Last year Apple made the base iPhone 17 extremely compelling, in part due to display upgrades like ProMotion. But rumors about the iPhone 18 indicate it could regress in minor ways to be more like Apple’s budget ‘e’ model. Apple might make display and chip ‘downgrades’ in iPhone 18 to cut costs Earlier this week, Weibo leaker Fixed Focus Digital said that the base iPhone 18 would be launching later than usual. This was no surprise, as other reporting points to an early 2027 launch. In addition to corroborating that iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e will debut simultaneously, the leaker said Apple is planning to capitalize on this timing with several manufacturing cost-cutting measures. Today, he has followed up with some specific details on iPhone 18 ‘downgrades’ to expect. In one post , he claims iPhone 18’s screen specifications will be a regression compared to iPhone 17, aligning more with iPhone 18e. Does this mean Apple will drop ProMotion support? No, as major user-facing downgrades are not expected.…