A Apple disponibilizou ontem a quinta versão beta dos sistemas 27 e, no caso do iOS, além de trazer novidades como novos ícones para apps nativos e mais opções de personalização de voz para a Siri, a última atualização fez menção à linha de iPhones que deverá ser lançada entre o final deste ano e o início do ano que vem, composta pelos modelos “18 Pro”, “18 Pro Max”, “Ultra”, “18”, “18e” e “Air 2”.
As referências foram encontradas pela Macworld em arquivos do sistema relacionados aos drivers de bateria do iPhone, limitando-se à exibição dos codinomes desses aparelhos. Nenhuma outra informação sobre esses dispositivos foi localizada.
A lista dos seis codinomes internos inclui:
V62: “iPhone Air 2”
V63: “iPhone 18 Pro”
V64: “iPhone 18 Pro Max”
V67: “iPhone 18”
V68: “iPhone Ultra”
V69: “iPhone 18e”
Algo semelhante ocorreu com o “iPhone Ultra” na quarta versão beta do novo iOS, cujo código incluía referências a um aparelho com múltiplas baterias — algo inexistente hoje e fortemente especulado no caso do primeiro dobrável da Apple.
Em um feito inédito, o tradicional evento de setembro destinado ao anúncio de novos iPhones — cujos preparativos já começaram — poderá dividir os lançamentos da linha “iPhone 18”, restringindo-se inicialmente aos modelos premium, como o “Ultra”, o “18 Pro” e o “18 Pro Max”, enquanto os demais aparelhos ficarão para o início do ano que vem.
iPhone 17 Pro Max
Cores: prateado, laranja-cósmico ou azul-intenso Armazenamento: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB ou 2TB
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Macworld reports that iOS 27 beta 5, released to developers on Monday, contains hidden code revealing six unreleased iPhone models – although you've probably heard of them before.
The following references are said to have been found alongside references to existing iPhone models, in system files associated with the iPhone's battery drivers and Battery Intelligence features:
V62 — iPhone Air 2
V63 — iPhone 18 Pro
V64 — iPhone 18 Pro Max
V67 — iPhone 18
V68 — iPhone Ultra
V69 — iPhone 18e
It's the first time the full iPhone 18 lineup has been mentioned in code found in an iOS 27 beta. To be clear, the discovered references are the codes in bold, excluding the names (which are inferred) but these internal Apple identifiers have appeared in previous leaks or have been used by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman in his reporting, allowing them to be matched to the expected iPhone models.
Apple has not publicly confirmed the existence of any upcoming iPhone 18 models, but regular readers will know that they have been heavily rumored for several months now.
Apple is taking a different launch approach to the iPhone 18 series this time around, with a split-launch strategy that will see the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and foldable iPhone Ultra unveiled in September. For the first time, the regular iPhone 18 will be launched in the spring of 2027 alongside the iPhone 18e and iPhone Air 2.
Last month, the Federal Communications Commission approved an experimental and controversial new satellite being developed by venture Reflect Orbital to reflect sunlight down onto the Earth to illuminate patches of it at night for paying customers.
The purported goal is to allow solar farms to continue generating electricity even after nightfall and provide illumination during emergencies. Those may sound like noble ideas on the surface, but the concept comes with major downsides as well.
One is that such bright satellites could easily wreck deep space observations. Astronomers were appalled at the news, with the FCC receiving nearly nearly 2,000 public comments criticizing the proposal, as Wired reported at the time.
And it’s not just professional astronomers that could be affected, as experts told The Verge. Amateur astronomers gazing up at the prototype mirror satellite, dubbed Eärendil-1 — continuing Silicon Valley’s obsession with borrowing names from JRR Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” — could easily be blinded. Even looking through a 12-inch telescope, a common type used by enthusiasts, could result in permanent eye damage.
It’s a considerable risk to human health that makes the FCC’s approval “extraordinary,” as Royal Astronomical Society deputy executive director Robert Massey told The Verge.
It’s a risk experts have known for decades now. Case in point, observing a similar proposed Russian prototype, dubbed Znamya, could cause damage equivalent to staring at the Sun around a total eclipse, according to a 2000 research article by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. (Russia launched two experimental Znamya space mirror satellites in the 1990s, but later abandoned the program.)
Critics of the FCC’s approval of Reflect Orbital’s plans pointed out the risk of eye damage to the regulator, which wound up being deemed irrelevant and too “small” of a factor compared to the “benefits of permitting American companies to test innovative technology in space.”
As The Verge points out, astronomers won’t even be warned of when and where the mirror satellite will be in the night sky, which could result in them gazing at it inadvertently.
Reflect Orbital spokesperson Christopher Buscombe told the publication that the company is in active talks with “scientists, astronomers, environmental researchers and other stakeholders” and that it will use its initial demonstration satellite to test out built-in safeguards.
The Air Line Pilots Association has also raised concerns over Reflect Orbital’s inadequate approach to air safety. The satellites could also disrupt sleep and the circadian rhythms migratory species.
“The proposed scale of orbital deployment would represent a significant alteration of the natural night-time light environment at a planetary scale,” the presidents of several international chronobiology assocaitions said in a joint statement quoted by The Guardian.
Buscombe told The Verge that the company would limit the amount of light being reflected and calibrate brightness to “levels humans and animals already tolerate.” But experts warn there are far too many variables that the company won’t be able to control for, from light scattering in the atmosphere to interactions with clouds.
Satellites in general are an increasingly controversial topic. The number of spacecraft in low Earth has exploded over the past decade, and many are being delivered at lower altitudes that make them appear even brighter.
“The stars above us are a valued part of human heritage – deploying more than one million exceptionally bright satellites would utterly destroy this and permanently scar the natural landscape,” Massey told The Verge.
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