Apple iPhone 18 Pro said to change so little that even iPhone 17 Pro cases will fit

According to rumors, the Apple iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will feature a smaller punch hole and new colors. Aside from that, however, the design of the flagship smartphones is expected to remain largely unchanged. A case manufacturer has now confirmed what a test using a dummy model had already hinted at back in June: protective cases intended for the iPhone 17 Pro ($1,179 on Amazon) are also supposed to be compatible with the iPhone 18 Pro.

In fact, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman has already spotted an Otterbox Figura case at the U.S. retailer Best Buy that is explicitly advertised for both the iPhone 17 Pro and the iPhone 18 Pro. However, it is unclear whether Otterbox received information from Apple or simply relied on rumors and dummy models to become one of the first accessory manufacturers to get cases for the iPhone 18 Pro onto the shelves of major retailers. The Otterbox website still advertises the Figura case only for the iPhone 17 Pro.

It’s also possible that while the cases for the smaller iPhone 17 Pro can be used with the iPhone 18 Pro, cases for the iPhone 17 Pro Max will no longer be compatible with the iPhone 18 Pro Max. This is because the larger flagship model is expected to feature a main camera with a variable aperture, which could result in a thicker camera module, meaning only cases that completely leave out the camera module would be compatible. Since the Apple iPhone 18 Pro (Max) is set to be officially unveiled in mid-September alongside the iPhone Ultra and the next-generation Apple Watch, it likely won’t be long before the design is officially revealed.