Leaked iPhone 18 and 18e X-rays show Apple's reuse, reduce, recycle approach

Automated X-ray inspection (AXI) images of two unreleased iPhones are circulating on Chinese social media and were reposted to Baidu Tieba's Qualcomm forum by a known Apple leaker, Littertree66, on November 5. The images carry the codenames Taycan (V67 K) and Nevera (V69), which he attributes to the standard iPhone 18 and the iPhone 18e, respectively.

Both units show the same internal layout, with north and south logic boards in identical positions, the same battery footprint and matching MagSafe coils. Annotations on the Taycan image state that removing the physical SIM tray freed space for the battery and that the bottom speaker and haptic motor move from a long, narrow design to a wider one. Combined, the changes raise capacity from 3,671 mAh to 4,430 mAh, an increase of roughly 20%. The figure therefore likely applies to eSIM-only configurations. The baseline is slightly below the 3,692 mAh Apple lists for the iPhone 17. The annotations also state that the wide camera module is physically smaller than the previous iPhone's, which would signal a change in the camera module compared with the previous generation. The sensor resolution appears to be unchanged. A component labeled "BG1 Array" sits below the two rear cameras and is likely the part used to connect the second camera.

The Nevera (iPhone 18e) image states that the unit adopts the Taycan (iPhone 18) design, raising battery capacity by roughly 10% from 4,005 mAh, the rated capacity of the iPhone 17e, to the same 4,430 mAh. Nevera has a single rear camera, labeled "Wide," in the position Taycan uses for its Super Wide camera. The area below it, which holds Taycan's second camera and BG1 array, is occupied by what is presumed to be plastic filler.

The poster also claims both devices feature a Dynamic Island and a steel-encased battery, and suggests the shared enclosure could bring Camera Control to the iPhone 18e. As both logic boards share a layout, the poster speculates that Apple could separate the models by leaving the U2 ultra-wideband chip off the iPhone 18e.

Still, the images have not been independently verified. They bear an OpenAI watermark, likely because an OpenAI tool was used to translate the diagrams into Chinese, and the Tieba post itself notes they may not be genuine. Units scanned at this stage may be pre-production hardware, and final retail specifications may differ.