There’s likely less than a month to go until Apple unveils its new iPhones. The iPhone Ultra will get the biggest headlines, but far more people will buy its sibling, the cheaper (but still expensive) iPhone 18 Pro. And we’re learning more and more about this device with each passing week.
The latest revelation is that it will have the same or very nearly the same dimensions and general design as its direct predecessor, the iPhone 17 Pro from late 2025. Although there’s an important caveat to bear in mind.
This information, unsurprisingly, doesn’t come directly from Apple itself. Rather, it’s emerged by the roundabout route of an accessories company launching a series of cases for the iPhone 17 Pro and specifying on the packaging that these cases will also work on the 18 Pro (which doesn’t even officially exist yet, remember). In other words, the chassis will be the same size, and the various buttons, apertures, speaker grilles, and so on will be in the same position. This strongly implies, too, that there will be no major external camera upgrades.
The cases were spotted by the Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, who posted a photo of his discovery to Twitter/X. “Best Buy is already putting these on shelves,” he adds. “A little early.” That’s putting it lightly.
Apple’s previous Pro models have all had enough physical changes to their bodies and cameras that previous cases didn’t fit quite right. So OtterBox’s gamble here is a big one, albeit calculated based on media reports.
Otterbox seems to think the iPhone 18 Pro will be able to fit inside of iPhone 17 Pro cases and vice versa. Also, Best Buy is already putting these on shelves. A little early. pic.twitter.com/13l7OWj5wX
For the company to release 18 Pro cases ahead of the launch indicates a high degree of confidence in its sources. If it’s got this one wrong, it’ll end up with bad PR and could lead to customers asking for their money back. And accessories firms, for obvious reasons, tend to be well connected to supply chains when it comes to info of this kind.
But at the same time, this could easily be a calculated gamble rather than a sure thing. Yes, there’s a chance the sources are wrong, and that would look a bit silly. But actually, who’s going to ask for a refund? Of those buying the cases now, virtually all will be picking them up for an iPhone 17 Pro rather than grabbing an 18 Pro case in advance, and there won’t be any issues with fit on that device. If you’re buying a case now, you probably bought the phone recently, and if you’re buying a 17 Pro now, there’s very little chance you’ll be picking up an 18 Pro (the most common cycles are one purchase every two or three iPhone generations), so you won’t run into any major issues.
What this is really about is making sure that at the very moment when the iPhone 18 Pro is announced, there are cases available which are clearly labelled as being compatible with that device. If the dimensions are different enough that the case won’t work with the new phone, OtterBox will have to put in some emergency phone calls and get it pulled. But the company will have calculated that the chances of that are sufficiently low, and the potential rewards for being the first accessories maker with 18 Pro cases out there sufficiently high, that it’s worth the risk.
Not to mention that news sites like this one find these stories interesting, and it never hurts to get your company’s name in the news cycle.
If you’re thinking, by the way, that Apple tells accessory makers the dimensions of its products ahead of launch so they can have products ready in time… well, we’re not entirely sure. There have been occasional reports of case makers working with Apple, but the lucky few companies who would be in the loop would surely be extremely nervous about losing their privileges. If OtterBox based this early launch on official Apple info, it could find itself losing access to official Apple info in the future. It’s far more likely that this was based on solid third-party sources and a willingness to take a gamble.
We won’t know the iPhone 18 Pro’s dimensions and design for sure, in other words, until it’s announced next month. Bookmark our regularly updated iPhone 18 Pro superguide for all the latest news as we head towards the launch.