Apple’s new iPhones do not offer the same capacities as each other. iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and iPhone Duo climb to 2TB, iPhone Air stops at 1TB, iPhone 17 stops at 512GB, and iPhone 16 is the only model in the lineup that still starts at 128GB.
That makes the ceiling, not the starting price, the thing that rules models in or out for anyone who already knows how much space they use. A photographer who needs 2TB has three phones to choose from, and the cheapest of them is $2,399.
Where each iPhone’s capacity ladder stops
| Model | Lowest capacity | Highest capacity | Price at the top tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone Duo | 256GB | 2TB | $3,199 |
| iPhone 18 Pro Max | 256GB | 2TB | $2,499 |
| iPhone 18 Pro | 256GB | 2TB | $2,399 |
| iPhone Air | 256GB | 1TB | $1,699 |
| iPhone 17 | 256GB | 512GB | $1,129 |
| iPhone 16 | 128GB | 512GB | Not published |
| iPhone 17e | 256GB, from $699 | Not published | Not published |
Apple lists iPhone 16 at $829 for 128GB unlocked and has not published its higher tiers in the store pages we have read, and it publishes only a starting price for iPhone 17e. iPhone 17 figures here are unlocked prices, and Apple advertises that model from $899 with a connectivity discount applied.
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Compare at equal capacity, not at the starting price
| Capacity | iPhone Air | iPhone 18 Pro | iPhone 18 Pro Max | iPhone Duo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 256GB | $1,099 | $1,199 | $1,299 | $1,999 |
| 512GB | $1,299 | $1,399 | $1,499 | $2,199 |
| 1TB | $1,699 | $1,799 | $1,899 | $2,599 |
| 2TB | Not offered | $2,399 | $2,499 | $3,199 |
A 1TB iPhone 18 Pro at $1,799 costs $100 more than a 1TB iPhone Air and $800 less than a 1TB iPhone Duo. Those are the comparisons a buyer with a full phone actually faces, and they are not the ones a lineup page arranged by starting price presents.
The gap between models never widens with capacity
Because Apple charges the same $200, $400 and $600 for storage steps on all of these phones, the distance between any two models stays fixed as you climb. iPhone Air is $100 below iPhone 18 Pro at 256GB, at 512GB and at 1TB, and the Pro Max premium is $100 at all four tiers.
The Duo is the exception in scale rather than in structure. It sits $800 above the Pro at 256GB and $800 above it at 2TB, as our Duo and Pro Max comparison lays out.
2TB is not new to the Pro line, but the phone that had it is gone
Apple presents 2TB as new for this generation, and its own tech specs also list 256GB to 2TB for iPhone 17 Pro Max. Apple stopped selling iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max when the iPhone 18 Pro launched.
The practical position today is the one in the table above: three iPhones offer 2TB, one of them does not ship until October 23, and the 6.3-inch Pro reaching that tier is what is genuinely new. Apple has not published a 2TB option for any iPhone below $2,399.
Only the iPhones give you a capacity choice this month
Of the products Apple announced on September 9, the iPhones are the only ones with a storage decision attached. Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 both ship with 64GB and no alternative, and AirPods 5 have no capacity to pick.
On the Watch the choices that cost money are case size, material and cellular. On the iPhone they are size, capacity and, in the US, whether you activate with a carrier at checkout.
What Apple has not said
- Why the ceilings differ. Apple gives no reason for 2TB on the Pro line and 1TB on iPhone Air.
- The full iPhone 17e capacity ladder, or prices for iPhone 16 above 128GB.
- Usable capacity on any model once iOS 27 is preinstalled, so no tier’s real free space is published.
- Any file size or bit rate for its video formats, which is what would let a buyer size a tier properly.
- Whether 2TB will reach a cheaper iPhone later. Apple does not discuss unannounced configurations.
iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max pre-orders open at 5 a.m. PT on Saturday, September 12, with availability on Friday, September 18. iPhone Duo pre-orders open on Friday, October 16, ahead of an October 23 release, which is the later of the two 2TB routes.
