Apple reportedly plans to introduce new colours for its next generation iPhone 18 models as well as simplify camera control button and upgrade selfie cameras for high-clarity images.
Next year, the new iPhone 18 Pro models will be available in coffee, purple and burgundy colours, US-based website MacRumours reported.
The iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro have been previously been available in purple but neither coffee nor burgundy has featured as an iPhone colour before.
“A coffee-coloured iPhone 18 Pro could be a good successor to the gold iPhone XS or the 'desert titanium' iPhone 16 Pro,” the website said, citing a user of Weibo, the Chinese social media platform.
It is thought there will still be no black iPhone 18 Pro next year. The iPhone 17 Pro, which was launched this year, is available in silver, deep blue and cosmic orange. There was no black or grey option for the first time in the device's history.
iPhone 18 models will also be upgraded with simpler camera control button and other advanced features include a smaller hole punch for selfie cameras, MacRumours said.
The current camera control button on iPhone 17 models uses capacitive and pressure sensors under a sapphire crystal surface. The capacitive layer detects touch, while the force sensor recognises different pressure levels for taps, presses and swipes.
Apple is expected to remove the capacitive sensing layer and retain pressure-sensing recognition for the next model, reports suggest.
“The single-sensor approach is similar to designs found in devices like the OPPO X8 Ultra and vivo X200 Ultra, where pressure sensors alone can recognise light taps, firm presses, and sliding gestures,” MacRumours said.
All iPhone 18 models will have a high-resolution, 24-mega pixel selfie camera. This is up from the 18MP-resolution camera available in the current iPhone 17 series.
Is foldable iPhone really coming?
Apple’s first foldable iPhone, which is rumoured to be launched next year, will also have 24MP selfie camera, the website said.
The iPhone 18 Air, Pro, Pro Max and foldable are expected to be available September 2026, while the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e will follow in 2027, it added.
In September, Apple unveiled its newest iPhone line-up, featuring major upgrades to hardware and software, plus a new slimmer version, while largely maintaining its prices amid trade tariff pressure.
The California-based company introduced the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max and the iPhone Air at its annual launch event.
Jump in net sales
Apple continued to report higher sales of its products and services thanks to higher demand from buyers.
For the quarter ending September 27, the company's total net sales reached $102.5 billion, up 8 per cent year on year, its financial statement shows.
Apple briefly hit $4 trillion market capitalisation for the first time on October 28, joining fellow Big Tech giants Microsoft and Nvidia, which crossed the threshold earlier this year.
The company hit the milestone during morning trading after market technology research company Counterpoint Research reported the iPhone 17 series had outsold the previous one by 14 per cent in the first 10 days of availability in the US and China.
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
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Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
