iPhone 18 X-Rays Point to a Shared 4,430 mAh Battery

Unverified iPhone 18 X-ray images posted on November 5 suggest the standard iPhone 18 and the cheaper iPhone 18e may share the same internal layout, and the annotations on those images point to a 4,430 mAh battery. Notebookcheck's Bui Giang reported on November 8, 2026 that the frames are automated X-ray inspection, or AXI, scans circulating on Chinese social media and later reposted to Baidu Tieba's Qualcomm forum by known Apple leaker Littertree66.

The images are being framed as Apple's expected spring 2027 iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e, but Apple has not confirmed either model or any battery specification. Notebookcheck says the images have not been independently verified, may show pre-production hardware, and bear an OpenAI watermark that was likely added when a translation tool rendered the diagrams into Chinese. The Tieba post itself notes they may not be genuine.

What do the iPhone 18 X-ray annotations claim?

According to the annotations described by Notebookcheck, the standard iPhone 18, labeled Taycan or V67 K, and the iPhone 18e, labeled Nevera or V69, show matching positions for the north and south logic boards, the battery footprint, and the MagSafe coils. The Taycan notes also say removing the physical SIM tray freed space for a larger cell, while the bottom speaker and haptic motor moved from a long, narrow shape to a wider one.

Notebookcheck says those annotated changes raise capacity from 3,671 mAh to 4,430 mAh, roughly a 20 percent increase that would likely apply to eSIM-only configurations. That 3,671 mAh baseline is slightly below the 3,692 mAh Apple lists for the iPhone 17.

How would iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e differ?

The same report says Nevera adopts Taycan's overall design and carries the same 4,430 mAh annotation, up about 10 percent from the 4,005 mAh rated capacity of the iPhone 17e. In the Nevera image, a single rear camera labeled Wide sits where Taycan places its Super Wide camera, and the space below it, where Taycan's second camera and a part labeled BG1 Array would sit, appears to be filled with plastic.

The poster also claims both devices have a Dynamic Island and a steel-encased battery, and suggests the shared enclosure could bring Camera Control to the iPhone 18e. That control has already been a moving target on Apple's recent phones, including reports that the iPhone Action Button may give way to Camera Control. The same post speculates Apple could leave the U2 ultra-wideband chip off the iPhone 18e, but that remains the poster's guess, not a confirmed spec.

What is actually verified?

GSMDome published a similar read of the images and also describes the shared layout, the 4,430 mAh annotations, dual rear cameras on iPhone 18, and a single rear camera on iPhone 18e. It stresses that the 4,430 mAh figure comes from the written notes, not from a number that can be read directly off an X-ray.

The safest takeaway is that these remain unverified leak images, and retail hardware can still change. Apple has not commented and has not announced iPhone 18 battery specifications. Our earlier report on iPhone 18 Pro storage covers a separate part of the same rumored lineup.

Our Take

If the annotations are accurate, the more interesting detail is the shared platform, not just the headline capacity. One internal layout would simplify manufacturing and repairs across two price points, and the extra space from dropping a SIM tray could explain the jump to 4,430 mAh. Until Apple publishes official figures, the images belong in the rumor file.

Claimed annotation	What is verified
AXI scans show iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e internals	Notebookcheck says Littertree66 reposted the images on November 5; they are not independently verified
Shared board, battery, and MagSafe layout	Notebookcheck and GSMDome both describe a shared layout in the images
4,430 mAh battery for both models	The figure comes from annotations, not a direct X-ray readout
iPhone 18 dual cameras; iPhone 18e one rear camera	Both reports describe that difference in the annotations
Dynamic Island and steel-encased battery	These are claims from the poster, not Apple-confirmed details
Spring 2027 timing	Industry framing in Notebookcheck, not an Apple announcement