on sale on September 18. The back glass is now colour-matched to the aluminium, the rear cameras sit on a plateau, and the Dynamic Island got smaller. The Pro measures 150.0 x 71.9 x 8.75 mm at 211 grams, the Pro Max 163.4 x 78.0 x 8.75 mm at 249 grams. There is no standard iPhone 18 yet; that model is expected in spring 2027.
So what does the iPhone 18 look like now that the phone is in stores? Familiar in the hand, different on the back. This article walks through the real iPhone 18 design, model by model, and then explains what each change means for a case: where the raised edge has to sit, where a sliding front cover can go, and why an iPhone 17 Pro case does not fit. If you want a fitted case with a physical camera cover from day one, the iPhone 18 Pro privacy case is built to the dimensions below.
Colour-matched back glass and aluminium
The most visible change is on the back. The iPhone 17 Pro had a two-tone rear: an aluminium body with a glass cutout in a slightly different shade. On the iPhone 18 Pro the glass is colour-matched to the aluminium, so the back reads as one surface again. The flat-edge frame stays, the buttons and the Action Button stay where they were, and the MagSafe ring sits in the same place.
The Pro and Pro Max come in four finishes: Black, Silver, Glacier and Burgundy. Glacier is a pale, cool tone, Burgundy is the deep red of the range. Because the glass and metal now match, the colour looks the same from every angle, which was not true of the 17 Pro.
The camera plateau
The three 48 MP cameras sit on a raised plateau that runs across the top of the back, rather than in a square bump in the corner. The plateau is there for a reason: the main camera has a variable aperture with six laser-cut blades, and a moving aperture needs more depth than a fixed one. What that camera can do is covered in our article on what changed in the iPhone 18 Pro camera and what it means for your privacy.
For the design, the plateau does two things. It gives the back a clear top and bottom, and it means the phone rocks on a table unless a case levels it. Both Pro models share the same plateau layout, so the lenses are in the same relative position on the 6.3 inch and the 6.9 inch phone.
The smaller Dynamic Island
On the front, the Dynamic Island cutout is smaller than on the iPhone 17 Pro and now shows three Live Activities at once. The front camera and the Face ID sensors still sit inside the cutout and remain visible. That is worth stating plainly, because the iPhone Duo goes a different way. A visible front camera is a front camera you can cover.
iPhone 18 dimensions and weight
| Model | Display | Height x width x depth | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 18 Pro | 6.3 inch OLED | 150.0 x 71.9 x 8.75 mm | 211 grams |
| iPhone 18 Pro Max | 6.9 inch OLED | 163.4 x 78.0 x 8.75 mm | 249 grams |
Both phones are 8.75 mm thick before the plateau. The Pro Max is 13.4 mm taller, 6.1 mm wider and 38 grams heavier than the Pro. Inside, the two are the same: A20 Pro chip, three 48 MP cameras, a larger vapor chamber and storage from 256 GB to 2 TB. The Pro starts at $1,199, the Pro Max at $1,299. The size decision is about the screen and the battery (up to 36 hours of video on the Pro, up to 45 on the Pro Max), not about the camera or the design.
The iPhone Duo form factor
The iPhone Duo is Apple's first foldable and looks nothing like the Pro. It has a 7.6 inch inner display and a 5.4 inch outer display in a Grade 5 titanium frame with Ceramic Shield 2 and IP68, in Star White and Night Sky. There is no Face ID; Touch ID sits in the side button. The FaceTime camera is hidden under the inner display and invisible until it is active, which is elegant and also means it cannot be covered. Pre-orders open October 16, delivery starts October 23, from $1,999. Spy-Fy does not make a case for the Duo.
What the plateau and the dimensions mean for a case
Every iPhone redesign resets the accessory market, and this one more than most. Three points follow directly from the design above.
- The raised edge has to clear the plateau. A case now needs a lip that stands proud of the whole plateau, not just of a corner bump, so the lenses do not touch the table when the phone is face up. That lip is also where a flip cover over the rear cameras hinges.
- The sliding front cover sits at the smaller Dynamic Island. Because the front camera stays visible inside the cutout, a slider can close over it. The cutout is smaller than on the 17 Pro, so the slider is positioned for the new lens location. Face ID keeps working when the slider is open.
- iPhone 17 Pro cases do not fit. The 17 Pro measured differently and had a different camera layout on the back. A case cut for it leaves the plateau exposed or blocks a lens on the iPhone 18 Pro. Users still on the 17 Pro can keep using their fitted 17 Pro case until the new phone is in hand.
The colour-matched back also changes how a case looks. A transparent or open-back case shows one colour instead of two, which is why Black and Silver pair with almost anything and Burgundy is the one to match deliberately.
Why there is no standard iPhone 18 yet
Apple split its iPhone launch in two. The Pro models and the Duo came in September and October; the standard iPhone 18 and the iPhone 18e are expected in spring 2027, though Apple has not confirmed that. The reasons behind the split are in why Apple is splitting its iPhone launch in two. For the design that means only the Pro and Pro Max dimensions are final today. Anything written about the standard model's shape remains a guess.
The bottom line on the iPhone 18 design
The iPhone 18 Pro looks like a cleaner, single-colour Pro with a full-width camera plateau on the back and a smaller Dynamic Island on the front. At 8.75 mm and 211 or 249 grams, it is a phone you will want to protect at the plateau first, because that is where the glass and the lenses are most exposed. If you also want to decide for yourself when those lenses can see, the iPhone 18 Pro Max case with camera cover fits both the Pro and the Pro Max, with a sliding front cover, a flip cover over the rear cameras, a kickstand and MagSafe.
